Thank you for the conversation.

As for your initial comment, and not knowing any of the persons,you are referring to, my assumption (presumption or guess) is that those persons were denominational Christians, nominal Christians, or religious people who thought they were Christians.

I have failed to persuade you of the difference between Biblical Believing and Religious Believing. I am sorry for that.

I do agree with your second point of people who have taken the Exit to [deconstruction], but with a slightly different aspect that it is a valid pursuit of self-examining assumptions, challenging what they believe - as in, "Why do I believe what I believe?" So, not so much criticism of self. (That could become depressing.) Notwithstanding, my analogy was of the straight-up atheists who may never have attended church - plain critics who like playing at intellectual discourse where there is no real discourse, no verbal intercourse, just attacks.

As for the "game" itself, it is a serious game of life or death. That is why I added "participation sport." Anyways, you are certainly entitled to criticize my ham handed use of words and pass judgment on my faith in God, but what's the point? If you hold me up to your arbitrary standard of perfection I am sure you will consider me as a failure. So what?

Comparing Belief in God to common folklore like fairy tales, legends, myths, tall tales, and fables is quite a stretch. To me it is similar to comparing History to Conspiracy Theories or Science to speculations.

Try to understand this excerpt from Acts 17: So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

I think the many people turning away from Christian religions do so because they really are like the Athenians, worshiping the God in the Bible but a god who really and truly remains unknown to them in any kind of a personal way.