Do Roman Catholics KnOw the Epicurean Paradox?
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Do Roman CatholicsKnOw
The Epicurean paradox ?Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.Is he both able and willing?Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?Then why call him God?
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Epicurus (341 BC270 BC) was anancient Greek philosopher as well as the founder of the
school of philosophy calledEpicureanism.Only a few fragments and letters of Epicurus's 300
written works remain. Much of what is known about Epicurean philosophy derives from later
followers and commentators.
For Epicurus, the purpose of philosophy was to attain the happy, tranquil life,
characterized byataraxiapeace and freedom from fearandaponiathe absence of
painand by living a self-sufficient life surrounded by friends.He taught that pleasure and
pain are the measures of what is good and evil; death is the end of both body and soul and should
therefore not be feared; the gods neither reward nor punish humans; the universe is infinite and
eternal; and events in the world are ultimately based on the motions and interactions ofatoms
moving in empty space.
Biography
His parents, Neocles and Chaerestrate, both Athenian-born, and his father a citizen, had
emigrated to the Athenian settlement on theAegean island ofSamos about ten years before
Epicurus's birth in February 341 BC. As a boy, he studied philosophy for four years under the
Platonist teacher Pamphilus. At the age of 18, he went toAthens for his two-year term of
military service. The playwrightMenander served in the same age-class of theephebes asEpicurus.
After the death ofAlexander the Great,Perdiccas expelled the Athenian settlers on Samos to
Colophon,on the coast of what is now Turkey. After the completion of his military service,
Epicurus joined his family there. He studied underNausiphanes,who followed the teachings of
Democritus.In 311/310 BC Epicurus taught inMytilenebut caused strife and was forced to
leave. He then founded a school inLampsacusbefore returning to Athens in 306 BC where he
remained until his death. There he foundedThe Garden, a school named for the garden he
owned that served as the school's meeting place, about halfway between the locations of two
other schools of philosophy, theStoa and theAcademy.
Even though many of his teachings were heavily influenced by earlier thinkers, especially by
Democritus,he differed in a significant way with Democritus on determinism. Epicurus would
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often deny this influence, denounce other philosophers as confused, and claim to be "self-
taught".
Epicurus never married and had no known children. He was mostly likely avegetarian.He
suffered fromkidney stones,to which he finally succumbed in 270 BC at the age of 72, and
despite the prolonged pain involved, he wrote toI domeneus:
I have written this letter to you on a happy day to me, which is also the last day of my life. For I
have been attacked by a painful inability to urinate, and also dysentery, so violent that nothing
can be added to the violence of my sufferings. But the cheerfulness of my mind, which comes
from the recollection of all my philosophical contemplation, counterbalances all these afflictions.
And I beg you to take care of the children of Metrodorus, in a manner worthy of the devotion
shown by the young man to me, and to philosophy.
The school
Epicurus' school, which was based in the garden of his house and thus called "The
Garden", had a small but devoted following in his lifetime. The primary members were
Hermarchus,the financierIdomeneus,Leonteus and his wifeThemista,thesatiristColotes,
the mathematicianPolyaenus of Lampsacus,Leontion, andMetrodorus of Lampsacus,the
most famous popularizer of Epicureanism.His school was the first of the ancient Greek
philosophical schools to admit women as a rule rather than an exception. An inscription on the
gate to The Garden is recorded bySeneca in epistle XXI ofEpistulae morales ad Lucilium:
Stranger, here you wil l do well to tarr y; here ourhighest good is pleasure.
Epicurus emphasized friendship as an important ingredient of happiness, and the school
resembled in many ways a community of friends living together. However, he also instituted a
hierarchical system of levels among his followers, and had them swear an oath on his core tenets.
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Teachings
Prefiguring science and ethics
Epicurus is a key figure in the development ofscience and thescientific methodbecause of his
insistence that nothing should be believed, except that which was tested through direct
observation and logical deduction. Many of his ideas about nature and physics presaged
important scientific concepts of our time. He was a key figure in theAxial Age,the period from
800 BC to 200 BC, during which similarly revolutionary thinking appeared in China, India, Iran,the Near East, and Ancient Greece. His statement of theEthic of Reciprocity as the foundation of
ethics is the earliest in Ancient Greece, and he differs from the formulation ofutilitarianismby
Jeremy Bentham andJohn Stuart Millby emphasizing the minimization of harm to oneself and
others as the way to maximize happiness.
