. . .Once a believer has learned to think historically and critically, it is impossible any longer to think mythically. That is the ground on which this book stands; its subject is the positive transformation of religious thought that has defined much of Christianity, including Catholicism, during my lifetime. I intend to offer a defense of that transformation. Translation: once a "believer" has decided it's OK to sit in judgment on the Bible, rather than being judged by it, membership in the First Existential Church of the Warm Fuzzy confers a lot of perks.