Wunper, I haven't read George Erickson's book, but Amazon.com customer reviews suggest that the author indulges himself in frequent anti-religious rants:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books
I'm an atheist myself, so this probably wouldn't offend me, but it sounds tedious and distracting. Can you confirm or deny what the reviews say?