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, along with every other Communist who has ever lived, 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?