1. I find it interesting that people read your essay as a refutation of religion. I took it as a refutation of those that insist that there is only ONE way to view God. If there realy is an infinite, all knowing, ever present entity, isn't it a little presumptuous of us to claim that we can clearly define that which is everywhere and everything? We do our best to decribe a relationship that is limited in and to our perception of that relationship. We are limited in our experience and view, therefore our definition will also be circumspect.
(Now you know why I never got better than a C in philosophy.
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2. It appears to me that in fact many people "love their neighbors as they love themselves." The key here has less to do with how they treat their neighbors and more with how they treat themselves. It has been my observation of life that people tend to have a harder time treating themselves well then they do their neighbors.