(February 10, 2014 at 7:49 am)Sword of Christ Wrote: The people who wrote it at the time wouldn't have even known what atheism was it hadn't been invented yet.
Atheism has always been around since the very first claims about gods were made, long before Yahweh was a twinkle in Abraham's eyes.
The Christians themselves were called "atheists" by their pagan critics. Christianity was, AFAIK, the first religion ever to claim that not only was their god superior to all the others, that it was the only one up there and everyone else was just praying to idols and imaginary beings.
Before Christianity, it was common for people to dabble with different gods and different religions depending on their needs at the time. One could pray to this god for good crops and another god for fertility. When two cultures went to war, they imagined their gods also fighting up in the heavens. Even those devoted to a particular religion, such as the ancient Jews, didn't deny the existence of the other gods, only that the other gods were weaker. The OT is filled with examples.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
