Good post, Musket. Maybe I'll PM you at some point and we can discuss it in some more depth.

By the way, I don't consider "atheist" to be a term used to denote scorn or contempt. To me, it's a neutral term. It simply means someone who does not believe there's a God (or gods)(or Heaven)(or Hell)(etc.).

I do not have scorn or contempt for that viewpoint. I don't know if there's a God or gods or Heaven or Hell or any of the other usual stuff along that line. But I am open to various possibilities that there might be this or that along that line, given that I simply don't know. And I'm very curious and concerned about the moral and ethical questions which are raised by and in religion, and that's mainly why I'm interested in religions (all of them, not just the Judeo-Christian-Muslim tradition). I prefer to think that life has a noble and beautiful meaning and purpose, and most religions point strongly in that direction. That's what I like about them.