On non-belief and the existence of God

[Neo-Scholastic]

Christianity, as encapsulated in the Bible and taken with the assumption that it is substantially true, is clearly full of shit...Now Deity vs. no Deity, or an abstract philosophical construct worthy of the name "God," okay then I'm more likely to get on board.

My position exactly and one I've been advocated since the beginning of my time here on AF. On its surface the canonical Scriptures contain many things that are not scientifically or even mathematically true. I believe the value of these texts and many apocryphal texts lies in their esoteric meaning. I should point out however that the New Church considers this interior meaning to be much more that mere allegory. Swedenborg uses the term correspondence to indicate this more strong relationship between the biblical narrative and spiritual realties.

Now Deity vs. no Deity, or an abstract philosophical construct worthy of the name "God," okay then I'm more likely to get on board.

This is the same position as Aquinas. The 1st and 2nd ways (I think) are not stand alone 'proofs' like many modern readers assume. Instead his arguments show that the Christian concept of God aligns with the pagan 'god of the philosophers' already proven in the ancient Greek philosophical tradition.