... and she did pick up the money. And he didn't get a receipt b/c he didn't figure church people for swindling a small biz owner for fifty bucks. Possible.

Regardless, the story was smug. Really narcissistic. Not sure what Jesus would have done, but is that what he have FELT? "Look at me, being a martyr ... man, I'm so evolved! I'm gonna write a column about my growth!"

This article highlighted for me my biggest problem with religious people - their tendancy for ridiculous levels of self-absorption. This whole episode was, to Anne, an opportunity to show how graceful she is to her God, how forgiving, etc. How lovely for her. However, I did not see one indication in her article that she stopped for even a second to think about this in terms of who else would be affected by this conniving man's "business" practices. What is it about religion that leads people to focus so much energy on "saving" themselves and not on helping other people or, at the very least, thinking about other people before themselves. Anne was certainly right to feel anger in the beginning and to try to control that anger. However, this attempt almost turns comical by the end of the article. Get over youself already, Anne!! You need a Zen-like ability to let things go.

Jesus would have put the guy out of business. And THEN forgiven him.

Come on, Annie...How Christian is it to leave this idiot thinking he put one over on you knowingly, and you did NOTHING about it? Now he's going to do it to someone else even more quickly, because you let him get away with it, AND you bought him flowers and told him YOU were wrong to boot.

I usually think you're right on target, but on this one, you were all wet (or shall I say moldy)?

Is that what it is to be a christian? Allowing yourself to be cheated without a peep? I don't think Jesus said that.

You threaten to call the cops, but don't. You bring in other people as ineffective as yourself. You don't bother to look at the carpet to see if it is ok before you buy it, despite the carpet sitting outside when you find it. You never go back with other people to assist you. You accepted a check from someone that was giving you a hard time with a return. You bought them flowers...

You got exactly what you deserve and essentially what you were asking for. Ever heard the phrase "let the buyer beware"? He knew he didn't have to give you squat the moment you threatened to call the cops and backed down. I look forward to your next piece where you tell us about how you went back to the same store and bought another carpet to give him another chance. Spend some more this time! I'm sure he doesn't meet a sucker like you every day.

Jesus H. Christ, people. (Oops--I used the j-word, now you won't listen. Oh wait, I used it disparagingly. Now you will listen.) If Annie was Muslim, y'all would have written some sweet, multicultural bulls--t because her religion was 'foreign' to you and therefore exotic and deserving of respect. Bunch of hypocrites. Try this on for size: people are allowed to be religious in this world, and they're allowed to express it, even on a damned 'liberal' site like Salon. If you are for freedom of speech, and freedom of religion, and if you want the Republicans to listen to YOU, then maybe you had better practice what you preach and listen to a different viewpoint once in a while.

Just because you're afraid this really is a 'Christian nation' does not give you the right to attack Anne.

Finally--it seems that you knee-jerk reactionaries out there can't hear the message because the J-word is in the story. Annie's point, as it often is, is that we're all screwed up (thanks to Salon readers for demonstrating that so beautifully), and that sometimes one should be 'counter-cultural'--in other words, try not to do what self-righteous American pricks often do, and Fight the Enemy, but instead try to really rise above the shit. Isn't this what we have all been saying Bush should do? Isn't this why we were against the war?

You should be ashamed.

A few people have posted to say, "What if the co-religionist was lying?" They need to stop playing the devil's advocate and start thinking things through a little more.

Anne doesn't give us all the information we need to eliminate her friend as a suspect. But she gives us enough to conclude the guy most likely did it. Here's why:

(1) If the co-religionist did pick up the money, and the Carpet Guy claims somebody already picked up the money, then all Anne has to do is ask Carpet Man, "What did the person look like?" If Carpet Man describes a close approximation of the religious friend, then OK, maybe he isn't a liar. (Personally, that is the first thing I would do -- get the liar to provide details and possibly trip himself up.)

(2) The Carpet Man's complete lack of cooperation gives him away. An honest person would have no trouble cooperating and trying to get to the bottom of the mix-up. A dishonest person will become hospital and treat you like a fool so that you are intimidated into giving up. This is what the Carpet Man did (hanging up the phone, rolling his eyes, making the "crazy" gesture, otherwise acting half-assed).

(3) The Carpet Man as much as admits he is lying by offering to pay the $50 after having already rolled his eyes and made the "crazy" gesture. If he were sincerely concerned that he got scammed, then the last thing he would be doing is mocking the person who also got scammed (they both would have been the victims of the person who picked up the $50 deceptively). Since he went from a mocker to offering the $50 back, it suggests an admission of his responsibility to pay the $50.

(4) The fact that the Carpet Man pays a check that bounces is a telling detail that this guy's operation is barely legitimate. People who bounce checks are the kinds of flakes who tell lies. Also, when was the last time you dealt with a small business owner who constantly had to defer to his so-called accountant?

It is easy to conclude that the Carpet Man is the liar Anne Lamott thinks he is. I would say there is perhaps a 5% chance he's not a liar but somebody with no basic manners organizational skills (giving a refund with no receipt?). But that's a real long shot. We also have to assume that Anne Lamott knows her co-religionist on an ongoing basis and has a solid foundation for trusting her.

So if you want to give Carpet Man the benefit of the doubt, go for it. A guy who sells a carpet with a big mold stain on it and bounces a $50 check is probably super-trustworthy.