"Jumping the shark" is a good way of putting it. Along with Judaism, Egyptian religion and the Mystery cults provided fertile ground for Christian syncretism. The destruction of Jerusalem and Second Temple Judaism gave Jews only two options: self-directed, rabbinical intellectualism, and Christian syncretism (i.e. a Judaizing gloss on or cooptation of pagan culture).

Indeed, secular humanists shouldn't be naively trusting in science or the benefits of technological progress. But what about Nietzsche's question of whether secularists need some sacred direction, some inspiration to get us past life's absurdity in the naturalistic context?