A problem with the word "atheist"

[tjakey]

We don't usually get to pick our own labels. I don't believe in any gods, so "atheist" is the label, and I am okay with that. Unfortunately, in most people's minds (including atheists) "atheist" is usually synonymous with "materialist". Yet, strictly speaking, i am not a materialist. There are a lot of mysteries in the cosmos, mysteries that do not seem compatible with the claim that bits of matter bouncing around explains everything. Does that mean I leave room for gods in there somewhere? No. It just means that I suspect our species is simply too limited, too young, and (likely) not intelligent enough to grasp much. I suspect the myriad of things that are beyond us are an embarrassment to a species so deeply proud of being "an intelligent species", and so we create gods to make us feel better about ourselves. But I also suspect that, if we really could get our minds around what actually is, we would find our concepts and claims of god to be laughable, perhaps a bit pathetic, and certainly not worth serious consideration.