58 physical principles alone control human behavior and that humans are just sophisticated machines.51 The idea that humans are only material beings immediately conflicts with the idea of an immaterial soul, which minimizes the significance of God in human life. This materialistic perspective, which gave little place for faith in a transcendent God or spiritual reality, would eventually serve as the basis for atheistic philosophy. 52 The Mechanistic View of Nature In his discourse on the Method (1637), Descartes claimed that the universe— including the human body—operates much like a clock. This revolutionary mechanistic viewpoint proposed that physical processes could fully explain all natural events, negating the need for supernatural intervention. Pierre-Simon Laplace, later argued that the existence of God is not required to explain the workings of the cosmos.53 There is little room for the active participation of a supernatural creator in Laplace’s mechanistic worldview, which supported the idea that the cosmos is a selfsustaining system guided by natural rules. Consequently, the secularization of thought that resulted from Descartes' mechanical philosophy made atheism a respectable position in academia.54 Modern Atheism: Gradual Development Atheism did not emerge overnight or suddenly; rather, it developed gradually over centuries. Throughout the sixteenth century, anyone who held unconventional beliefs or disagreed with Church teaching was frequently denigrated with the label “ Atheist”. In England and France, it was often used as a derogatory word directed to those who were thought to be heretics.55 However, by the seventeenth century, the phrase came to mean something different—that is, the existence of God is to be denied. Denis Diderot exemplified this view.56 The Church has always placed human reason within the context of divine revelation and acknowledged the significance of reason in knowing God. When reason was released from the restrictions of religion, it allowed for more critical assessments of conventional religious beliefs, which caused many people to doubt God’s existence. 57 The Rise of Modern Atheists Older theologians frequently believed that God was impervious to criticism, while contemporary philosophers recognized that human reason could probe and test the idea of God as presence and essence. 57 Ibid. 55 Gavin Hyman, “Atheism in Modern History,” in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, ed. Michael Martin (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 29. 52 Ibid. 56 Diderot, Denis. Rameau’s Nephew and Other Works. Translated by Jacques Barzun and Ralph H. Bowen. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 2001. 53 Laplace, Pierre-Simon. A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities. Translated by Frederick Wilson. New York: Dover Publications, 1951. 51 Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. Edited by Richard Tuck. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 54 Ibid.
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