The History of Unbelief
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 18 September 2020
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dan delves into the history of unbelief - or rather, past people who didn't believe in God(s). He talks to Professor Tim Whitmarsh about Greek atheists (and indeed, about the creation of the term 'atheist'), and to Professor John Arnold about those who eschewed religious doctrine in the medieval era.
Subscribe to History Hit and you'll get access to hundreds of history documentaries, as well as every single episode of this podcast from the beginning (400 extra episodes). We're running live podcasts on Zoom, we've got weekly quizzes where you can win prizes, and exclusive subscriber only articles. It's the ultimate history package. Just go to historyhit.tv to subscribe. Use code 'pod1' at checkout for your first month free and the following month for just £/€/$1.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi everyone, welcome to Dan Snow's History Hit on this episode of the podcast. We're looking about the history of unbelief. |
| 0:07.6 | We've talked recently about the history of Christianity with Tom Hone, we talked about history of Sikhism with Priyatwal. |
| 0:14.1 | Now we are looking at the history of unbelief of humanism, atheism, whatever you want to call it. |
| 0:19.5 | We made this in conjunction with the University of Kent. |
| 0:22.8 | They have got an understanding unbelief program. |
| 0:26.2 | And we'll talk to a number of historians as you'll hear, who have looked into people who did not believe in a deity through various periods of history. |
| 0:35.5 | Also working with the University of Kent, San Anderson Jones, the larger life apostle of unbelief, he has produced a series of films through his lifefulness project. |
| 0:45.5 | So if you search lifefulness project online, you'll see a number of films that he's produced, which talk about what unbelief means today. |
| 0:53.0 | So we got the past, the present, a little bit of future here. |
| 0:56.8 | If you want to go and watch hundreds of history documentaries, listen to hundreds of podcasts, then you can do so at History Hit TV. |
| 1:05.9 | You just go to History Hit.tv, use the code pod1, POD1, and you get a month for free and then you get your second month for just one pound euro or dollar. |
| 1:15.2 | That nudges you towards Christmas. I'm afraid it does, at which point you can take advantage of another special offer. |
| 1:20.3 | Well, no doubt, be releasing in the bell doctor Christmas, but don't tell anyone I told you that. |
| 1:23.4 | Then you get to enjoy the Netflix for History. The world's best history channel. Check it out. No aliens, you can love it. |
| 1:28.9 | But the meantime, everyone here is a history of unbelief. Enjoy. |
| 1:38.2 | The word atheism and the word atheist are en route Greek words. |
| 1:44.4 | What they mean, though, in the Greek world is rather different to what we mean now. |
| 1:48.1 | We tend to think of an atheist as somebody who disbelieves in all supernatural activity. |
| 1:54.5 | The word emerges in Greek in the 5th century BCE, usually in poetic contexts to describe people that are abandoned by the gods. |
| 2:01.8 | So if you think about the heroes of Greek tragedy who are suffering terribly, they will say, |
| 2:06.6 | I am forsaken by the gods. And that word is atheos, the Greek word atheos. |
| 2:12.2 | Now over time in the 5th century, the word develops a philosophical connotation, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.