What Is The History Of Modern Atheism?

Christian Science Monitor:

When the priest asks him why, with his days numbered, he still has not turned to God, Meursault, the death row inmate in Albert Camus's "L'Étranger," exclaims, "I just didn't have the time to interest myself in what didn't interest me." By contrast, a new book introduces us to an array of individuals who, while sharing Meursault's religious nonbelief, most certainly do not share in his insouciance. In The Unbelievers: The Evolution of Modern Atheism, H.P. Lovecraft biographer and "weird fiction" expert S.T. Joshi introduces his text as a "nucleus" for the latest historical phase of religious nonbelief.

Read the whole story: Christian Science Monitor

Comments

[logicanada]

03:38 AM on 04/17/2011

I find it odd how atheism is referred to as 'modern'. (ie)The first ancient person who said; - 'I don't worship Grog any more, I now like Thor ' - was displaying atheism toward Grog. In all of time, atheism began when the 2nd god arrived in any given society.

[MayoGalway]

01:19 AM on 03/09/2011

In a 1919 cable to the New York Times, "I believe in Spinoza's God...." Pantheist or Deist if you prefer. You will find in his correspondence with Navy Ensign Guy H Raner in 1945&1949, inquiring about AE's personal belief in God, no intelligent designer or personal God.
"From the viewpoint of a Jesuit priest, I am and have always been an atheist. ">1945
" I have repeatedly said in my opinion the idea of a personal God is a childlike one. You may call me an agnostic...." 1949
The following are responses to other letters.
" The idea of a personal God is quite alien to me and seems quite naive." >1952
" I do not believe in immortality of the individual, and I consider ethics to be an exclusively human concern with no super authority behind it." > 1953
Added note. Checkout this link.
The following from "Letters of Note" website:www.lettersofnote.com/ Albert Einstein

[sean0008]

03:08 PM on 03/07/2011

As an agnostic I find it interesting that atheism is often talked about like it is a unified movement or even its own anti-religion. I suppose for some people, your passionate atheists, it is. Most of us agnostics and even many atheists do not wish to be defined by our lack of religion, as if everyone must fall into some religious (or anti-religious) category. Often it's just as simple as saying that religion is not part of our lives and we do not have any certain beliefs since all religions are full of holes in their stories. Oh sure many agnostics or atheists have good reason to feel the way they do... such as a bad religious experience growing up; but for many it is simply just not something we need or want in our lives. I do not call myself an atheist because I do not deny that there may be a god or a heaven. I think it is more likely that humans invented god and heaven to help explain the unknown, to teach morals using memorable allegories, and to mitigate the lonely fear of death. I know religion gives many hope and comfort, especially when it comes to dealing with death. The problem is that that seems to require believing that your religion is the one truth, and that other beliefs (and science) are wrong.

[Krisgi]

02:54 AM on 03/10/2011

Good comment. f/f

[TheAntitheist]

01:39 PM on 03/07/2011

I love Hitch....that is all.

[EddieRascal5]

10:06 AM on 03/07/2011

Atheism is a belief that there is only a scientific, rational basis for our extremely improbable exisitence and it is just a matter of time before science determines out that we do not have a purpose or reason. It appears, therefore, that morality is a crutch that limits man's possiblities and potential. Concious evolution is a waste of time. If we have no purpose, there is no value in being more evolved. Kinda like fancy fabric in a coffin. We should all just make ourselves happy, at what ever cost. Anarchy is the logical conclusion.

[TheAntitheist]

01:40 PM on 03/07/2011

You are forgetting the survival of the herd. Which is in everyones benefit. So your so called "logical conclusion" was not (logical).

[EddieRascal5]

03:25 PM on 03/07/2011

Why should I care if the herd survives? It is not in my benefit.

[SocBeat]

06:38 PM on 03/07/2011

Only if people are generally sociopathic - which they're not. The truth is that it feels good to do good things for others, and it feels bad to do bad things to others. If I do something good, I do so for my own fulfillment. If the reason I did something good was solely to stay out of hell, I wouldn't really be all that nice a person, would I? And if the only reason a person behaves civilly is the fear of retribution, I'd argue that that person is a sociopath waiting to express him or herself.

[EddieRascal5]

03:22 PM on 03/08/2011

sociopath - a person, as a psychopathic personality, whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience

If you consider that the human race killed over 100 million of its members in the 20th century alone, we may actually be defined as a sociopathic species.

[Suzan S]

12:19 PM on 02/24/2011

Meet the "new Atheism', same as the old atheism. We won't be fooled anymore.

[The-Gnarly-Old-Oak]

12:57 AM on 02/24/2011

Why are such a great number of people afraid of atheism?

I have come to the understanding that believing is deep hope beyond rational thought, so when an atheist presents him(her)self, the depth is certainly threatened; the hope is for an instant, vulnerable; and rational thought momentarily screams of how stupid the whole belief system is.

I wish there was a way to fight the battle for rational sane thought, but belief is the great antithesis.

