Outstanding statements from early atheist Matthias Knutzen:

"First, there is neither a God nor a devil; secondly, magistrates are not to be valued, churches are to be despised, and priests rejected; thirdly, instead of magistrates and priests, we have learning and reason, which, joined with conscience, teach us to live honestly, to hurt no man, and to give every one his due; fourthly, matrimony does not differ from fornication; fifthly, there is but one life, which is this, after which there are neither rewards nor punishments; the holy Scripture is inconsistent with itself."

-Micrcelii syntagma historic ecclesiasticce [1699]

https://www.biblicalcyclopedia.com/K/knutzen-matthias.html

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