Hare Krishna

[Darkstar]

So while I might want to consult your knowledge if I have a medical problem, why should I consult you on issues about the basis of existence? Have you done any lab experiments to test something about that?

Maybe not, but I often wonder why theists suspend disbelief for their own god, but don't do it for other things. Has you pastor done any tests about how the world started? How about the pope? Who wants to bet that anything your pastor tells you is either:
A. quoted from the bible
B. his own interpretation of a passage (varies between pastors)
C. an anecdote that in no way suggests god, but he thinks it does

Your pastor would simply be taking the word of a 2000+ year old book that contains many scientific errors, and nothing to suggest it couldn't have easily been written by people of the time.
(Note: When I say your pastor, I am simply referring to a generic nameless 'authority' on religion)

Religious 'authorities' study the texts, and are thus knowledgeable on them. They do not study whether the text is even valid in the first place. They, like many theists, first assume god and then bend the evidence to support their particular interpretation of him (which still fails to convince the truly incredulous).