History of Atheism

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	Revision 68 . . (edit) December 14, 2001 8:56 am by Bryan Derksen [made a few Gods small-g, where appropriate, and bulleted the postive vs. negative classifications to make them more noticeable]
	Revision 67 . . December 14, 2001 8:04 am by Larry Sanger [nonbelievers = negative atheists]
	Revision 66 . . December 14, 2001 8:02 am by Lee Daniel Crocker [Yep, text is good; just minor copyedits.]
	Revision 65 . . December 14, 2001 7:57 am by Larry Sanger [I think this might finally settle the little controversy over the meaning of "atheism"]
	Revision 64 . . (edit) December 1, 2001 8:48 am by RK
	Revision 63 . . (edit) December 1, 2001 12:57 am by (logged).191.188.xxx
	Revision 62 . . November 30, 2001 11:53 pm by Dmerrill [Modifying the statement that it is used in "common English" to mean the belief there is no Judeo-Christian God. That usage would only apply to Christians (Jews, maybe?), and a bit of copyedit]
	Revision 61 . . November 30, 2001 11:38 pm by AxelBoldt [the view exists, but the thing doesn't]
	Revision 60 . . (edit) November 30, 2001 10:53 am by RK
	Revision 59 . . November 27, 2001 5:45 pm by Kirk [Combined/edited previous entries and added "Atheism throughout history" section.]
	Revision 58 . . November 13, 2001 12:50 pm by Wesley [+militant atheism]

Difference (from prior major revision) (minor diff, author diff)

Changed: 1c1

The term atheism is derived from the Greek prefix a (meaning "without" or "not") and the Greek theos meaning god, giving the literal definition of atheism as someone who is without God, or someone who is not a theist?. In common use, it means the belief that no God exists. Most Christians and Jews use this term to refer to the belief that the Judeo-Christian God (as described in the Bible) does not exist.

The term atheism is derived from the Greek prefix a (meaning "without" or "not") and the Greek theos meaning god, giving the literal definition of atheism as someone who is without a god, or someone who is not a theist?. In common use, it means the belief that no god exists. Most Christians and Jews use this term to refer to the belief that the Judeo-Christian God (as described in the Bible) does not exist.

Changed: 6,7c6,7

"[Positive atheism]?" is the positive assertion (or belief) that God (or some gods, or all gods) does not exist--that is, a positive atheist may assert that the Judeo-Christian God does not exist, or that all gods do not exist.
"[Negative atheism]?" is used to describe someone who does not have a God-belief or someone who is not a theist, a position which is only slightly different from Agnosticism.

*"[Positive atheism]?" is the positive assertion (or belief) that God (or some gods, or all gods) does not exist--that is, a positive atheist may assert that the Judeo-Christian God does not exist, or that all gods do not exist.
*"[Negative atheism]?" is the lack of a god-belief or someone who is not a theist, a position which is only slightly different from agnosticism. "Negative atheist" is synonymous, or nearly so, with "nonbeliever."