Atheisms come in kinds, the distinctions between them being based partly on the grounds of the rejection of God, partly on the distinctive form of the theism that is rejected: for theisms come in kinds too. Correspondingly, theisms may be distinguished at least in part by reason of the forms of atheism they confront. There is, therefore, a symbiotic relationship between theisms and atheisms, and they frequently mirror-image one another. Four styles of atheism are considered, represented by Feuerbach, Marx, Nietzsche and Derrida with a view to determining how far a ‘classical’ Christian theism is capable of a response to these critiques.
