Difference between revisions of "History of Atheism"
Conservative (talk | contribs) |
Conservative (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 18: | Line 18: | ||
The French Revolution (1789-94) would dramatically transform the power relationship between belief and unbelief in [[Europe]]: whereas before atheism had been 'high brow', discussed in the cafes and salons of Paris, henceforth it would set itself down among the people. A strident unbelief became a real political factor in public life, as the anticlerical 'dechristianisation' period following the revolution would demonstrate. The impact of the French Revolution in inspiring people to put the irreligious ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] into practice would extend beyond [[France]] to other [[Europe|European]] countries, and to the American colonies (although in the latter it would take a [[deism|deistic]] rather than atheistic form).<ref>http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyeighteenth.html</ref>}} | The French Revolution (1789-94) would dramatically transform the power relationship between belief and unbelief in [[Europe]]: whereas before atheism had been 'high brow', discussed in the cafes and salons of Paris, henceforth it would set itself down among the people. A strident unbelief became a real political factor in public life, as the anticlerical 'dechristianisation' period following the revolution would demonstrate. The impact of the French Revolution in inspiring people to put the irreligious ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] into practice would extend beyond [[France]] to other [[Europe|European]] countries, and to the American colonies (although in the latter it would take a [[deism|deistic]] rather than atheistic form).<ref>http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyeighteenth.html</ref>}} | ||
| − | == Atheism and | + | == Atheism and atheistic communism == |
| − | According to the [[University of Cambridge]], historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninists]] to power."<ref name="Marxism-Leninsim">{{cite web|url = http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title =Marxism|publisher = [[University of Cambridge]]|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref> Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg, a Soviet physicist, wrote that the "[[Bolshevik]] communists were not merely atheists but, according to [[Lenin]]'s terminology, [[militant atheist]]s."<ref name="Lenin & militant atheism">{{cite web|url = http://books.google.com/books?id=ufC9Ar8iuDcC&pg=PA161&dq=The+Bolshevik+communists+were+not+merely+atheists+but,+according+to+Lenin%27s+terminology,+militant+atheists.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1oFUUdj6PIiK0QGvq4CAAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Bolshevik%20communists%20were%20not%20merely%20atheists%20but%2C%20according%20to%20Lenin's%20terminology%2C%20militant%20atheists.&f=false|title =On Superconductivity and Superfluidity: A Scientific Autobiography |author=Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg|publisher = [[Springer Science+Business Media]]|year=2009|quote=The Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists | + | ''See also:'' [[Militant atheism]] and [[Atheism and communism]] |
| + | |||
| + | According to the [[University of Cambridge]], historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the [[Marxism-Leninism|Marxist-Leninists]] to power."<ref name="Marxism-Leninsim">{{cite web|url = http://www.investigatingatheism.info/marxism.html|title =Marxism|publisher = [[University of Cambridge]]|quote=The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.|year=2008|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref> Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg, a Soviet physicist, wrote that the "[[Bolshevik]] communists were not merely atheists but, according to [[Lenin]]'s terminology, [[militant atheist]]s."<ref name="Lenin & militant atheism">{{cite web|url = http://books.google.com/books?id=ufC9Ar8iuDcC&pg=PA161&dq=The+Bolshevik+communists+were+not+merely+atheists+but,+according+to+Lenin%27s+terminology,+militant+atheists.&hl=en&sa=X&ei=1oFUUdj6PIiK0QGvq4CAAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Bolshevik%20communists%20were%20not%20merely%20atheists%20but%2C%20according%20to%20Lenin's%20terminology%2C%20militant%20atheists.&f=false|title =On Superconductivity and Superfluidity: A Scientific Autobiography |author=Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg|publisher = [[Springer Science+Business Media]]|year=2009|quote=The Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists.|accessdate = 2011–03–15}}</ref> | ||
=== Oppression in atheistic communist regimes === | === Oppression in atheistic communist regimes === | ||
Revision as of 21:37, August 23, 2013
The history of atheism, depending on how one defines the term, can be dated to as early as the 6th century BC, or as recently as the late 18th century AD. The word atheism itself was not coined until the 16th century.[2]
The earliest possible examples of atheism involve Eastern religions such as Jainism, Buddhism and Taoism, which do not include a deity. These date back to the 6th century BC, but there is some dispute over whether these religions can be classified as atheistic, in the sense of denying the existence of gods, as many other branches of these religions do incorporate deity worship. In some such religions, the question of the existence of gods is considered to be unimportant rather than a question which can be answered one way or the other. This stance can be better described by the neologism apatheism.
