> real1 wrote:

>> On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:09:03 -0400, old man joe home.com> wrote:
>>

>>> Atheism comes from the Greek word " Atheos " and it's found in just
>>> one place in all of Scripture, and that is in Eph. 2:12 and is
>>> rendered " without God. "

>>
>> WRONG. It's "without a god or gods". Note the lack of capitalization,
>> since it's not at all specific to your omni-monster.
>>
>> Atheism is not derived directly from that, but from "theism" (belief
>> in a god or gods) with the "a-" prefix meaning not. Atheism is without
>> A BELIEF IN a god or gods. Note the lack of a reference to your
>> super-monster.
>>

> I really hate to admit this, but Old Man Joe is correct on this point.
> The words atheist and atheism entered the English language sometime
> around 1565-1590, and they are derived from the Greek word atheos.
> The original meaning of 'atheist' was someone who did no good deeds,
> an immoral person.
>
> In medieval theology, the concept of Original Sin dictated that every
> person was poisoned by the evil acts of Adam and Eve, and their basic
> nature was to do evil. The only way for a person to do *anything* good
> was if the Holy Spirit was in him, guiding him. So a person who refused
> to let the Holy Spirit into his heart, a godless person, was doomed to
> committing only evil acts.
>
> Over the past few centuries the meaning of the words have changed to
> "without a belief in God or gods," but at the time the King James
> Version of the Bible was written, it still meant "without God"
> (specifically the Christian god.)
>
> The rest of Old Man Joe's rant is garbage, of course.