Thank you for a reply in the spirit of my post. I have no intention of giving up hope or becoming (again - long story) an atheist. No amount of Christian fundamentalist drivel can ever hide the manifest glory of God, to which the whole of Nature attests, from the meanest trilobite fossil to the largest galaxy.
I indeed regard the Bible as poetry, parable, history, theology, and a work of true devotion. Which is why it saddens me so much to see it turned from a mighty witness into a mighty stumbling block, by those who claim for it a false authority in the humble matters of science.
Evolution happened. If your religion cannot accept that, then those who trust the witness of the rocks have no choice but to reject your witness - and rightly so. Unfortunately, it is the false witnesses to God that shout so loud, and that lead many into rejecting not only the false witness, but also the true God. And that is the great evil of fundamentalism.
I gotta go with you on your post, Mr. Locke. The strength of Christian fundamentalism is that it provides a "No assembly required" world-view. I once had a very good (but fundy) friend tell me, "Jim, you don't interpret the Bible," you just do what it says. I told him, "You can't read any book without interpretation."
Fundamentalists (perhaps we should refer to them instead as biblical literalists) believe that if God did not create the world in seven, 24-hour days, then the entire Bible is false!
My response to that is usually, "Well, Jesus said the mustard seed was the smallest of all seeds. But it's not. So you better become an atheist right now!" Of course Jesus really meant, "The mustard seed is the smallest seed you are familiar with," but accepting that requires
interpretation.
Check out my site,
Skeptics Club!