I always try to engage in discussions about religion, god, and the nature of reality as peacefully and non-biased as possible, because I didn't used to. I was very preachy in my Christian years, and when I found my home in paganism and occultism I was very hostile towards Christianity. Not the people, just the religion, but attacking a religion is often taken personally, anyway.
Today, I see the value in all sorts of belief systems, and I see where they all can connect on common ground. It's easy to be angry with a religion where people have done terrible things in its name, or when you really don't understand the metaphors being used in scriptures; and the big one is associating tragedy with the God of Abraham even when you don't believe he exists. People base their opinions far too much on mythos rather than taking responsibility for their own actions.
So, whether one believes in God or not isn't nearly as important as how we choose to treat each other, and how we choose to live our lives.
Spirituality is a personal matter, and should also be a very private matter. Those beliefs will be in vain if people go into the world with judgment and self-righteousness. Smiting wasn't the lesson of Jesus, or Buddha, or Mohammed no matter what anyone proclaims to justify their behavior. It's also not the lesson in any esoteric path. We are to shine a light so that others may see and come to find their own light.
Spirituality, under any name, is your own revelation in your own time. It is not a military protocol for occupation and conversion. You just cannot make someone enlightened. They are either ready for it and accept it, or they are not. From my own experience, God is not a needy child who has tantrums when nobody gives him/it attention. God just is. We either discover it or we don't. Either way, no one is in danger of some eternal punishment. Heaven and Hell are things we allow within ourselves. Hell just happens to be less likely when you live a spiritual life, because you have that guidance with you like an astronaut has mission control. Without it, that astronaut is lost in the cold, dark space, navigating on a whim, and depending on hope.
Hope is not the way of the enlightened. Hope is for the lost, the helpless, and for those who have given their power away. Enlightenment and spirituality is about knowing, because what is there to hope for when you know that everything is as it should be? When you think "like God" your perspective changes dramatically, and you understand that good and evil have a symbiotic relationship. One can transmute to its opposite in either direction. For an excellent expression of this concept watch The Dark Crystal and pay attention to its meaning, especially at the end.
