> Atheists have funny views about pantheism (or, as they prefer to call
> it, using another archaic term, deism). They seem to think it is
> inherently unstable, rather than that it's the stable norm of liberal
> religion that has been spreading in the west ever since Spinoza and
> which is now widespread and dominant.
But it hasn't been spreading. Your friend's Baptist church belongs to one of the many mainline Protestant denominations that have been in long-term decline since the 30's. The majority of growth in church membership - the large majority, I think - has been in theologically conservative denominations. And this seems to happen everywhere: Wherever the Volvo-driving pantheist ministers take over, the congregation shrinks and membership shifts to the praise churches.
I agree, though, that there's no good reason nowadays for opposition between secularists and "pantheists."
SA