Changes

:It's a myth that were atheists in ancient times.  There may not even be true atheists today.  More typically an "atheist" is simply an anti-Christian.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 14:33, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

:It's a myth that were atheists in ancient times.  There may not even be true atheists today.  More typically an "atheist" is simply an anti-Christian.--[[User:Aschlafly|Andy Schlafly]] 14:33, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

::Well if Atheist means antichristian then there were atheists long ago, like Saul --[[User:CJHallock|CJHallock]] 15:34, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

@ STam and OscarJ: Everything I've read says that the term "atheist" was used purely as an insult until the Enlightenment, and that the first person to positively identify himself as an atheist was the French priest Jean Meslier (1664-1729, for an essay about him, see [http://www.wpunj.edu/newpol/issue40/Onfray40.htm here]).

 

@ Andy: I agree with you on one point, that since atheism as a philosophical movement began in Enlightenment Europe as a reaction against Christianity, then it would seem to follow that it's anachronistic to apply it backwards to the Greeks. As a general descriptor though, for someone who openly denies the existence of gods, we know full well from Cicero that some of the Ancient Greek philosophers were atheists. Beyond that, I can't figure out what you mean by a "true atheist." There are plenty of self-identifying atheists in the world today, especially in places like Japan where it's not likely an anti-Christian phenomenon. What's your definition of a true atheist, then? [[User:JDWpianist|JDWpianist]] 16:41, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

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