i used to be a "former atheist" too. just because most new atheist types are dogmatically glued to a narrow form of materialist empiricism doesn't mean the reasonable thing to do is to abandon the principle of skepticism in favor of faith. i was baptized and chrismated at a greek orthodox church and tried in earnest to live the "divine life", participating in the unfolding of god's holy mysteries with humble yet thoughtful reverence; not demanding that i be able to apprehend spiritual truths through rational inquiry but instead seeking his wisdom through prayer and blah blah blah blah blah. i am so tired of the constant metaphysical speculation of the faithful and the neoplatonic types. with a mind still open to the endless possibilities that can be found in a universe we don't understand, i find materialism to be infinitely more reasonable than said speculation. why should i believe in something like a human "essence" when the human form is obviously contingent on the selective pressures acting upon it over time? when did the essential, eternal, and unchanging essence of "man" become fixed? homo erectus? neanderthalis? yes, i realize those are categories we imposed retroactively - big whoop. should i reject evolution but believe in miracles? abdicate my own discernment and just prostrate myself before god as defined by the church and deny every instinct i have to the contrary? why? so i don't go to hell?  i left the church when i realized that fear, guilt, and shame are its true bread and butter. you can keep eating though. i prefer nietzsche. > inb4 syphilis  > inb4 horse of turin > inb4 incel miss me with that shit.
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