An Atheist in Praise of Bible Stories

As my PsychologyToday.com article today, I offer my reaction to this edited excerpt from a Christmas Day editorial in the Berkeley Daily Planet:

Wouldn't it be great if we all loved our neighbor because of the metaphor of Jesus rather than because we believed Jesus was the product of a virgin birth, could walk on water, and was resurrected after he died?

After all, once we're educated, we realize that no one comes back from the dead except in horror films; no one rises into the sky except in sci-fi. We wouldn’t have to be good for fear of not getting a reward and for fear that Santa  (shorthand for a Big Brother God,) is monitoring us when we are sleeping and when we are awake. We could be good for goodness' sake.