I’m not sure that I meet the level of certainty needed to call myself a dedicated atheist because I can’t offer convincing proof that god doesn’t exist. But on the other hand neither can I prove to any degree of certainty that god does exist. That leaves me stranded in the intellectual middle ground of uncertainty.
I’m clearly not a Christian, nor a Jew, nor a Muslim, nor a Hindu, nor a Buddhist. And I do acknowledge the possibility that god could exist in some form or another. But that isn’t probable.
However if god does exist it’s in none of the commercial forms represented by the big five religions. Bottom line, I strongly doubt that a god exists.
Since I don’t believe in a god and in fact actually doubt that gods exists, I suppose that I do meet the minimum standard – lack of belief – necessary to call myself an atheist.
So yes, I’m an atheist.
But that’s not what defines me. Atheism only tells you that I don’t believe in a god. It doesn’t tell you what I do believe or how I think.
What I believe is this.
That we are very much a product of our environment unless we make a dedicated effort otherwise. Our environment feeds us experiences. But it’s only a partial view of reality which must be balanced out by deliberate effort to provide a whole and complete view of reality. Otherwise we are nothing more than a product of precedence and chance.
This is the mistake most people make. They mistake what “fate” has given them as the only reality and never explore beyond. They are trapped within their limited base of knowledge and experiences.
But for those who can see beyond there is a whole new world, a whole new way of thinking. Thinking that is independent of their culture, their gender, their nationality. People aren’t fully human until they start see beyond their small and limited environment.
But unfortunately that option is beyond the reach of most people. They are too ingrained in their past, or just fighting to survive. Independent thinking is not in the cards of most people for these kind of practical reasons.
But as society advances independent thinking is a logical evolution beyond the tribalism and culturally dependent thinking that dominates the world today.
Am I an athiest? Yes. But “atheism” is only a stepping stone on the path to a better way of thinking.