I am an atheist. I will likely always be an atheist. There is very little that would convince me of the existence of a literal, personal god that created the universe, and that said god is Yahweh, Allah, Zeus, or Indra. Yet, I realized today that I am not entirely nonreligious.

For the religious, soul is a very important notion. One of the problems many of a faithful disposition have with science is that it operates on a purely material view of the universe. That is, science posits that all phenomena, including human consciousness, can be explained through the interactions of matter. This leaves little room for an immaterial soul. But what exactly is soul, anyway?

I have for some time been in conflict with myself over the subjects of religion and atheism. At last, it seems that I have found an answer. Not the answer, but a beginning from which I can start a new journey.

On Pharyngula I found this nifty test to determine what kind of atheist you are. As it turns out, I'm a Spiritual Atheist. Which makes sense, because I don't consider myself quite an atheist. But I'm not quite not one either. The funny thing, though, is that Spiritual Atheist is close to the one title I thought of using to describe what I am, which is "Atheistic Spiritualist." Slightly different inflection, I suppose.

I must confess, I rejoiced a little when I heard Jerry Falwell died yesterday. I don't know how guilty I should feel about this, for he is a human being after all. However, everything I have heard about the man has pointed to a self-righteous and bigoted bible-thumper, as demonstrated by his denoting the 9/11 terrorist attacks as Yahweh's punishment for allowing homosexuality and abortion.