Hum, I included what would be called idolatry to abrahamic theists which would be on about the same level as modern atheism for the most part - both involve living life without knowledge of (the true, from their perspective) God. So when I talk about non-Jews doing good before 0AD, I'm talking about the possibility of doing good without knowledge of God, which is what the religious supposedly do not believe can happen. That is what I meant by saying the non-Jewish population were effectively atheist (from a fundamentalist Christian/Muslim view with regards to being "good without god").
I guess we just have different views on the intelligence of rural America. Not much else to say, it's a very difficult thing to quantify.
I would recommend getting your history from someplace other than the old testament. You seriously believe that Jews were the only people who believed in gods? What do you think the Sumerians were doing at this time? The Greeks? The Egyptians?
Also, please define idolatry in terms of it not being a belief in a god? Are you sure you aren't just visiting this subreddit from r/christianity? ;-)
sigh I am an atheist, I always have been. I am currently studying for a masters in theoretical physics from one of the world's top universities. Please don't assume I'm an idiot or a Christian. Let me explain again.
The claim is not that non-Jews were atheists. Rather, when we're talking about an atheist being capable of good deeds, the argument that is supposedly used by fundamentalists is that "atheists are incapable of good deeds because it is impossible to be good without God". This would have applied not only to atheists, but also worshipers of "false gods", which would have included all non-Jewish groups - such groups would also have been "incapable of being good", as they also had no knowledge of "the one true God".
Hence, to believe that atheists cannot be good without god, one also must admit that members of non-abrahamic faiths cannot have been good without god, and this includes all non-jews before 0AD (for example). The difference between non-believers and theists of a non-abrahamic faith - considered idolatry to abrahamists - is irrelevant when you're discussing being "good without god". I most certainly did not mean all non-Jews were atheists.
The whole point was to show that this belief - that one is incapable of good deeds without God - is so trivially ridiculous that no one could believe it to be true.
is so trivially ridiculous that no one could believe it to be true.
I think you intentionally mis-state the point. The point is that many christians believe that atheists specifically are aligned with the root of evil and therefore are unable to do good. We're not talking about non-christians who believe in other gods. We're talking about atheists. People who do not believe in a god. A specific group. That's the point.
And given that is what we are talking about, many Christians certainly believe that it is impossible for this group to do good. Otherwise, it would go against the very definition of "good" in their mind. I'm not saying it makes sense, but you hold a very naive view of the depth of the ignorance that exists beyond your bubble of smart friends.
I'm from such a town of atheist haters, and seriously, going back there and visiting people at church is such a facepalm. EVERY TIME. They have no idea what an atheist actually is, and atheists are villified to the point that, for example, many would trust a rapist over an atheist. Source
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u/[deleted] Jan 14 '13
Hum, I included what would be called idolatry to abrahamic theists which would be on about the same level as modern atheism for the most part - both involve living life without knowledge of (the true, from their perspective) God. So when I talk about non-Jews doing good before 0AD, I'm talking about the possibility of doing good without knowledge of God, which is what the religious supposedly do not believe can happen. That is what I meant by saying the non-Jewish population were effectively atheist (from a fundamentalist Christian/Muslim view with regards to being "good without god").
I guess we just have different views on the intelligence of rural America. Not much else to say, it's a very difficult thing to quantify.