My Youth Pastor's Pleading Letter to Me

[Aractus]

I want to repsond in a way that will at least get him to think.
...
I think I barfed in my mouth slightly. He's a genuine, heartfelt guy, but he's choosing to feel rather than think. How can I reason with that?? I just don't know.

As a recent ex-xian I'd say get him on his facts.

Here's an easy one:

"He chose the Hebrews to be an example to the rest of creation as to what it looks like to be in a life-giving relationship with Him."

That's true, the god of Abraham chose the Hebrews as an "example" to the "rest of creation", there's a fact everyone agrees upon. Why then did ancient Egypt have near equal rights for women while the ancient Hebrews most certainly did not*? Why then does this same god demand that Abraham be willing to sacrifice his "only" son Isaac to him as a test of his righteousness? Try this one on for size - there's been humans on the planet for at least 200,000 years and possibly longer, how were the Hebrews examples to the Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Indigenous Americans, Aboriginal Australians, South Africans, etc?

If you ask the second question the answer you will usually hear is "God didn't accept the sacrifice ..." or "God wasn't really going to accept the sacrifice" - in which case say "I didn't say that I said he demanded that Abraham be willing to sacrifice his only son".

*You can prove this point with the fact that God decrees male slaves serve for 7 years and then be set free, but female slaves shall never be freed - there is no great proof than that that the ancient Hebrews/Israelites/Jews did not have anywhere near the gender-equality of Egypt or Rome.