Thanks so much for reading and for the thoughtful comment! That really means a lot.

I definitely used to be a bit of a "militant atheist" when I was younger. I don't see the thinking as a failure exactly today, but it's hard for me now not to see something a bit jaded and cynical about most of the people who identify as atheist. I think they can sometimes get a bad rap, though. I forget who it was that made this point, but I'll paraphrase it: "Atheism shouldn't even be a word. We don't have to declare ourselves unbelievers in Poseidon, or unbelievers in Zeus, why is it that we have this signifier just for the people who don't believe in this one specific god?" I think there's strong evidence in favor of some deity of some sort, but I still understand why not everyone would find it the most concrete or convincing.

I think there's a whole lot that's amazing in Jesus' teachings. It definitely can be frustrating sometimes how misguided the entire religion around him can sometimes seem.