Am thoroughly enjoying this thread. Many similar thoughts and feelings. Having been raised with a pro-forma presbyterianism which was not really discussed at home, it never resonated with me. As a young man, I got involved with a fairly "liberal" presbyterian church which presented many new (to me) ideas and attitudes that were, at first, very compelling. As time went on I began to feel alienated even from this for reasons I have yet to explain to myself. Been wandering in the wilderness ever since having no real desire to embrace religion. About 17 years ago I met (and married) a wonderful Jewish woman. Through stories of her experiences I began to pay a little more attention to Judaism. One of the most compelling ideas is the notion that we are not even to utter or spell the name, much less define it in human terms. And the notion that the emphasis of the faith is on the here and now and not the sweet by and by. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts and possibly getting more involved in the discussions.
Cheers to all and thank you for letting me share