A pair of Blades socks

I appreciate your response, and I certainly don't mean to suggest that ALL Christians behave as they do, or to lump you in with them simply because of your religion. I also do not mean to imply that they are the ONLY reason why I no longer identify as such. I simply evoked that reason since one of their names came up in the thread. It's not that they decided what I should believe because they have no such power. It's that I have decided what to believe and what not to believe based on my collective evaluation of facts, to include religious history, biblical scripture, scientific evidence, logic, reason, and personal experience. And after putting everything to the test, I've concluded that there is no logical reason for me to believe in something that doesn't make sense just because I want to believe in it (which is what I previously did, and what I believe all religious people do). Faith is ultimately about desire, not facts. And I've decided that my beliefs will be based on facts. That's not to say that I still won't take inspiration from the bible every now and again. It still has its uses!