The History of Atheism
For most of history, believing in a God or gods was universal, with Atheists being almost non-existent. So who founded Atheism? Surprisingly, it was devout Christians attempting to do the opposite.
Hubble Extreme Deep Field
Figure 1:
Martin Luther, 1528 (Veste Coburg)
The Protestant Reformation and Philosophy
In the 1500s, possibly due to the Protestant Reformation, the Christian World became increasingly divided, with conflict ensuing, people's ideologies being pitted against each other. In response, many European thinkers turned to philosophy. A Christian named Rene Descartes, for example, tried to use this to prove the existence of God, believing that it was the Philosopher's job to do so, not Theologians’.
Figure 2:
Portret van René Descartes
Descartes and Newton's Argument of Inert Matter
Descartes' argument: with the laws of motion and matter, everything in the universe, including its design, could be explained. An initial, supernatural mover, who he attributed to God, was needed in his equation. God’s only role was to give matter the initial motion, then everything else would follow suit. Thus, since God was required, He existed. Isaac Newton, had a similar idea, thinking that the mechanical nature of the universe leads to a non-mechanical, transcendent principle, which he also called God. Both thinkers viewed matter as innately inert, and thus, since motion and mechanics exist, some initial, powerful mover, or God, was needed.
Figure 3:
Isaac Newton Laboratory Fire
A Critical Flaw
While it is good to look for evidence of God, there was a critical flaw in their argument: God’s existence, to them, was dependent on science. Neither knew how matter could start motion without God, so they claimed that God did it. God was also pushed away, making Him an abstract concept that one would need to have extensive mathematical knowledge to know about, and less personal and, “with us,” as the Bible portrays Him. It also made Him dependent on our ignorance of the natural world as evidence that He existed. This was likely the first Christian god of the gaps argument.
Figure 4:
Paul d'Holbach and Denis Diderot's Argument for Dynamic Matter
Two philosophers, Paul d’Holbach and Diderot, thought different. They viewed matter as innately dynamic, not inert; if something moves, it is not always because an external factor moved it, it can move as part of its innate nature, not needing an outside force. Descartes and Newton’s entire proof for God’s existence hinged off the idea that God needed to start motion in the universe, but now, God was unnecessary, as matter could do that itself. God was used to explain what people could not explain, but knowledge increased, making God not only far away, but unnecessary.
Figure 5:
The Spread of Atheism
Richard Dawkins, a famed Evolutionist and New-Atheist, often says that, while scientists are gaining knowledge of the world, theologians exploit it, playing in the darkness that will eventually be illuminated by the light of knowledge, and then retreating, repeating the process until irrelevance. When our knowledge increased, God was viewed as unnecessary, and modern Atheism was born.[1] This Atheistic ideology increased in Germany, where the philosopher Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche said, “God is dead,” in multiple of his works,[2] and where Karl Marx, who loved the writings of Diderot, formed the idea of socialism, a disastrous and Godless ideology[3] which has killed millions of people in the form of communism[4]. In addition, another anti-Christian party, called national socialism, also known as Naziism, formed [5] and, along with socialism, caused religion to decline in many affected areas of the world.[6] Thus, to prove God’s existence, better proof in the Eucharistic Miracle of Lanciano is needed, as it puts God on Earth, with us. Miracle of Lanciano
Figure 6:
A Special Thanks
Much of the information on this page comes from Chapter 2 of Michael Buckley, S.J.'s book: “Denying and Disclosing God The Ambiguous Progress Modern Atheism." [1] A special thanks to him. He also mentions how Young Earth Creationism helped Atheism spread. To learn more about how Evolution is compatible with Christianity, feel free to read my article.
Bibliography for this Page
[1] Buckley, Michael J. “Denying and Disclosing God The Ambiguous Progress Modern Atheism. Chapter 2.” Harriet Lowell and Sheridan Lowell., Michael J. Buckley, S.J., 2004, pp. 25–47.
[2] Der Luft, Eric Von. “Sources of nietzsche’s ‘God is dead!’ and its meaning for Heidegger.” Journal of the History of Ideas, vol. 45, no. 2, Apr. 1984, p. 263, https://doi.org/10.2307/2709291.
[3] Pedersen, E.O. “RELIGION IS THE OPIUM OF THE PEOPLE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT OF MARX’S CRITIQUE OF RELIGION.” Imprint Academic, vol. 36, no. 2, 2015, pp. 354–387.
[4] Somin, Ilya. “Lessons from a century of communism.” The Washington Post, vol. 7, 7 Nov. 2017.
[5] Stone, Lewi. “Quantifying the holocaust: Hyperintense kill rates during the Nazi genocide.” Science Advances, vol. 5, no. 1, 4 Jan. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aau7292.
[6] Ryrie, Alec. “Entangling Web: The Fractious Story of Christianity in Europe Chapter 13.” Google Books, Cascade Books, Eugene, Oregon, 2024.