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Line 4: − == Proponents of atheism == − Atheism is an ancient point of view -- neither "modern" or "revolutionary." In fact, atheism is older than both [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]]. − Many people have been called atheists throughout history -- in fact, Christians were alleged to be atheists in the first century, because of their denial of the Greek pantheon. However, while Christians denied the existence of the ''Greek'' gods, they ''acknowledged'' the existence of the ''Christian'' God. Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians, 2nd century b.c. Similarly, [[Socrates]] was accused of atheism because he denied the pantheon, despite his myriad references to God throughout the writings about him. Therefore, atheists must be understood with reference to ''which'' gods they disbelieved. − − Prominent atheists and atheist schools of thought include: − * Carvaka school: an atheistic and materialistic offshoot of [[Hinduism]] in the 6th century b.c. − * Samkhya school: an atheistic school of classical Indian philosophy, originating in the 6th century b.c. − * Diagoras: Greek philosopher who denied the existence of the Greek pantheon − * Epicurus: Greek philosopher espousing [[materialism]], and stated that, even if the gods exist, they do not interact with humans and are therefore non-existent for all practical purposes; − * Lucretius: Greek philosopher espousing materialism, and stated that man should not believe in the gods because their ideas about the gods and their fear of death made men unhappy; − * [[Karl Marx]]: founder of Communism; − * Friedrich Nietzsche: Prominent 20th century atheist philosopher; − * [[Lenin]] and [[Stalin]]: Early Communist leaders in Russia; − * [[Mao Zedong]]: Chinese Communist leader; − * Paul Kurtz: founder of the Council of [[Secular Humanism]]
→Proponents of atheism
== Biblical Statements Regarding Atheism ==
== Biblical Statements Regarding Atheism ==