Atheism can also be traced to Ancient Greece in the 5th century BC. Diagoras of Melos is often referred to as "The First Atheist", and other men who claimed to be atheists include Theodorus of Cyrene and Euhemerus. Epicurus and Lucretius, who are often described as atheists, believed that the gods existed but that they were unconcerned with human affairs: a position better described as Deism than atheism. Protagoras espoused a position which we would describe today as agnosticism, stating that "With regard to the gods I am unable to say either that they exist or do not exist."[3] At the time, however, atheism was a capital offense in Greece - it was the crime for which Socrates was executed, though he denied the charge. It is therefore possible that some individuals may have concealed their true beliefs.
In Medieval and Renaissance Europe, instances of atheism are rare. The existence of arguments put forward to demonstrate God's existence by Aquinas, Anselm and others suggests that non-belief was not unheard of, but few records of it are known.
Modern atheism did not begin until the Enlightenment. In addition, the French Revolution increased the spread of atheism in Europe.[4] Baron D'Holbach's book The System of Nature was the first publication which explicitly denied the existence of God. Other atheists from this time included the philosopher David Hume. Others denied being atheists (heresy and blasphemy were capital offences) but held materialistic, empiricist, broadly deistic views; these include Voltaire, Thomas Hobbes, Thomas Paine, John Locke, Immanuel Kant and Benjamin Franklin.
French Revolution and atheism
The University of Cambridge reports the following historical relationship between atheism and the French Revolution:
| “ | Between 1700 and 1750 thousands of atheistic clandestine manuscripts circulated across Europe (although still only read by a very small minority)...
The French Revolution (1789-94) would dramatically transform the power relationship between belief and unbelief in Europe: whereas before atheism had been 'high brow', discussed in the cafes and salons of Paris, henceforth it would set itself down among the people. A strident unbelief became a real political factor in public life, as the anticlerical 'dechristianisation' period following the revolution would demonstrate. The impact of the French Revolution in inspiring people to put the irreligious ideas of the Enlightenment into practice would extend beyond France to other European countries, and to the American colonies (although in the latter it would take a deistic rather than atheistic form).[5] |
” |
Atheism and atheistic communism
See also: Militant atheism and Atheism and communism
According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."[6] Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg, a Soviet physicist, wrote that the "Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists."[7]
Oppression in atheistic communist regimes
- See also: Atheism and mass murder and Atheism and communism
The atheism in communist regimes has been and continues to be militant atheism and various acts of repression including the razing of thousands of religious buildings and the killing, imprisoning, and oppression of religious leaders and believers.[8]
It has been estimated that in less than the past 100 years, governments under the banner of communism have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 to 259,432,000 human lives.[9] Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel's mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.[10]
Atheism and abortion
The father of medicine, Hippocrates, expressly prohibited abortion in his ethical Oath long before Christianity.
