Most of the Christian landmarks [in the Middle East] are dormant shrines to old arguments between popes and Orthodox patriarchs and caliphs having little to do with the time or place Jesus grew up and died. There are a handful of historically dubious places for Christian pilgrims. The dingy grottoes, tombs, and street corners where Jesus was thrown, dragged, bled, drank some vinegar, was condemned and then nailed to a post one spring day 2,000 years ago are mobbed with tourists and souvenir salesmen today. "The Church of the Holy Sepulcher itself is a sprawling trophy from the Byzantine Empire administered grumpily by representatives of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Seventeen centuries ago they argued whether Christ had three aspects or just one, whether he was rich or poor, whether he needed a spokesman or just a book. Today the same churches argue over who will fix the leaky roof over the place where an angel allegedly told the first Christians, 'Seek ye not the living among the dead.' It was the last time that advice was heeded.
"Among the millions of pilgrims in Jerusalem, it was the Christians who came looking for God as if to confirm a juicy rumor they had heard. Christians have been trolling and casting for God since before the crucifixion. Just as Jesus found some sympathetic anglers right off the bat and convinced them to join the coming Christian hordes, Christians approach the question of finding God with the gusto of a fisherman working a trout stream. Each denomination has its own strategy for hooking the big one. Catholics go for the shiny lures with lots of ugly dangling hooks. Protestants like live bait." (From Moving Violations)
