
Originally Posted by
umbradiago
Some atheists still refer to spirituality.
.. So why do some atheists regard spiritualism as distinct from religious faith ?
Spirituality: A belief that the unseen world is populated by spirits, both good and evil and these have influence over the affairs of Man. Power can be had by persuading the bad spirits to work under the guidance of the good ones, by 'magical' means. To get a full understanding of this you would have to consult ancient keys and grimoires. Utter nonsense of course.
Now that we live in an increasing age of reason the word has changed its meaning to just about anything you like. As an example of this take the word 'awful'. Originally it meant the opposite to today's meaning (full of awe).
Personally I get spirituality from reading books about the early history of mankind and how our species nearly died out on a number of occasions, but the fortitude and resiliance of our species prevailed. Did you know that the average global human population in the last half million years has only been ten thousand? We are lucky to be here at all. Chimps could be ruling the planet!
Spiritualism: This is indeed different, and incredibly survives from Victorian times even today. Some of the wise and famous were taken in by it, but its no more than a magic trick.
Faith: This is for fools who can provide no evidence for their weird and wonderful beliefs, and who try to make fools of the rest of us with their assertions that people live for over 900 years, are turned into pillars of salt, are virgin born, and even rise from the dead.