The Journal of Medical Ethics declared concerning the atheist and sadist Marquis de Sade, who was imprisoned a number of times before being committed to an insane asylum:
| “ | In 1795 the Marquis de Sade published his La Philosophic dans le boudoir, in which he proposed the use of induced abortion for social reasons and as a means of population control. It is from this time that medical and social acceptance of abortion can be dated, although previously the subject had not been discussed in public in modern times. It is suggested that it was largely due to de Sade's writing that induced abortion received the impetus which resulted in its subsequent spread in western society."[12] | ” |
Women, history and atheism
See also: Atheism and women
In the 1770s, the French philosopher Paul-Henri Thiry observed a dearth of female atheists.[13] The English poet Edward Young (June 5, 1681 – April 5, 1765) wrote to satirically signal earthly apocalypse: "Atheists have been rare, since nature’s birth; Till now, she-atheists ne’er appear’d on earth."[14] In a letter written in the 1760s, the English essayist Bonnell Thornton wrote: "Good God! A Female Atheist! … One is not half so shocked at the idea of a Female Murderer; A Female Murderer, in the worse of senses, of her own children, of herself."[15] In 1813, the prominent doctor Thomas Cogan (founder of the Royal Humane Society) declared: "Men contemplate a female atheist with more disgust and horror than if she possessed the hardest features embossed with carbuncles."[16]
Atheism and religion
Contrary to the opinions of evangelical atheists, atheism is a religion which has repeatedly attempted to take away the religious liberties of Christians in order to support their false religion.[17] Using unproven theories, Darwinists indoctrinate youths in the United States in high school and college. Although atheists claim that atheism is a religion the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that atheism is a religion as it fits in the definition of how “[a] religion is based on a belief in the existence of God [or] religions founded on different beliefs."[18]
Schools of atheist thought
see: Schools of atheist thought
See also
- Resources for leaving atheism and becoming a Christian
- Evidence for Christianity
- Atheist factions
- Abortion and atheism
- Atheism and deception
- Atheism videos
- Creation vs. Evolution Videos
- Atheism and satanic deception
- Atheism and beliefs
- Atheism
- Christianity in Conservapedia
External Links
Recommended Reading
- Dimitry Pospielovsky, (December, 1987), A History of Marxist-Leninist Atheism and Soviet Antireligious Policies, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0312381328
- Dimitry Pospielovsky, (November, 1987), Soviet Antireligious Campaigns and Persecutions (History of Soviet Atheism in Theory and Practice and the Believers, Vol 2), Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 0312009054
- Dimitry Pospielovsky, (August, 1988), Soviet Studies on the Church and the Believer's Response to Atheism: A History of Soviet Atheism in Theory and Practice and the Believers, Vol 3, Palgrave Macmillan, hardcover: ISBN 0312012918, paperback: ISBN 0312012926
References
- ↑ http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM
- ↑ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atheism
- ↑ Cicero, De Natura Deorum
- ↑ http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyeighteenth.html
- ↑ http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyeighteenth.html
- ↑ Marxism. University of Cambridge (2008). Retrieved on 2011–03–15. “The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.”
- ↑ Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg (2009). On Superconductivity and Superfluidity: A Scientific Autobiography. Springer Science+Business Media. Retrieved on 2011–03–15. “The Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists.”
- ↑
- Underground Christians fear China crackdown
- A Century of Violence in Soviet Russia
- On Compromise in the Hierarchy During the Communist Yoke
- Korean Reds Targeting Christians
- North Korean and Chinese Atrocities Against Christians Worsen
- China sends Bible owners to labor camp
- China: Christians Tortured While Under Arrest
- ↑
- ↑ http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/COM.ART.HTM
- ↑ http://jme.bmj.com/content/6/1/7.abstract
- ↑ http://jme.bmj.com/content/6/1/7.abstract
- ↑ From Hitchens to Dawkins: Where are the women of New Atheism?
- ↑ From Hitchens to Dawkins: Where are the women of New Atheism?
- ↑ From Hitchens to Dawkins: Where are the women of New Atheism?
- ↑ From Hitchens to Dawkins: Where are the women of New Atheism?
- ↑ http://shockawenow.blogspot.com/2011/10/cutting-off-air-supply-of-atheism_573.html
- ↑ http://factschurch.com/sermons/sermon004.html