I am aware that not all Christians believe the same as John Milton. I realize that many reject the doctrines of the inequality of women, condemnation for honest questioning, and the literal interpretation of Genesis altogether. I applaud this courage, but it cannot be denied that many of these ideas are explicitly taught in the Bible. The solution is not merely to discard them and retain belief in the rest of the Bible – the solution is to set the Bible and its anti-humanistic claims aside entirely. There was no past Paradise from which we fell for the crime of wanting to understand the world. There is no future Hell awaiting those who dare to question and think for themselves. There is nothing for an honest investigator to fear. We are not fallen, we are not sinners, we are not wretches. We are human beings, all equal, and when we finally awake from the mythological dreams of our past, we will know and understand the much brighter light of the world as it truly is – and in that understanding lie the true keys to an earthly paradise