I have been an atheist and a convinced materialist for most of my life, up until 2021. However, from 2021 to 2023, I went through a phase where I started believing in the existence of a single, omnipotent God, and I also started believing in the existence of Hell and Heaven, though I didn’t follow any specific religion. I extensively described the spiritual beliefs I had at the time in a post I published in this thread on May 14, 2023. A few months after I published that post, I returned to being an atheist and a convinced materialist.
Now, while this shift from being an atheist to believing in God and the afterlife might seem sudden, it actually made sense given the circumstances. In 2021, I underwent a very complicated surgery, and I wasn’t sure if everything would turn out well. That uncertainty caused me to abandon my usual rational mindset and place my hope in a higher power, something larger than myself. It was a deeply emotional and vulnerable time, and my belief in God, Heaven, and Hell emerged from that.
However, after reflecting on those experiences in the months following my May 2023 post, I eventually returned to my previous stance. I’m still an atheist and a convinced materialist to this day.
I’d also like to add that in my view, a very important distinction needs to be made between atheists and anti-theists. From what I’ve experienced in my life, your average atheist rejects God personally but has no problem with others thinking otherwise. Its the anti-theists who go nuts every time religious people (especially Christians) take a stand, hurling insults and character attacks.
I consider myself a staunch Communist, fully convinced that scientific atheism should replace all forms of religion on Earth. However, I don’t believe that this process should be carried out by force, but rather by peaceful education. Furthermore, I’m often the first to defend Christians when I see them being unfairly attacked due to misconceptions others may have about their religion. While I do philosophically oppose Christianity, and religion as a whole, I also believe in intellectual honesty. So, if someone criticizes Christianity for reasons I don’t agree with or based on flawed perceptions of Christian theology, I’m the first to defend it against those unjustified and misguided attacks. Do you think this stance counts as anti-theism?