Indeed, Foster's argument is so flimsy I have a hard time thinking he believes in it. I suspect he was just preaching and exaggerating for rhetorical effect. Likely, he'd say he didn't intend for that article to be taken as a logical argument. If he actually thought his argument was sound, he wouldn't really be worth responding to. At least, there would be no honour in refuting him.

As I said, I responded to that article mainly because I could see how he went as far as to reverse the truth: it's theism that's unsustainable, not atheism. Still, I'll likely respond to more of Foster's articles.

I agree that Jesus is pretty sanctimonious in the NT, and not just in John. Still, if you look at what the character did with his life overall, rather than just at his rhetoric, Jesus was a pretty self-sacrificial dude, which makes for a contrast between him and the Christian fundamentalists, apologists, and hypocrites.

Maybe not everyone worships something in the technical sense, but arguably everyone has faith, in Tillich's sense of holding something to be sacred or of ultimate importance.