Hey David,

Thanks, yes it did take a long time to write :) And thanks for not being aggressive in your reply.

To be honest, I don’t have a lot of interest in long back-and-forths with people who want to convince me to come back to a different version of faith. Because there are so many alternative views of Christianity that if I were to try to explain myself to every person who contacts me saying “oh you’ve misunderstood this important part”, I would have no time for anything else! But I will try to give a quick reply here.

If most of the church is representing spirituality the wrong way, and I am only a victim of being taught the wrong thing, then isn’t your energy better spent debating those who misrepresent God in the first place? (Maybe that’s what your books intend to do.)

I can understand why focusing on Genesis 1 rather than 3 might provide you with an interpretation of the Bible/God/world that works better for you. But why should someone do that? The world as described in Genesis 1 only existed for 2 chapters. The entire premise is that we are fallen and need redemption, otherwise what did Jesus die for?

I’m actually well aware that there are plenty of other interpretations of the Bible beyond the borderline-fundamentalism I was raised in. I know liberal Christians who have come to see the Bible in the way you’re describing. I still don’t think it makes sense for me personally. If it helps you feel more assured and connected with the world — that’s great! This is a list of reasons I don’t believe, not reasons you shouldn’t believe.

No matter how you interpret the Bible, from my perspective it’s just another interpretation of yet another holy book creating yet another variety of spiritual experience. I understand and accept that this is vitally important in many people’s lives, but I just don’t think everybody is wired to work that way. As I said in point #3, mythology simply doesn’t inspire me. Neither do unverifiable/unfalsifiable supernatural claims. I’m inspired by the present, by the future, by everything we’re learning about the universe around us, by nature, by connection with my own self and others. I’m comfortable not having answers to some hard questions, because I think realistically there are many things humans are too small and dumb to understand. I’d rather have unanswered questions, than an answer that was invented just to fill the gap.