See also:

• ATHEISM (from Gr. as, privative, and Oebs, God)

ATHEISM (from Gr. as, privative, and Oebs, See also:

• GOD

God)  , literally a See also:

• SYSTEM

system of belief which denies the existence of See also:

• GOD

God . The See also:

• TERM

term as generally used, however, is highly ambiguous . Its meaning varies (a) according to the various See also:

• DEFINITIONS

definitions of deity, and especially (b) according as it is (i.) deliberately adopted by a thinker as a description of his own theological standpoint, or (ii.) applied by one set of thinkers to their opponents . As to (a), it is obvious that See also:

• ATHEISM (from Gr. as, privative, and Oebs, God)

atheism from the standpoint of the See also:

• CHRISTIAN
• CHRISTIAN, WILLIAM (1608-1663)

Christian is a very different conception as compared with atheism as understood by a Deist, a Positivist, a follower of See also:

• EUHEMERUS [EUEMERUS, EVEMERUS]

Euhemerus or See also:

• HERBERT (FAMILY)
• HERBERT, GEORGE (1593-1633)
• HERBERT, HENRY WILLIAM
• HERBERT, SIR THOMAS (1606-1682)

Herbert See also:

• SPENCER
• SPENCER, HERBERT (1820-1903)
• SPENCER, JOHN CHARLES SPENCER, 3RD EARL (1782-1845)
• SPENCER, JOHNPOYNTZ SPENCER
• SPENCER, WILLIAM ROBERT (1769-1834)

Spencer, or a Buddhist . But the ambiguities arising from the points of view described in (b) are much more difficult both intellectually and in their See also:

• PRACTICAL

practical social issues . Thus See also:

• HISTORY

history shows how readily the term has been used in the most haphazard manner to describe even the most trivial divergence of See also:

• OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

opinion concerning points of See also:

• DOGMA (Gr. Sbypa, from b6aeiv, to seem; literally " that which seems, sc. good or true or useful " to any one)

dogma . In other words, " atheism " has been used generally by the orthodox adherents of one See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

religion, or even of a single See also:

• SECT

sect, for all beliefs which are different or even differently expressed . It is in fact in these cases, like " heterodoxy," a term of purely negative significance, and its intellectual value is of the slightest . The distinction between the terms " religion " and " magic " is, in a similar way, often due merely to rivalry between the adherents of two or more mutually exclusive religions brought together in the same community . When the psalmist declares that " the See also:

• FOOL (O. Fr. fol, modern fou, foolish, from a Late Latin use of follis, bellows, a ball filled with air, for a stupid person, a jester, a wind-bag)

fool hath said in his See also:

• HEART
• HEART, LUNG

heart, there is no God," he probably does not refer to theoretical denial, but to a practical disbelief in God's See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government of human affairs, shown in disobedience to moral See also:

• LAWS

laws . See also:

• SOCRATES

Socrates was charged with " not believing in the gods the See also:

• CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city believes in." The cry of the See also:

• HEATHEN

heathen populace in the See also:

• ROMAN

Roman See also:

• EMPIRE

empire against the Christians was " Away with the atheists ! To the lions with the Christians!" The ground for the See also:

• CHARGE
• CHARGE (through the Fr. from the Late Lat. carricare, to load in a carrus or wagon; cf. " cargo ")

charge was probably the lack of See also:

• IDOLATRY

idolatry in all Christian See also:

• WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship .

See also:

• SPINOZA, BARUCH (1632-1677)

Spinoza, for whom God alone existed, was persecuted as an atheist . A See also:

• COMMON

common designation of See also:

• KNOX, HENRY (1750-1806)
• KNOX, JOHN (c. 1505–1572)
• KNOX, PHILANDER CHASE (1853– )

Knox was " the atheist," although it was to him " See also:

• MATTER

matter of See also:

• SATISFACTION (Lat. salisfacerc, to satisfy)

satisfaction that our most See also:

• HOLY

holy religion is founded on faith, not on See also:

• REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason." In its most scientific and serious usage the term is applied to that See also:

• STATE
• STATE, GREAT OFFICERS OF

state of mind which does not find deity (i.e. either one or many gods) in or above the See also:

• PHYSICAL

physical universe . Thus it has been applied to certain See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive savages, who have been thought (e.g. by See also:

• LORD
• LORD (O. Eng. hldford, i.e. hldfweard, the warder or keeper of bread, hlIf, loaf; the word is not represented in any other Teutonic language)
• LORD, JOHN (1810-1894)

Lord See also:

• AVEBURY
• AVEBURY, JOHN LUBBOCK, 1ST BARON (1834– )

Avebury in his Prehistoric Times) to have no religious belief; it is, however, the better opinion that there are no peoples who are entirely destitute of some rudimentary religious belief . In the second See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place, and most usually, it is applied to a purely intellectual, metaphysical disbelief in the existence of any god, or of anything supernatural . In this connexion it is usual to distinguish three types of atheism—the dogmatic, which denies the existence of God positively; the sceptical, which distrusts the capacity of the human mind to discover the existence of God; and the See also:

• CRITICAL (in alphabetical order of authors)

critical, which doubts the validity of the theistic See also:

• ARGUMENT

argument, the proofs for the existence of God . That the first type of atheism exists, in spite of the denials of those who favour the second or the third, may be proved by the utterances of men like See also:

• FEUERBACH, ANSELM (1829-188o)
• FEUERBACH, LUDWIG ANDREAS (1804—1872)
• FEUERBACH, PAUL JOHANN ANSELM, RITTER VON (1775-1833)

