At the Pearly Gates

St. Peter: Admission will be based on what we find in your book of life. Let’s take a look and see what we have.
Me: Sounds fair.
St. Peter: Hmmm…it looks like you have some problems with authority.
Me: So I’ve been told.
St. Peter: Do you really have a complete lack of respect for authority as some of your references say?
Me: I haven’t been overly impressed with their authority.
St. Peter: So whose authority do you respect?
Me: My understanding of the Christ is that there is but one true authority.
St. Peter: And that is?
Me: God.
St. Peter: You’ll get no argument from me on that one! But many of the authorities you have so little respect for have been vested in their power by God haven’t they?
Me: So they say.
St. Peter: Well, what they say seems to have been generally accepted by the masses.
Me: If the masses already knew the truth, then why is the Christ necessary?
St. Peter: With all due respect, why do you honor the authority of the Christ?
Me: Isn’t it of God?
St. Peter: By whose authority would you say such a thing?
Me: Just how long is the waiting list for purgatory?