“Religious moderation, insofar as it represents an attempt to hold on to what is still serviceable in orthodox religion, closes the door to more sophisticated approaches to spirituality, ethics, and the building of strong communities. Religious moderates seem to believe that what we need is not radical insight and innovation in these areas but a mere dilution of Iron Age philosophy.”

“A kernel of truth lurks at the heart of religion, because spiritual experience, ethical behavior, and strong communities are essential for human happiness. And yet our religious traditions are intellectually defunct and politically ruinous. While spiritual experience is clearly a natural propensity of the human mind, we need not believe anything on insufficient evidence to actualize it.”

“The radical intelligence in the moderate position is the only place where the center holds. Or so it seems.”

“Religious moderation is the product of secular knowledge and scriptural ignorance.”

“Religious structure often dilutes the spiritual experience.”

“The problem that religious moderation poses for all of us is that it does not permit anything very critical to be said about religious literalism.”