.......from good old anonymous:
"Atheism is a belief like not collecting stamps is a hobby"
"A man without religion is a fish without a bicycle"

[MaxPowerXP]

01:40 PM on 02/24/2011

I'm annoyed by atheists even though I'm more or less one of them. Reason being they're often as eager to preach to me as the religous people; people don't seem to understand that I'm as uninterested in their atheism as I am in some other guy's Catholicism.

[TheAntitheist]

01:41 PM on 03/07/2011

Have you read the good book? God Is Not Great? Maybe I can schedule a time to tell you about it. Or you can come by our meetings....:D

[PlayTOE]

10:32 AM on 02/23/2011

Their have always been people who refused to believe in an invisible magical being. The path to freeing the masses from shackles of religious stupidity has been long and difficult. Once bound to a belief in a totally fictional afterlife, people will believe any number of stupidities just to maintain their own illusion.

I place Spinoza, who most clearly defined the reasons for rational thinking, as the father of modern atheism.
George Washington is important for beginning a country without favoring any religion.
Darwin freed biologists from relying on a deity in their study of species.
Einstein did not believe in personal gods and removed god from the study of physics.
Now people such as Hitchens and Dawkins are leading the parade away from religious guesswork and towards rational thinking.

But the illusion of an afterlife of bliss (or torment) is a powerful image to overcome, even for the most rational minds.

[slc1987]

01:41 PM on 02/23/2011

yeah,..but even Einstein believed in a universe created by Someone or something. True, he believed in Spinoza's manifesto that God is a personage who is disinterested in human affairs, but he nonetheless believed in a Supreme Being. he himself said "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

Just saying, I wouldn't call Einstein's work "groundbreaking" in adding credibility to the atheist movement.

[PlayTOE]

04:08 AM on 02/24/2011

The god of Spinoza is essentially "Mother Nature", a personification of all of nature, but not an actual person, Deus sive Natura. He correctly pointed out that we must believe what we can see and study, not what various religious persons wish to believe. There is only one source of knowledge, follow the evidence of nature.
Einstein made it clear that he did not believe in a personal god, but did accept the views of Spinoza. "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with the fates and actions of human beings."

I place these two as important for the progression towards modern atheism. They laid an essential foundation that others built upon.

[Jeff Rudisel]

11:21 AM on 04/06/2011

Abso....lutely!
I might differ with the term, "stupidity" (misguidedness maybe), for decorum's sake here in public...He he, but...Right on...
I might use the term delusion later on also, but why am I splitting hairs? I don't know.
Great, concise statement of the situation PlayToe! :-)

[JShankel]

10:49 PM on 02/22/2011

"The Modern History of Not Believing Things Just Because You Are Threatened With Torture" eh?

[wlkcrk]

09:19 PM on 02/22/2011

I believe in the Sun God Ra. Because I can see the sun

[Scott Martini]

04:19 PM on 03/08/2011

Considering the sun provides the energy that drives all life on earth you'd be closer to the truth than some of the other divine personages.

[Jack Mahoney]

06:35 PM on 02/22/2011

It's just good to be reminded that Christopher Hitchens is still with us.

[Ted Bouklos]

05:42 PM on 02/22/2011

I just want everyone to know that i don't collect coins. I am an anumismatist. I also don't believe in unicorns so i'm a a-unicornist.... oh boy i guess i can go on with what i am NOT to infinity.... Stop labeling non-belief as 'atheism' to do so just puts people in the theist paradigm which i refuse to do.

[SocBeat]

06:42 PM on 03/07/2011

Yeah, well it's still a good answer to the question, "What's your religion?"

[AMcS]

01:09 AM on 03/12/2011

Because absolutely nothing comes from Absolutely Nothing, Something has always existed. This Something is eternal and indestructible. Theists believe this Something is more like a Mind than a Rock. Materialists believe it is more like a Rock than a Mind. It's the old story. On the one hand, we have YHWH. On the other, we have Baal.

Most atheists fancy they worship neither Mind nor Rock, even though they constantly express the worth of their beloved Materialism, preach it fearlessly, defend it religiously, and spend their lives in its service.

[f0rTyLeGz]

04:59 PM on 02/22/2011

What Is The History Of Modern Atheism? This article does not touch what the headline suggests. This is a book blurb, and not even a book review.

This whole Huffington Post blog thing is getting to seem very thin gruel to me.

[B 42]

03:16 AM on 03/07/2011

Being that it is under the Book section, it makes sense to me!

[mwelby]

04:24 PM on 02/22/2011

Give me that good ole Atheism!

[JohnFromCensornati]

03:39 PM on 02/22/2011

Great! Now we have Fundamentalist Atheism, Modern Atheism, New Atheism, Stealth Atheism, Angry Atheism, Pop Atheism, Obsolete Atheism, Old Atheism, Evangelical Atheism, Militant Atheism, and blah, blah, blah.

Who knew there were so many labels and so many ways to *not* believe in imaginary friends?

[Andres64]

04:18 PM on 02/22/2011

Amazing, isn't it?

[onionboy]

04:20 PM on 02/22/2011

I am declaring a fatwa on just how we should NOT believe.

And doesn't everyone NOT believe in something? Something? Because I've thrown Yahweh in there, I've somehow been given a label. But people who deny the existence of Zeus...no label. That's normal.