First of all, in this article I'm not talking to all Christians, but to the First World liberals who read Backyard Church.

Also, your personal attack ignores the pragmatic and existential sides of my philosophy. Do you recall all those articles of mine that argue against the notion of objective truth, that posit the childlike, playful origins of culture, and that emphasize the role of fictions in all worldviews? I'm fine with recognizing that every mammalian confrontation with life's absurdity (including mine) is bound to be irrational on some level (as it stems from horror, awe, dread, anxiety, and so on).

I also don't believe I've ever said that religious faith is impotent or epiphenomenal. Of course, religion has real psychological and social effects. The question is whether the effects of late-modern Christianity are for the better or the worse. Are those archaic fictions the best stories we currently have? The most edifying, dignifying, and life-affirming? I think not, and I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to stick up for the prospect of having better taste.