Epicurus's teachings represented a departure from the other major Greek thinkers of his period,
and before, but was nevertheless founded on many of the same principles asDemocritus.Like
Democritus, he was an atomist, believing that the fundamental constituents of the world were
indivisible little bits of matter (atoms,Greek atomos, indivisible) flying throughempty space
(kenos). Everything that occurs is the result of the atoms colliding, rebounding, and becoming
entangled with one another, with no purpose or plan behind their motions. (Compare this with
the modern study ofparticle physics.) His theory differs from the earlier atomism of Democritus
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because he admits that atoms do not always follow straight lines but their direction of motion
may occasionally exhibit a 'swerve' (clinamen). This allowed him to avoid thedeterminism
implicit in the earlier atomism and to affirmfree will.(Compare this with the modern theory of
quantum physics,which postulates a non-deterministic random motion of fundamental particles,
which do not swerve absent an external force; randomness originates in interaction of particles in
incompatible eigenstates.)
He regularly admitted women and slaves into his school and was one of the first Greeks to
break from the god-fearing and god-worshipping tradition common at the time, even while
affirming that religious activities are useful as a way to contemplate the gods and to use
them as an example of the pleasant life.Epicurus participated in the activities of traditional
Greek religion, but taught that one should avoid holding false opinions about the gods. The godsare immortal and blessed and men who ascribe any additional qualities that are alien to
immortality and blessedness are, according to Epicurus, impious. The gods do not punish the bad
and reward the good as the common man believes. Theopinion of the crowd is, Epicurus
claims, that the gods " send great evil s to the wicked and great blessings to the righteous who
model themselves after the gods,"whereas Epicurus believes the gods, in reality, do not concern
themselves at all with human beings.
It is not the man who denies the gods worshipped by the multitude, who is impious, but he who
aff irms of the gods what the multi tude beli eves about them.
Pleasure as absence of suffering
Epicurus' philosophy is based on the theory that all good and bad derive from the sensations of
what he defined as pleasure and pain: What is good is what is pleasurable, and what is bad is
what is painful. His ideas of pleasure and pain were ultimately, for Epicurus, the basis for the
moral distinction between good and evil. If pain is chosen over pleasure in some cases it is only
because it leads to a greater pleasure. Although Epicurus has been commonly misunderstood to
advocate the rampant pursuit of pleasure, his teachings were more about striving for an absence
of pain andsuffering,both physical and mental, and a state of satiation and tranquility that was
free of the fear of death and the retribution of the gods. Epicurus argued that when we do not
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suffer pain, we are no longer in need of pleasure, and we enter a state ofataraxia,"tranquility of
soul" or "imperturbability".
Epicurus' teachings were introduced into medical philosophy and practice by the Epicurean
doctorAsclepiades of Bithynia,who was the first physician who introduced Greek medicine in
Rome. Asclepiades introduced the friendly, sympathetic, pleasing and painless treatment of
patients. He advocated humane treatment of mental disorders, had insane persons freed from
confinement and treated them with natural therapy, such as diet and massages. His teachings are
surprisingly modern, therefore Asclepiades is considered to be a pioneer physician in
psychotherapy, physical therapy and molecular medicine.
Epicurus explicitly warned against overindulgence because it often leads to pain. For instance,
Epicurus warned against pursuing love too ardently. He defended friendships as ramparts for
pleasure and denied them any inherent worth. He also believed, contrary to Aristotle, that death
was not to be feared. When a man dies, he does not feel the pain of death because he no longer is
and therefore feels nothing. Therefore, as Epicurus famously said, "death is nothing to us." When
we exist, death is not; and when death exists, we are not. All sensation and consciousness ends
with death and therefore in death there is neither pleasure nor pain. The fear of death arises from
the belief that in death, there is awareness.
From this doctrine arose the Epicurean epitaph:Non fui, fui, non sum, non curo (I was not; I
was; I am not; I do not care)which is inscribed on the gravestones of his followers and seen on
many ancient gravestones of theRoman Empire.This quote is often used today athumanist
funerals.
As an ethical guideline, Epicurus emphasized minimizing harm and maximizing happiness of
oneself and others:
It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly (agreeing "neither
to harm nor be harmed"), and it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a
pleasant life.
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Epicurean paradox
The "Epicurean paradox"is a version of theproblem of evil.It is atrilemmaargument (God is
omnipotent, God is good, but Evil exists); or more commonly seen as this quote:
Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?
This argument was a type favoured by the ancient Greekskeptics,and may have been wrongly
attributed to Epicurus byLactantius,who, from hisChristianperspective, regarded Epicurus as
anatheist.It has been suggestedthat it may actually be the work of an earlyskeptic writer,
possiblyCarneades.According toReinhold F. Glei,it is settled that the argument of theodicy is
from an academic source which is not only not epicurean, but even anti-epicurean. The earliest
extant version of this trilemmaappears in the writings of the skepticSextus Empiricus.
