"`` Modern `` Atheists have only been around for a short time . In biblical times , Atheists were people who beleved in God ( s ) , but did n't believe He/they intervened with life on Earth . How and why do you think the terms have changed , and what are the similarities between tham ?"
"Are you referring to the Epicurians ? Aristotle ? I ca n't think of any reference to these people as atheists . Socrates was accused of being an atheist , and the accusation made it clear this was because he did n't believe in the gods . Some schools of Hinduism have been atheistic from BC , and Buddhism ( founded before 400 BC ) is essentially atheistic , in that there are 'gods ' but they are considered limited and not given much importance . More generally , I think modern atheists and fundamentalists are both largely the result of 1 ) the breakdown in everyone conforming to one religion , probably starting at the Reformation 2 ) the scientific outlook making people mistake religious meaning for scientific meaning , causing them to either think the Bible must be scientifically true because it 's religiously meaningful , or that it must be religiously meaningless because it 's scientifically false . Richard Dawkins and the average creationist make the same fundamental mistake - the greeks would say they mistook 'muthos ' ( myth , allegory ) for 'logos ' ( reason , science )"
"Atheists were people who beleved in God ( s ) , but did n't believe He/they intervened with life on Earth ."
"you referring to the Epicurians ? Aristotle ? I ca n't think of any reference to these people as atheists ."