Dan, I am an atheist, though I have good friends who are committed Christians, including two ordained Church of England ministers but I do enjoy your articles. I became atheist after reading the bible and found it impossible to reconcile with (a) reality (talking snakes? the whole creation myth?) and (b) itself (you will never convince me that the loving God of the New Testament is the same as the vindictive baby-killer of the Old, then there is the transition from being just one god among many, and not even necessarily the most powerful, in the early parts of the OT to being the one true god in the later parts and the NT).

On the other hand, there is much that is of value in the moral teachings (and much that stinks in Leviticus), though that is equally true of most religions (I would exclude Scientology as that is not in my view a religion but rather a money-making organization).