I agree with Wendell regarding visiting churches until one's community is recognized. I agree with those who say that at least one value of church is fellowship (which I believe is very important). I agree with NuShooz about bad churches and plane crashes. I agree with those who say that people are people and churches hold people, so bad people will be in church too.

My experience did not lead me ultimately to a Christian denomination, but I have the utmost respect for Christianity and its heartfelt practitioners. I also watched my mother find her place in a church that I never expected would be right for her, but was because of the community and the wonderful pastor. Despite the fact that had you questioned her closely on that denomination's theology, it really wouldn't have been right for her -- nevertheless, all of that was overshadowed by the love and support in the community.

One of the things that human beings have the capacity to do is to gauge the sincerity of others. We can often be tricked into believing that someone is sincere, but we also usually awaken to the reality sooner or later. Usually, if we have the wool pulled over our eyes for any significant length of time when it comes to integrity issues, it's because we've deliberately shut our eyes to those issues.

The fact that you're questioning makes the search easier. You're primed to spot insincerity and lack of integrity. Trust your heart. Mother and I both ended up in places that we didn't expect to be, and in both cases it was just the right place for us. And that kind of thing doesn't happen solely through intellectual analysis. So trust your heart.

Peace.

~ ~ ~
All meetings end in separation
All acquisition ends in dispersion
All life ends in death
- The Buddha

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Every hundred years, all new people