Author: M. Asem Ismail Zahi
Atheism (Part two)
Middle Ages to Renaissance
The history of expressing explicitly atheistic views was very rare in the early and middle of the Middle Ages. Atheism was a completely unusual and even dangerous position that was difficult to admit; the accusation of atheism was usually made to undermine political or court rivals or in a critical manner towards other religions or countries with political religions. (For example, in the interfaith attacks of Christians on non-orthodox sects and also on Muslims, the word atheist were often a means of eliminating religious political rivals, in a way that believers of one religion also attributed to other religions.) Despite all the dangers of expressing disbelief, one can witness the existence of atheists throughout history and even in the words of theists. For example, William Ockham refers in his book to some of his contemporaries who doubted the existence of God (Allah). Pope Gregory the Great, in his work on the intellectual sects, also calls atheists and skeptics “friends of doubt,” without mentioning their names.
Saeed Ibn Yusuf Al-Fayumi, a Jewish philosopher active during the Abbasid Caliphate, also refers to those who, in his opinion, do not believe in God in his book “Opinions and Views.”
Mentions of atheism and disbelief in gods can also be seen during the propagation of Christianity and in the life and writings of Hay Cornwall, in which he refers to a large number of people who think that there is no God. The presentation of these few examples shows that despite the existence of Christianity and Islam in the Middle Ages, atheism and skepticism still existed, and there is evidence of their existence. [1]
Religion became a totalitarian and exclusive power for most of the Middle Ages, to the point where it was impossible for even a powerful person to publicly declare the existence of God without fear of death. Atheism in its modern sense is the product of a discourse that developed in a specific context, and therefore its historical forms of disbelief should not be expected to conform to our modern understandings. For example, today, stating that some sacred texts may be merely metaphorical or even purely fictional may not be considered a radical position (perhaps some religious believers today also hold such views), but considering the religious and belief traditions of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, expressing such a position was clearly considered to be crossing red lines in many religions, which often led to a bitter fate for people, critics, and thinkers. This period also saw the pressure of the Inquisition from the church and widespread censorship of books and available information. Although only a small group were able to read and write, given the complete dominance of the church in translation, printing, and their political influence, it is not surprising that the opportunity to express non-religious ideas was not only denied, but if they even had the opportunity to express themselves, they were victims of a very bitter fate, from torture to the burning of the author with his books. [2]
A few accounts from the Christian Inquisition can illustrate the intensity of control and purification of thoughts during this period.
In 1497, Gabriele de Sallo was tried for saying that the miracles of Christ were natural phenomena.
Another interesting account of an atheist is found in 1558 by Pietro Estosi, a mathematician and translator of Caesar into Greek, who states that he died on his deathbed after being wounded in battle, denying God and the afterlife. It is also reported that he considered the Holy Scriptures to be imaginary and superstitious. In 1584, Domenico Scandella was also tried, and his story (known as the story of Menocchio) has been carefully recorded by the historian Carlo Ginzburg. Menocchio was of middle class. Reports of his life indicate that he was always discussing gods and religion, and that the only reason he discussed them was simply because he liked discussions. He considered it impossible that Christ was born of the Virgin Mary and stated that “he (Christ) may have been a very good person or the son of a good man”; but he denied that he was born of a virgin. He also said about religion and the orders of the Church: “I believe that the laws and orders of the Church are all commercial and they (the priests) make their (financial) living with them”. In 1586 “Venice Guillermo Garzoni” was tried because he did not believe in any god and was in fact “an atheist”, he also considered the existence to be the creation of chance and not God.
Cases like this appear one after another during the Inquisition, and many of them could be included in this description. Although for the sake of brevity, we will limit ourselves to these few narratives, although there is really no room for a description of “Venini”, “Bruno”, “Montaigne” or the influence of “Gassendi”.
Despite what has been said, the problem that some historians face in the history of atheism is the lack of autobiographical evidence, letters or writings from atheists in this period (due to some limitations such as monopoly by Christianity, burning of their works, etc.). Sometimes the confirmation of historical reports and beliefs of individuals makes the historical issues of atheism in the Middle Ages a very controversial field in history. [3]
There were also independent philosophical, intellectual or simply critical movements of individuals in the East such as “Neo-Confucianism”, which, although close to the Buddhist perspective, had much more naturalistic tendencies. These movements and tendencies also existed in the Islamic medieval world. Before the word Zendiq (heretic) came to mean religious doubt, it was used for those who were secretly dualistic or inclined to Manichaeism. For example, it is reported that in 742, Ibn Dirham denied the concept of God among Muslims, and his followers were also materialists, calling the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) a liar [may Allah forbid] [4] and denying the resurrection (resurrection of the dead). [5]
In one of his works, Goldziher also refers to a group of poets and freethinkers who criticized the Quran among themselves and sometimes considered their poetic features superior to the verses of the Quran. Goldziher also briefly described their mockery of the Quran. [6]
Continues…
References:
- Ghasemi Bojd, Yasin, The Atheist is Dead, p. 672, Publisher: Yasin Book Publishing House, Year of Publication: 1403 AH – Tehran.
- Ibid.
- Nofal, Dr. Abdul Razzaq, God and the Science of Hadith, p. 344, Translator: Ma’am Aghaei, Ahmad, Publisher: Ministry of Defense. Department of Spiritual Affairs and Culture.
- Allah forbid.
- Hawi, Saeed, The Book of “God”, p. 91, Translator: Mustafa Khoram-Del, Publisher: Ehsan Publishing House, Year of Publication: 1388 AH, Tehran.
- Rezaei, Abdul Alim, History of World Religions, The Existence of God, p. 341, Publisher: Scientific Publishing House, Year of Publication: 1389 AH, Iran – Tehran.
