Atheism & Agnosticism

Warm Up

• What is the difference between ‘there isn’t’ and ‘there could be’?

• Which of the two sound more confident? Why?

• Which of the two sound more ‘open’? Why?

Atheism & Agnosticism

• Atheism: The belief that does not acknowledge the existence of any gods. Specifically rejects in the existence of gods or god.

• Agnosticism: Belief that there isn’t enough rational proof to justify that God exists or does not exist.

Question

• Would Atheism/ Atheism be considered a ‘religion’ or not? Why?

Origins of Atheism

• The root word comes from the Ancient Greeks atheos.• Atheos- ‘Without God’

• The ‘unbelief’ has existed since the beginning of religions formation in 6th

Century such as:• Jainism• Buddhism• Taoism• Legalism

• From their perspective it would be not be an attack on the existence of gods butmore from a word known as apatheism:• Apatheism: Attitude of apathy toward the existence of go/gods. Not considered a belief

Origins of Atheism

• Diagoras of Melos considered the “First Atheist” in 5th Century BCE

• Athens conquered Melos in 416 BCE. Athenians viewed the Melians as inferior. Diagoras openly insulted the belief of the Greek Pantheon by cutting up a wooden statue of Heracles and used it to cook turnips.

• The Athenians offered a bounty on his head but he found refuge in Corinth.

• Conversation between him and a friend:

-Friend: 'You think the gods have no care for man? Why, you can see from all these votive pictures here how many people have escaped the fury of storms at sea by praying to the gods who have brought them safe to harbor.’

Diagoras: 'Yes, indeed, but where are the pictures of all those who suffered shipwreck and perished in the waves?”

Origins of Atheism

Some Greek philosophers known as Epicurus & Lucretius are described as ‘atheists’ but are really deists.

Deism: Belief in a supreme being who created world but not in the world nor involved with the world.

“If death is bad then for whom is it bad? Not for the living, since they are not dead, and not for the dead since they don’t exist.”

-Epicurus

Protegoras is considered as agnostic. This derives from the philosophy known as relativism.

Relativism: Doctrine that there are no absolute truths, it solely depends on the from within historical or cultural context.

"Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not, nor of what sort they may be, because of the obscurity of the subject, and the brevity of human life.“ - Protegoras

Athens viewed not believing in the gods as a capital punishment. Reason to why Socrates was executed by drinking poison.

Medieval Ages

• 400 CE to 1400 CE

• Roman Catholic Church gained power during this time. Very few accounts are known of atheists. But there were people considered to be witches or heretics.

• The fact to consider witchcraft false was against Christian doctrine. Other people who were ‘witches’ were people who didn’t believe in the Bible.

• The Catholic church devised torture on both heretics and witches in horrific means.

Italian Renaissance

• People started to steadily turn from Medieval teaching to the revival of ancient Greek andRoman Philosophy.• Humanism: Thought of the importance of the goodness of humanity and their social needs to resolve

problems.

• Religion started to become more of a dogma or superstition. It doesn’t necessarily mean people became atheist, it just started the or progress of reaching humanistic means to understand life as opposed to relying on a supreme being.

• Desiderius Erasmus viewed mankind can improve by reading Bible and Christianity is about the heart, not traditions or rules set by the church.

• Rene Descartes believed perfection exists yet he is an imperfect being. He is ‘less real’ than the reality that perfection does exist but he is not. Therefore the idea of something perfect exists solely comes from God. Someone imperfect can’t bear nor exist nor create his own existence since he did not create the idea of perfection. Therefore God exists because he has given theconcept of perfection since God is perfect.

Age of Enlightenment

• 16th century to 17th century period

• Rational thinkers started using science as a way to prove things did or did not exist. Few were considered atheists but did have different interpretations of Scripture.

• Some philosophers such as Thomas Hobbes was considered a ‘Christian Atheist’. He claimed that God existed but was incomprehensible because our thoughts are limited. In other words God exists but we are unable to describe him. Later on he describes God as a corporal spirit but unable to be everywhere yet affects all things.

• This was a time when religious toleration started to spread. In some countries like France, the Huguenots (Protestants) were allowed to marry and have property but not officially worship openly nor have a church building

French Revolution

• Majority of France’s population struggled in famine and no representation in government while Roman Catholic Church controlled at lot of the wealth.

• From 1789-1794 the people started the Reign of Terror. This time period did not just behead the Royal class but believers of the Roman Catholic Church with the use of the guillotine.

Karl Marx

• Founder of Communism

• Communism is the belief that everyone should be seen as equals. Capitalism was an economic institution that would fade to only benefit the rich and oppress the poor.

• Religion was an illusion to live in false hope and putting all aspirations on a god. Other words people were losing their individuality and identity. This came from the view ofhow teachings opposed to what the church practices. Therefore he quoted from Prometheus, “I hate all gods…”

• “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people” – Karl Marx

Friedrich Nietzsche

• Focused on individuality as opposed to traditions and religion as w whole; but specifically against Christianity.

• He believed in a version of nihilism.• Nihilism: Rejection of all religion and moral principles and that life is meaningless. Nothing in this

world really exists.

• Truth is only achievable if one denies traditions and from within oneself.

• “After Buddha was dead, his shadow was still shown for centuries in a cave- a tremendous, gruesome shadow. God is dead; but given the way of men, there may still be caves for thousands of years in which his shadow will be shown. -And we- we still have to vanquish his shadow, too.” - Nietzche