SET SAIL:

A Fundamentalist Faces God,
Nature, and Humanity

or

Just When You Thought It Was Safe

to Go Back into the Church—

Note: Each section has its own table of contents, including some
wrong page numbers, so check a few pages before or after.
And some illustrations appear largely blacked out—format incompatibilities.

I'm working on it.

Foreword
(download)

This establishes the impetus for the study.

It also explains core dynamics about the nature of the emotional brain,

setting the stage for how these relate pervasively to any study of religious faith and belief.

It also makes very explicit my own emotional and cognitive focus in this study.

I write most of it from the perspective I held during most of the years

I struggled through these things:

that of a fundamentalist.

Part 1: God
(not ready for download)

This scripture-intensive study goes into thorough detail on my early concerns

over theism and supernaturalism in general,

but especially regarding the Biblical God, both in print and in practice.

These sprouted as a result of studying my Bible extensively—

and trying to justify and defend it as literal, historic truth—

during middle school, high school and college.

Part II: Nature
(download)

The second section will summarize how empiricism

began further shifting my views during my 20’s and 30’s.

I still vigorously affirmed traditional Christianity,

though with increasing doubts about literalist theism,

and with increasing trust that nature alone will suffice.

This section also addresses the limits of empiricism, as I find too many naturalists/skeptics

just as dogmatic and irrational as most religious, literalist, fundamentalists.

Bringing out those dynamics, this section detours slightly into

necessary distinctions among theism, atheism, and agnosticism.

It also explains why atheism is logically as indefensible as theism.

Part III: Humanity
(download)

Back and forth emotionally and cognitively. I keep trying to balance

the right and wrong, the rational, nonrational, and irrational,

and everything in between on both sides.

Gotta make a choice. Finally, a scant three decades or so

after beginning this study, here it comes: the H-Word.

Feels like a conclusion. For a while, anyhow.

(These cycles of so-called understanding/enlightenment never let up.)

And in closing, let's think about prospects for the relevance of

religion, theism, and faith in the 21st century.

Appendices
(download main text)
(download “Early Documents,” appendix pp. 9–15)

Separate essays, expanding on specific points mentioned in the main document.

Lots of fun. Bring the kids.

all images and text © chuck bryant
unless otherwise noted