Abstract
Almost anyone who has taken the second semester course of an History of Philosophy sequence will have read something about Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677). The centrality of his doctrine of Substance and Modes when coupled with the subtle but profound ramifications of Parallelism and Pantheism has led many thinkers to categorize him as the “God-intoxicated” philosopher. Other thinkers, however, perceive him as an atheist.1 How is it possible for Spinozistic ontology to be interpreted in such a conflictual fashion? This essay attempts to contribute to our understanding of the problem by focusing on those aspects of his doctrine that has resulted in the charge of “atheist”.