Reply #18: I don't believe in the God that atheists don't believe in

[VAliberal]

and I'm a PCUSA minister.

So far as evangelicalism and fundamentalism go - I am an atheist. I personally cannot believe in God as 'a being,' a tribal deity, a sky-god.

I love naturalism, atheism, secularism - they all invigorate and inform my own thinking about ethics, science, etc. But, too often - and Dawkins is an excellent example - contemporary atheism is attacking a view of God, a straw-man really, that is the worst example of monotheistic fundamentalism.

I find myself informed by process theology, empirical theism, secular Judaism, insights from Hindu and Buddhist traditions and other sources - including atheist, agnostic and freethinking writers. I think one can use 'God-talk,' use the language of faith, the liturgy and ritual of religion; can celebrate and revel in the mystery, horror and beauty of existence, without buying into the most primitive parodies of theism or faith employed by some of our atheist friends.

My 2 cents.