A netfriend wrote:

I argued that there is a fundamental insecurity implicit in the stance taken by fundamentalists. This is underscored by [his] perception of being at the top of a slippery slide. His is a feeling with which I can resonate, having felt it myself when I was younger.

Much of the attraction of the fundamentalist viewpoint is in the way it offers certainties – so long as one can ignore the problems that are raised by a literalist interpretation of the scriptures. However, the only way I can make sense of the Bible these days is by reading it with an eye on biblical scholarship. But that leads only to uncertainty, and we need to be able to live with that kind of intellectual uncertainty.

My commitment to Christ (which was renewed when I came back to the church after half a lifetime away from it) came from a choice I made that was as much based on my perception of the Spirit moving in my life, as it was on any intellectual position; indeed, my experience was at odds with my intellectual beliefs of the time – which means only that I hadn’t got my beliefs right.

The only thing we can be sure of is that we will never understand God in this life – beliefs and dogma are really not worth arguing about. It is only the sureness of our faith that matters.

While I suspect that [he] and I would find little in common in our belief systems, he has as much chance of being “right” as have I (and vice versa). He remains, nonetheless, my brother in Christ, and whether he stays or leaves the list, is entitled to my prayers for the strength of his faith.