what i as an outsider have always admired deeply about christianity. that its central message is simple and powerful. be nice to the poor. i remember being surprised to see what christian values had come to mean in american culture and politics. . heated debates over abortion, contraception and gays. in 13 years of reading, reciting and studying the bible, i didn't recall seeing much about these topics. that's because there is very little in there about them. as gary wills points out in his new book "the future of the catholic church with pope francis" many of the most prominent and contested stands taken by catholic authorities have nothing to do with the gospel. the church's positions on these matters were arrived at through interpretations of, quote, natural law, unquote, which is not based on anything in the bible.