My question: What part of any religion is sane? I grew up in a Free Will Baptist home and church, and as early as the third grade I knew it was silly. I was severely scored and damned by my fanatical parents for giving my honest review of their faith. At what point is religious thinking not silly?

First let me say to all the third graders out there, now is not the time to critique your parent's religion. Wait until they stop claiming you as a tax exemption, then say what you want.

Second, I think the answer to both of your questions is the same: Organized religion is sane and not silly when read as myth and poetry rather than science and law. Religion speaks nonsense when taken literally, but reveals some of the deepest truths of humankind when understood mythically, poetically, and even allegorically—that is when it is read with an active and creative imagination.

The problem with religion today is that it has lost its imaginative capacity, its poetic soul, and has bought into the scientific paradigm insisting that it, too, is science. Creationism and Intelligent Design are hallmarks of a failed religion, one that sees science as the real arbiter of Truth and whines, “But wait, don’t forget me! I’m science too! Hey, I’m even a better science that those real science guys!”

Organized religion is at a crossroads. It will either devolve into bad science, archaic social norms, and anachronistic traditionalism enforced by fear-based community standards that will suppress free thinking and creative innovation, or it will regain its soul, rediscover the power of its myths and legends, and learn how to tell them in a manner that provides insight into the human condition, and comfort, compassion, and justice for the human community.

While I know there are liberal religions resisting the bad science paradigm, I don't see any real creativity coming from any quarter. At present my money is on “bad science.”