The Ancient Religion of Atheism

I could be wrong here, but it seems like there's a growing idea that says, "As civilization and societies advance, there's less of a need for God. People invented God and religion to explain the world around them, so as we make more scientific discoveries and technological advances, God becomes irrelevant. Science reveals the answers that religion once provided, so God probably isn't real".

In other words, as our confidence in science grows, atheism becomes more viable. Atheists tout it as the "wave of the future" or the "result of humanity's advancement". It's described as a recent phenomenon and a shiny new way of thinking. The more secular a society becomes, the more advanced it is. Any trust in God or any faith in Him is simply primitive. An atheist's plea to us is to get with the times, jump on the "reason + science = no God" bandwagon, and abandon the backwardness of religion.

I'm not here to get into the "science vs religion" debate (check this post for some thoughts on that), but I am here to say that atheism is nothing new. In fact, it's even addressed in the Old Testament! Check out this verse (really part of a verse):

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God"
Psalm 53:1a

This verse was written sometime between 2300 and 3500 years ago! This verse's existence in this time period tells us two things:

• Atheists existed 2300-3500 years ago. If they didn't, this verse wouldn't exist.
• Atheism existed in a period far more primitive, with far less explained, and far less secular than today.

Therefore, atheists aren't on to anything new or fresh. Science, secularism, technology, and reason are simply new banners for the ancient religion of thumbing our noses at God.

To be continued...