"But what about the moderates?"

[Whateverist]

The bible is all there is, in reality, of Christianity. So if you don't take that seriously, you're just making up whatever you want. Which is fine, but why call yourself a Christian and prop up the mental fun dies?

To take the bible seriously does not require taking it literally. In fact, the opposite would be a more serious, adult and educated approach. To study the bible as a text rather than as the revealed word of whatever is a much more reasonable approach.

Of course that makes it much harder to scoff at or ridicule. But maybe we'd do better to let sleeping straw men lie and address the best case for religion rather than the worst.

Its a book of fairy tales mixed with a bit of history. There's not much more to say about it. If you find a few useful things in it, great. You can take them away without having to lump yourself in with the deluded.

And when people do just this and say they find meaning in the fairy tales what then? Aren't they doing exactly as you suggest by taking what is useful? Of course many will then feel compelled to embrace and defend every scrap or phrase and that's a pity. But I would encourage the religious to take this approach.