I think it’s important to challenge the hegemony of Christianity in our culture and promote tolerance of all religions that want to live in harmony with each other and with atheists. The way to get to that point is not by insisting that we should all read the Bible so we can use it to argue with bigots, nor is it by embracing “cultural Christianity”.

I agree, there’s absolutely no point arguing with fundamentalists using the Bible as a source of your arguments. (1) they’ll just say “even the devil quotes scripture; and (2) you’re giving the Bible an authority it shouldn’t have.

If you want to deconstruct from evangelical/fundamentalist worldviews, there’s a ton of resources right here on this site.

As for “cultural Christianity” — that’s OK if it’s just Christmas carols and Easter eggs, but if it involves using Christianity to affirm your bigoted views about trans people and Muslims, then that’s definitely not fine.

So I very much enjoyed reading Jason Mankey’s Patheos article on why there’s no point using the Bible to argue with bigots.

I don’t care when radicals use the Bible against me because I don’t believe in the Bible. Using the Bible to defend myself against the Bible gives the Bible a certain power that it doesn’t really have in my life. We might as well argue about what Fox News is saying about me. I don’t give a damn either way.

— Jason Mankey

And I thought John Beckett’s Patheos article pointing out why Dawkins embracing “cultural Christianity” is merely a front to justify his transphobia and Islamophobia was excellent.

Richard Dawkins doesn’t like seeing public celebrations of Ramadan. The mere existence of trans people offends his short-sighted ideas about biological determinism. He has some nostalgic memories of his Anglican childhood. He’s never going to change his mind about the existence of the Christian God, but he’s willing to identify as a Christian to try to turn the clock back to the 1950s.

It’s not going to work.

— John Beckett

I would prefer to live in a pluralistic society where we embrace the values of tolerance (and I mean real tolerance, not just putting up with other people), mutual understanding, respect for Nature, and living in harmony with Nature and other beings.