As Martinich has pointed out, in Hobbes's time the term "atheist" was often applied to people who believed in God but not in divine providence, or to people who believed in God but also maintained other beliefs that were inconsistent with such belief.
Como Martinich (1995) sinalou, nos tempos de Hobbes, o termo "ateo" aplícase con frecuencia á xente que cría en Deus, pero non na providencia divina, ou para xente que cría en Deus, pero tamén mantiña outras crenzas que eran incompatibles con tales crenzas.