Talk:Essay:Surprising Dates of Origin for Terms

I hope you don't mind my adding to the essay, but I don't think it can be emphasized enough that even when it was used, "separation of church and state" did NOT imply a limit on religious freedoms of any kind. --BenP 12:56, 2 May 2009 (EDT)

"What did flags hang on for centuries before that?" Flagstaffs. LarsJ 13:59, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

Excellent! "Flagstaff" it must have been.--Andy Schlafly 14:33, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

Theism

Maybe the reason the term "atheism" was only popularized after theism is because atheism literally means "without theism"? This shouldn't be construed to mean that atheists didn't exist before the 1800s-- after all, there were even atheists in Ancient Greece, like Epicurus, famous for his "Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?" observation. STam 13:59, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

I think Epicurus was more of a deist or agnostic than an atheist. He did admit that gods might exist but they had no influence on the world. However, I would guess there were atheists before the 1800s if the word first appeared in 1587. --OscarJ 14:13, 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.--Andy Schlafly 14:33, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

English words

This article appears to give the dates when these words first appeared in English. Isn't it possible that words for these concepts already existed in other languages before that? --OscarJ 14:16, 14 June 2009 (EDT)

Maybe, maybe not. Regardless the surprising dates of origin in English are still ... surprising.--Andy Schlafly 14:33, 14 June 2009 (EDT)