Long before Hitchens/Dawkins/Harris......

[Brian37]

There was this guy. 

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Baron_d%27Holbach

[Minimalist]

A hero of the revolution.  Things were a lot more dangerous back then.

[Brian37]

A hero of the revolution.  Things were a lot more dangerous back then.

Lets put this in proper perspective. ANYONE challenging social norms worldwide now or in the past is going to be seen as a threat to the majority social norms. So while we do share his skepticism, Muslims living in America are minorities, and Christians and gays living in the Middle East are minorities.

Not sure I'd agree however, with his views on economics. My take on him would be that if alive today he'd be more likely to be a Libertarian, and that to me is simply a Republican willing to fuck over minorities too.

But, he certainly took a much bigger risk to his wealth and even safety considering how much more religious society was back then. The church hated him so much they buried him under a church so nobody could eventually build a monument to him. But, the good thing about the survival of his words, is that they didn't destroy them, and not even hiding his body stopped the spread of skepticism.

[The Grand Nudger]

Long before that, there was Cavarka.  Here's a gem from Hindu tradition.

There is no other world other than this;
There is no heaven and no hell;
The realm of Shiva and like regions,
are invented by stupid imposters.

another favorite-

The Sacrifices, the three Vedas, the ascetic's three staves, 

              and smearing oneself with ashes—

          Brhaspati says these are but means of livelihood 
              for those who have no manliness nor sense.

-the scam has long been known. This particular tradition comes to us from 600bc or so.

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Fire is hot, water cold,
refreshingly cool is the breeze of morning;
By whom came this variety?
They were born of their own nature.

This also has been said by Brhaspati:
There is no heaven, no final liberation,
nor any soul in another world,
Nor do the actions of the four castes,
orders, or priesthoods produce any real effect.

If a beast slain as an offering to the dead
will itself go to heaven,
why does the sacrificer not straightway offer his father?

If offerings to the dead produce gratification
to those who have reached the land of the dead,
why the need to set out provisions
for travelers starting on this journey?
If our offering sacrifices here gratify beings in heaven,
why not make food offerings down below
to gratify those standing on housetops?

While life remains, let a man live happily,
let him feed on butter though he runs in debt;
When once the body becomes ashes,
how can it ever return again?

If he who departs from the body goes to another world,
why does he not come back again,
restless for love of his kinfolk?
It is only as a means of livelihood
that brahmins have established here
abundant ceremonies for the dead—
there is no other fruit anywhere.

Hence for kindness to the mass of living beings
we must fly for refuge in the doctrine of Carvaka.

http://www.humanistictexts.org/carvaka.htm

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