welling up in my throat about the history and psychology of religion. I wanted to expose him to the syncretic nature of Christian doctrine, the church’s ambiguous role as incubator and stifler of human knowledge. He said, “I wanted to warn him against the anti-intellectualism of American religion today and the political abuses to which it is subject. I wanted to cast doubt on the step he was about to take. I wanted to help him see there were other ways to live to seek knowledge, love, and self-transformation.