Wow, Eric, the extremes of the belief system you were indoctrinated with as a child makes my liberal Lutheran upbringing seem like a picnic (with plenty of birthday cake and beer). Of course, it still takes much thought energy and analysis to deconvert, a process which is ongoing for me. I just started reading The God Delusion by Dawkins, and in the preface he talks about people "not knowing they could" (question their religious beliefs). I knew that I could, but did I really want to? As Dale McGowan says, "the desire to know" must exceed the "desire to believe." I think everyone is different in regard to if/when they reach that tipping point.