Kate, thank you for this thread.
Can it really be wrong to explore by expressing viewpoints, asking questions, and starting or participating on a thread (conversation) if one is not yet an expert on the topic?
One imagines JWN would die a quick death. Heaven forbid.
I believe many of the laws of the universe have been designed to be autonomous and can be objectively studied without reference to the one who created science, the universe, order, consciousness, life and the laws which govern the universe.
One is then free to take any view on a/the creator and his existence or non-existence.
However, I believe, and have personally experienced, that one sees more, and learns quicker, when in harmony with the creator and his message.
I have also experienced the very opposite when under the authority, power and control of religion, which I conclude is the common enemy of God and man.