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Regarding Mystic Atheism, I think I can identify to a degree with the core 'mystic' experience you describe. I always have been very sceptical about religion, but I think I still must have had traces of the feeling that there must be something to it, partly because so many apparently intelligent people seemed to take it seriously, partly just by osmosis because the ideas and religion-based assumptions are so pervasive in our society. Then a few years ago I went on a near idyllic scuba-diving holiday on a classic tropical island in Vanuatu. In a couple of tours around the nearby islands, I experienced classic natural beauty. In encounters with the local people, I could sense traces of something that I can't quite describe, what I guess in earlier times would have been described as 'innocence', a 'closeness to nature', despite the obvious intrusion of some of the trappings of western civilization, not to mention missionary activities. The children in particular were entrancing in their happy innocence, dancing, playing in water-holes, smiling and waving at us.

I spent significant periods of time just relaxing, soaking in the beautiful surroundings, and contemplating 'Life the Universe and Everything'. It must have crossed my mind how utterly irrelevant the classic religious obsessions were in grasping such high points of experience.

How much the cumulative effect of these experiences contributed I don't know, but I seemed to see with greater clarity than before the utter absurdity of most of the core religious ideas, such as the stuff you present in your wonderful parody/parable. I became much more confident in my own judgement. I *knew* that the people accepting or even pushing these ideas were really no more competent than I was in these matters, so despite the their pervasiveness, it was perfectly reasonable to assert that 'there is NOTHING to them but human wants and self-delusion'. The emperor really has no clothes. I had the feeling of flushing the last traces of this silliness from my mind. Scales falling from my eyes, etc. This all culminated in an 'epiphany' in the taxi ride home from the airport. I felt such a strong feeling of 'Yes! I see it all! I UNDERSTAND. The universe is so much grander to contemplate when you *completely* remove that crap!' That doesn't fully describe it, but it was intense and wonderful, and I haven't really been able to repeat it. Of course we don't understand everything, but that stuff ONLY GETS IN THE WAY OF UNDERSTANDING ourselves, our fellow humans, and everything else.

Of course the dark side of the natural world such as earthquakes and tsunamis only reinforces the absurdity of the whole loving God idea.

Thank you for reading this far, I just felt compelled to share an experience which seemed to have some significant similarities with your own.