The
definition of
Robert Flint (1877), Professor of Divinity at the
University of Edinburgh was similar. Flint's 1877
Baird Lecture was titled
Anti-Theistic Theories. He used
"antitheism" as a very general
umbrella term for all opposition to his own form of theism, which he defined as: the "belief that the heavens and the earth and all that they contain owe their existence and continuance to the wisdom and will of a supreme, self-existent, omnipotent, omniscient, righteous, and benevolent Being, who is distinct from, and independent of, what He has created." However, Flint also acknowledged that antitheism is typically understood differently from how he defines it. In particular, he notes that it has been used as a subdivision of
atheism, descriptive of the view that
theism has been disproven, rather than as the more general term that Flint preferred. He rejected the alternative
non-theistic: not merely because of its hybrid origin and character, but also because it is far too comprehensive. The theories of physical and mental science are non-theistic, even when in no degree, directly or indirectly, antagonistic to theism. ==See also==