Feuerbach, See also:

• FLOURENS, GUSTAVE (1838-1871)
• FLOURENS, MARIE JEAN PIERRE (1794-1867)

Flourens or See also:

• BRADLAUGH, CHARLES (1833-1891)

Bradlaugh . " There is no God," says Feuerbach, "it is clear as the See also:

• SUN
• SUN (0. Eng. sonne, Ger. sonne. Fr. soleil, Lat. sol, Gr. ijXior, from which comes helio- in various English compounds)

sun and as evident as the See also:

• DAY (O. Eng. dreg, Ger. Tag; according to the New English Dictionary, " in no way related to the Lat. dies")
• DAY, JOHN (1574-1640?)
• DAY, THOMAS (1748-1789)

day that there is no God, and still more that there can be none." With greater See also:

• PASSION (post-classical Lat. passio, formed from pati, passus, to suffer, endure)

passion Flourens declares " Our enemy is God . Hatred of God is the beginning of See also:

• WISDOM, BOOK OF, or WISDOM OF SOLOMON (Sept. Io4ia IaXwµwvos; Lat. Vulg. Liber sapientiae)

wisdom . If mankind would make true progress, it must be on the basis of atheism." Bradlaugh maintained against See also:

• HOLYOAKE, GEORGE JACOB (1817-2906)

Holyoake that he would fight until men respected the name " atheist." The See also:

• ANSWER (derived from and, against, and the same root as swear)

answer to dogmatic atheism, that it implies See also:

• INFINITE (from Lat. in, not, finis, end or limit; cf. findere, to deave)

infinite knowledge, has been well stated in See also:

• JOHN
• JOHN (1167–1216)
• JOHN (1290-c. 1320)
• JOHN (1296-1346)
• JOHN (1371–1419)
• JOHN (1468-1532)
• JOHN (1801-1873)
• JOHN (Heb. llni')
• JOHN (ZAPOLYA) (1487-1540)
• JOHN, 4TH MARQUESS OF TWEEDDALE (c. 1695-1762)
• JOHN, DON (1545-1578)
• JOHN, DON (1629–1679)
• JOHN, GOSPEL OF ST
• JOHN, or HAYS (1513–1571)
• JOHN, THE APOSTLE
• JOHN, THE EPISTLES OF

John See also:

• FOSTER, GEORGE EULAS (1847– )
• FOSTER, JOHN (177o-1843)
• FOSTER, MYLES BIRKET (1825-1899)
• FOSTER, SIR CLEMENT LE NEVE (1841-1904)
• FOSTER, SIR MICHAEL (1836-r9o7)
• FOSTER, STEPHEN COLLINS (1826-1864)

Foster's Essays, and restated by See also:

• CHALMERS, ALEXANDER (1759-1834)
• CHALMERS, GEORGE (1742-1825)
• CHALMERS, GEORGE PAUL (1836-1878)
• CHALMERS, JAMES (1841-1901)
• CHALMERS, THOMAS (1780-1847)

Chalmers in his Natural See also:

• THEOLOGY

Theology, and its force is recognized in Holyoake's careful qualification of the sense in which See also:

• SECULARISM

secularism accepts atheism, " always explaining the term atheist to mean ` not seeing God' visually or inferentially, never suffering it to be taken for See also:

• ANTI, or CAMPA

anti-See also:

• THEISM
• THEISM (Gr. Beor, god)

theism, that is, hating God, denying God—as hating implies See also:

• PERSONAL

personal knowledge as the ground of dislike, and denying implies infinite knowledge as the ground of disproof." But dogmatic atheism is rare compared with the sceptical type, which is identical with See also:

• AGNOSTICISM

agnosticism (q.v.) in so far as it denies the capacity of the mind of See also:

• MAN
• MAN, ISLE OF (anc. Mona)

man to See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form any conception of God, but is different from it in so far as the agnostic merely holds his See also:

• JUDGMENT

judgment in suspense, though, in practice, agnosticism is See also:

• APT

apt to result in an attitude towards religion which is hardly distinguishable from a passive and unaggressive atheism . The third or critical type may be illustrated by A Candid Examination of Theism by"Physicus" (G . J . See also:

• ROMANES, GEORGE JOHN (1848-1894)

Romanes), in which the writer endeavours to establish the weakness of the proofs for the existence of God, and to substitute for theism Spencer's physical explanation of the universe, and yet admits how unsatisfying to himself the new position is .

" When at times I think, as think at times I must, of the appalling contrast between the hallowed See also:

• GLORY (through the O. Fr. glorie, modern gloire, from Lat. gloria, cognate with Gr. KXebs, abets)

glory of that creed which once was mine, and the lonely See also:

• MYSTERY (Gr. µw(Trilpcov, from tcuvrm, an initiate, µfew, to shut the mouth)

mystery of existence as now I find it—at such times I shall ever feel it impossible to avoid the sharpest pang of which my nature is susceptible." Atheism has to meet the protest of the heart as well as the argument of the mind of mankind . It must be judged not only by theoretical but by practical arguments, in its relations either to the individual or to a society . See also:

• VOLTAIRE, FRANCOIS MARIE AROUET DE (1694–1778)

Voltaire himself, speaking as a practical man rather than as a metaphysician, declared that if there were no God it would be necessary to invent one; and if the See also:

• ANALYSIS (Gr. avci and Meta, to break up into parts)

analysis is only carried far enough it will be found that those who deny the existence of God (in a conventional sense) are all the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time setting up something in the nature of deity by way of an ideal of their own, while fighting over the meaning of a word or its conventional misapplication .