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In many ways, religion resembles a long-running, uncontrolled social experiment on the human condition and social change. And a moment\\u2019s reflection reminds us that all cultural, including religious, systems, have been used to justify everything from the terrifying to the sublime. Dorothee Solle called this the \\u201cdouble function\\u201d of religion: \\u201cas apology and legitimation of the status quo and its culture of injustice on the one hand, and as a means of protest, change, and liberation on the other hand.\\u201d Discerning which is which, and acting accordingly, is essential if we want our present troubles to be birth pangs of a new world, rather than the death throes of humanity.