My dear Teresa, I am a Christian and I have never ever felt offended by you. Nor do I ever expect to feel offended by you.

I grew up in a rationalist family, started to become a Christian in college and, after 45 years, am still becoming one. Much of what I know about religion and/or spirituality boils down to this: a robust, living faith welcomes questions, can answer criticisms cogently, gives mockery a pitying smile and asks the state only for neutrality. Those that beg the state for help in quashing questions, etc., are brittle and already-moribund 'faiths'. If a faith has nothing in it that can stand the test of other ideas, scrap it, sez I. Also, we who enjoy thinking seem to be a dangerously small minority among bipeds. There, probably, is the root problem.