Why Do Mean People Go to Church?

OR ... How Can You Go to Med School and Skip All the Science Classes?

So I'm having lunch the other day with an acquaintance who had some very interesting and disheartening stories to tell about his church experience.  In sum, for all of his adult life, he's been very involved in two different churches only to have been behind the scenes long enough to realize there was stuff going on (in both) which he could not be a part of.  He's decided to pare it down a bit, opening up his home for Sunday services and essentially, starting over. 

What really stood out to me was how familiar the story sounded and how it reminded me of some of my experiences years ago.  For me, the question went unanswered back then.  But, I've since learned a thing or two, and I thought today I would tackle this question that's been on my mind since I was a kid:  Why do mean people go to church?

Life, Liberty, and Shades of Gray

I took a political self-assessment the other day which was basically answering a handful of questions and returning to me where I stood on the political spectrum.  Turns out, I'm high on personal liberty, low on government intervention.  Any action that the government takes should further 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'  My underlying philosophy is that freedom is good.  And restrictions on freedom are bad.

I've actually read two very different columns today on two very different subjects but they both got me thinking about freedom.  What one person sees as freedom, someone else might see as a restriction of freedom.  Moreover, the idea that the government can do something to grant freedom to one person might often mean that someone else's freedom is compromised.  Ayn Rand puts it like this:

It only stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.