I think that was a typo on your part. Please repeat, I don't understand what you're saying. Did you mean "...not THAT self evident though"?

I don't think my attitude to the mystical has changed in the slightest, although perhaps I'm not the best judge of my own state of mind.

I consider myself a very philosophical, even spiritual person. By "spiritual", I mean I have a very deep curiosity about what the universe is, how it works, and my relationship to it. It's what attracted me to science in the first place. It is all a great mystery, and I haven't a clue what it all means.

The standard conception of spirituality, that there is a god who takes care of us and will reward us by letting us live happily forever after if we follow his rules, I find very difficult to take seriously. And I hope I don't offend anyone listening, but I find it very difficult to take anyone who does believe that very seriously either. Perhaps that is what you mean by "ridicule and oppose".

That view of spirituality simply doesn't fit in with my conception of just how wonderful and beautiful the universe really is. It cheapens it. It is too simple to be real, and too easy to be true.