The indulgences are back (link to NYT article). Yup, the indulgences you learned about in world history in high school -the same that drove Martin Luther to nail his grievances to bring about the Protestant Reformation. Its absolution for sin that you can purchase from the Roman Catholic Church which works to intercede with the heavenly authorities to take a few years out of slow roasting. It lets you cut line in Purgatory. It turns Heaven into another place where you have to grease the maitre de’s palm. 

To me, its a sign of the times. You can buy anything if you have enough green, and this includes avoiding punishment in the afterlife. But what if you did something awful and you were poor? Does the Church take layaway on your soul?

This is why golf appeals to me. No matter who you are, out of bounds means stroke and distance. The red stakes means you get to drop for a stroke. Honor really means something on the hallowed greens. You can’t buy a scratch handicap. You play where you lie.