Theories of Atheism

Atheism is defined as the denial or disbelief in the existence of god. (Houghton Mifflin, 2000) This may be true to believers, those who believe in the existence of god, but to non-believers this is incorrect. Atheism is better described as an absence of the theistic belief due to different and non-compatible belief systems. (Smith, 2000) Throughout history Atheism has been a highly discussed way of thinking. We know that it exists but how did it come to be? Whose logic is responsible for the ideas that are today known as Atheism? The answer is, many people. From its scarce origins dating back to the time of Greek philosophers such as Epicurus and Lucretius to more modern thinkers as Thomas Hobbes and David Hume.

The early Greek philosopher Epicurus' theory of "materialism" His theory stated that the only things that exist are bodies and the space that is around them. He rationalized that the soul is made of material, so when the bold dies, the soul dies with it. Leaving no possibility of afterlife. He also proposed that gods may exist but would have nothing to do with humans. Lucretius also didn't deny the existence of gods but declared that human ideas about gods made them fear death and cause unhappiness. (BBC, 2001)

As time passed on, scientific, philosophical, and historical developments and advancements were made. Individuals began to become aware of the differences in religious teachings and the new knowledge. The new ideas weren't compatible at all with the teachings. The rationalists and thinkers who discovered the new information were labeled atheists and anarchists because of this.

In the 1600's the philosopher Thomas Hobbes made great claims as to why people desire to know and understand causes. Humans are the only animals that practice religion. Only humans worry about the future, our fate, and causes of events. In Hobbes time and still in ours, the divine answers are still unclear. Because of this we as humans invent causes or believe what others tell us for answers to our questions. Many people believe they have the right answer. "If there was a right answer, no testimony would ever be false, nor would they conflict." However certain individuals believe they are, it is still a belief. John Locke called this the distinction between knowledge and belief. Locke stated that for a belief to become knowledge, it must be justified and must be true. If a belief is true it can be classified as knowledge but remains a belief if not proved. Nothing is certain and therefore cannot be proved (Smith, 2000)

David Hume was a Scottish philosopher in the 1700's. He made several claims about humans and their desire. He stated that Christianity is a biblical religion and therefore historical. People pass their beliefs and ideals down. We are not hearing this directly from "god" but from other humans, which are easily deceived and make many mistakes. Hume also stated that humans are very capable of error when reasoning matters of fact, and we rely on other erred humans for testimony, supporting his claims. (Smith, 2000)

Today in the modern world there are more complex and scientific reasons why people would choose atheism. In the bible the earth was created in the year 4004 Before Christ. However, using carbon dating, scientists have found human remains that date back millions of years. Charles Darwin introduced his theory of evolution in the 1800's. It stated that all life came from previous life and over time populations evolve and adapt to their environment. We now have evidence that man has evolved from early tree dwelling animals. The best evidence shows the similarities between plants and animals from one family to the next. It also generalizes that we all originated form a common ancestor. Using this evidence and Darwin's theory we can conclude that man has gone through gradual evolution to reach our current development and mental capacity. (Freeman, 2002) More people today become atheists because of this knowledge than for any other reason. (DeBona, 1976)

Some logic makes it hard to believe that there is a god and if so, that he could act upon us. In the bible it states that man was made in the image of god. If so, knowing that man is imperfect, is god imperfect? Man has been told that god is all knowing, all-powerful, and all loving as exposed to us in the scriptures. Yet, the scriptures don't always refer to this kind of god. They often tell us of a jealous, immoral, cruel, and dishonorable god. They tell us he has many qualities of man himself. It's commonly believed that man has free will. Its believed my many that god can help and the devil can tempt but in the end man must choose. Free will nonetheless, is an allusion. Every action we make is caused by inputs in our brain. These inputs interact with out memory processes. Our actions are controlled by what we have been taught leaving us with no free will of action. Many atheists do not believe simply because they cannot perceive