ɪn hɪz wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd sˈɛvənhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti nˈaɪn ˈɛseɪ, pɹɪlˈɪmɪnˌɛɹi dˈɪskoːɹs, ɔːɹ ˈænsɚ tə ðə kwˈɛstʃən: wˌʌt ɪz ɐn ˈeɪθɪˌɪst?, sˈɪlveɪn mˈɑːɹɹeɪtʃəl pɹəklˈeɪmd ðæt hiː hæd nˈoʊmˌoːɹ nˈiːd ʌv ɡˈɑːd ðɐn ɡˈɑːd nˈiːdᵻd hˌɪm, ænd pɹəklˈeɪmd sˈʌtʃ ɐn ˈæɾɪtˌuːd wʌz "tɹˈuː ˈeɪθɪˌɪzəm" ˈæftɚ ɹᵻdʒˈɛktɪŋ sˈɛvɹəl kəmpˈiːɾɪŋ stˈænsᵻz.
In his 1799 essay, Preliminary discourse, or Answer to the question: What is an atheist?, Sylvain Maréchal proclaimed that he had no more need of God than God needed him, and proclaimed such an attitude was "true atheism" after rejecting several competing stances.