Epicurus didnt deny the existence of gods. Instead, he stated that what gods there may be, do not
concern themselves with us, and thus would not seek to punish us either in this or any other life.
Epistemology
Epicurus emphasized the senses in hisepistemology,and his Principle of Multiple Explanations
("if several theories are consistent with the observed data, retain them all") is an early
contribution to thephilosophy of science.
There are also some things for which it is not enough to state a single cause, but several, of
which one, however, is the case. Just as if you were to see the lifeless corpse of a man lying far
away, it would be fitting to list all the causes of death in order to make sure that the single cause
of this death may be stated. For you would not be able to establish conclusively that he died by
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the sword or of cold or of illness or perhaps by poison, but we know that there is something of
this kind that happened to him.
Politics
In contrast to theStoics,Epicureans showed little interest in participating in the politics of the
day, since doing so leads to trouble. He instead advocated seclusion. This principle is
epitomized by the phrase lathe bisas .Plutarch elaborated in his essay I s the
Saying " L ive in Obscurity" Right?( -An recte dictum sit
latenter esse vivendum) 1128c;Flavius Philostratus Vita Apollonii8.28.12, meaning "live in
obscurity", "get through life without drawing attention to yourself", i. e. live without pursuing
glory or wealth or power, but anonymously, enjoying little things like food, the company of
friends, etc.
Legacy
Bust of Epicurus leaning against his disciple Metrodorus in theLouvre Museum
Elements of Epicurean philosophy have resonated and resurfaced in various diverse thinkers and
movements throughout Western intellectual history.
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The atomic poems (such as 'All Things are Governed by Atoms') and natural philosophy of
Margaret Cavendish were influenced by Epicurus.
His emphasis on minimizing harm and maximizing happiness in his formulation of theEthic of
Reciprocity was later picked up by the democratic thinkers of theFrench Revolution,and others,
likeJohn Locke,who wrote that people had a right to "life, liberty, and property." To Locke,
one's own body was part of their property, and thus one's right to property would theoretically
guarantee safety for their persons, as well as their possessions.
This triad, as well as theegalitarianism of Epicurus, was carried forward into the
American freedom movement andDeclaration of Independence,by theAmerican founding
father,Thomas Jefferson,as "all men are created equal" and endowed with certain
"inalienable rights," such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Jefferson
considered himself an Epicurean.
InAn Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding,David Hume uses Epicurus as a character for
explaining the impossibility of our knowing God to be any greater or better than his creation
proves him to be.
Karl Marx'sdoctoral thesis was on "The Difference Between theDemocritean and Epicurean
Philosophy of Nature."
Epicurus was first to assert humanfreedom as coming from a fundamentalindeterminism in the
motion of atoms. This has led some philosophers to think that for Epicurusfree will was caused
directly by chance. In his "On the Nature of Things"(De rerum natura),Lucretius appears to
suggest this in the best-known passage on Epicurus' position. But in his Letter to Menoeceus,
Epicurus followsAristotle and clearly identifies threepossible causes - " some things happen of
necessity, others by chance, others through our own agency." Aristotle said some things
"depend on us" (eph hemin). Epicurus agreed, and said it is to these last things thatpraise and
blame naturally attach. For Epicurus, thechance "swerve" (orclinamen)of the atoms simply
defeateddeterminism to leave room for autonomous agency.
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Epicurus was also a significant source of inspiration and interest for bothArthur
Schopenhauer,having particular influence on the famous pessimist's views on suffering and
death, as well as one of Schopenhauer's successors:Friedrich Nietzsche.Nietzsche cites his
affinities to Epicurus in a number of his works, includingThe Gay Science,Beyond Good and
Evil,and his private letters toPeter Gast.Nietzsche was attracted to, among other things,
Epicurus' ability to maintain a cheerful philosophical outlook in the face of painful physical
ailments. Nietzsche also suffered from a number of sicknesses during his lifetime. However, he
thought that Epicurus' conception of happiness as freedom from anxiety was too passive and
negative.
Works
Epicurus,Nuremberg Chronicle
The only surviving complete works by Epicurus are three letters, which are to be found in
book X of Diogenes Laertius'L ives of Eminent Phi losophers,and two groups of quotes: the
Principal Doctri nes, reported as well in Diogenes' book X, and the Vatican Sayings,
preserved in a manuscript from theVatican Library.
