The moment
Banned from Amsterdam's Portuguese-Jewish community in 1656 and earning his living by grinding lenses, Baruch Spinoza published his Theologico-Political Treatise anonymously in 1670. It treated the Bible as a human, historical document, argued that faith and philosophy are separate domains, and defended the freedom to philosophise; it caused an uproar and was soon condemned. His Ethics, which identified God with nature, appeared only after his death in 1677.
People: Baruch Spinoza