Numerous fragments of his thirty-seven volume treatiseOn Naturehave been found among the
charredpapyrus fragments at theVilla of the Papyri atHerculaneum.In addition, other
Epicurean writings found at Herculaneum contain important quotations from his other
works. Moreover, numerous fragments and testimonies are found throughout ancient
Greek and Roman literature, a collection of which can be found inUsener'sEpicurea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gay_Sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gay_Sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gay_Sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gasthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_Eminent_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_Eminent_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_Eminent_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Libraryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Nature_%28Epicurus%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Nature_%28Epicurus%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Nature_%28Epicurus%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyri_from_Herculaneumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Papyrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Usenerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Epicurus_Nuremberg_Chronicle.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicureahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Usenerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herculaneumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Papyrihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyri_from_Herculaneumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Nature_%28Epicurus%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Libraryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lives_of_Eminent_Philosophershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuremberg_Chroniclehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gasthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Good_and_Evilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gay_Sciencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Nietzschehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer -
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Hero cult
According to Diskin Clay, Epicurus himself established a custom of celebrating his birthday
annually with common meals, befitting his stature as heroctistes (or founding hero) of the
Garden. He ordained in his will annual memorial feasts for himself on the same date (10th of
Gamelion month.Epicurean communities continued this tradition, referring to Epicurus as their
"savior" (soter)and celebrating him as hero. Lucretius apotheosized Epicurus as the main
character of his epic poemDe rerum natura.Thehero cult of Epicurus may have operated
as a Garden varietycivic religion.However, clear evidence of an Epicurean hero cult, as well
as the cult itself, seems buried by the weight of posthumous philosophical interpretation.
Epicurus' cheerful demeanor, as he continued to work despite dying from a painful stone
blockage of his urinary tract lasting a fortnight, according to his successorHermarchus andreported by his biographerDiogenes Laertius,further enhanced his status among his followers.
In literature and popular media
TheApostle Paul encountered Epicurean andStoicphilosophers as he was ministering inAthens.
Horace describes himself asEpicuri de grege porcum"a swine fr om Epicure's herd"in his
Epistles.
In Canto X Circle 6 ("Where the heretics lie") ofDante'sInferno,Epicurus and his followers are
criticized for supporting a materialistic ideal when they are mentioned to have been condemned
to the Circle of Heresy.
Epicurus the Sageis a two-part comic book byWilliam Messner-Loebs andSam Kieth
portraying Epicurus as "the only sane philosopher" by anachronistically bringing him together
with many other well-known Greek philosophers. It was republished as graphic novel by the
Wildstorm branch ofDC Comics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctisteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attic_calendarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_rerum_naturahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_culthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_religionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_religionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermarchushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Laertiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_Paulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistles_%28Horace%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistles_%28Horace%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighierihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_%28Dante%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus_the_Sagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus_the_Sagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Messner-Loebshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Kiethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Kiethhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Messner-Loebshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus_the_Sagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_%28Dante%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Alighierihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistles_%28Horace%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horacehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostle_Paulhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diogenes_Laertiushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermarchushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civic_religionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_culthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_rerum_naturahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attic_calendarhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctistes -
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Epicurus and the Epicursim
In Judaism,Epicurians are ones which do not have a share inOlam Habathe afterlife and the
world to come.
In Rabbinic literature the termEpikorosis used, without a specific reference to theGreek
philosopher Epicurus, yet it seems apparent that the term was derived from his name.
Epicurus's technicallyhedonistic views and philosophical teachings, though opposed to the
Hedonists of his time, countered Jewish scripture, the strictlymonotheistic conception ofGod in
Judaism and the Jewish belief in the afterlife and the world to come.
TheTalmudic interpretation is that theAramaic word is derived from theroot-word ;RKP "lit. licentious), hence disrespect.
The Christiancensorship of the Jewish Talmud in the aftermath of theDisputation of Barcelona
and during theSpanish Inquisition andRoman Inquisition,let the term spread within the Jewish
classical texts, since Roman Catholic Church censors replaced terms likeMinim("sectarians",
coined on the Christians) with the termEpikorsimorEpicursim, meaningheretics.
References:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epikoros_%28Judaism%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_eschatology#Olam_Haba_-_the_afterlife_and_the_world_to_comehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greekshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Judaismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Judaismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_%28linguistics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disputation_of_Barcelona#Aftermathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minuthhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisitionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disputation_of_Barcelona#Aftermathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorshiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_%28linguistics%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aramaichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talmudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Judaismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_in_Judaismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monotheismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonismhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greekshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_eschatology#Olam_Haba_-_the_afterlife_and_the_world_to_comehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epikoros_%28Judaism%29