THE FEAR OF A THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Re: THE FEAR OF A THEORY OF EVOLUTION

Someone sufficiently ignorant could probably make the same statement about the assertion that the sun, not the Earth, is the center of the solar system, but it wouldn't make it so.

Ignorance knows no bounds, and flourishes most comfortably when fertilized by religion.

Fantastic doctrines (like Christianity or Islam or Marxism) require unanimity of belief. One dissenter casts doubt on the creed of millions. Thus the fear
and the hate; thus the torture chamber, the iron stake, the gallows, the labor camp, the psychiatric ward.

In Massachusetts in the late 17th century, along with the notorious execution of the Salem "witches"--a well known event--there were many hangings of recreant Quakers who would not recant nor cease their proselytizing . . . cold as christian charity hardly begins to cover it . . . them boys is a scarey bunch . . .

a "friend" in need is a pest?

You know, all of them hard-workin' Puritans, they saw material failure as a sign of God's displeasure, so if you were indigent, it was no more than you deserved . . . cold as christian charity . . .

I don't thin the fear is of evolution per se, as much as a fear of an unknowable god.

Rap

Did you read the piece i quoted?

Yes and I read it as a supposition that science and faith are mutually divergent. I personally don't consider them exclusive, I just consider them separate.

I guess I consider Einstein correct when he said

Rap

Ol' Albert, he was given to bons mots like that . . .

I do think the current fundamentalist propaganda encourages the faithful to fear evolutionary theory as a direct assault on theism . . .

It has been so since the moment master Darrow opened his mouth to defend master Scopes.

This is why some are trying to label "evolutionary theory" a religion or worldview. It is their justification for demanding equal time for "creationism" in our public schools.

The reverse of painting evolution as a worldview is to dress up creationism as a science by calling it "intelligent design theory". This is the new strategy for demanding equal time in public schools.

That people have faith should not be found surprising.

Why is it hard to understand that "anonymous" has a belief and that they are devout in that belief.

Would the same statement from a devout evolutionist garner the same scorn as "anonymous"?

I happen to believe there is sufficient evidence to be able to prove evolution and if one were to take the time to examine the evidence and understand exactly what the science behind it is, they would not make statements like the one leading this thread.

However, one of the nice things about being human is that we are all entitled to be wrong and be very vocal about being so.

I submit that considerable forensically sound, academically valid evidence supports evolutionary theory, while none exists which is at odds with the theory.

On the other hand, the central argument in support of Intelligent Design/Creationism is that questions remain unanswered by evolutionary theory. As far as I'm concerned, Occam's Razor works, works every time, and in this case it cuts Intelligent Design/Creationism right outta the picture ... leavin' it nothin' more than a superstition more comfortin' to some than acceptin' the ongoin' evolution and advance of scientific discovery.

I point out that while Electromagnetic Theory remains a theory, television works, and when all is as it should be and you flip the right switch, a room lights up. For those still unconvinced, I point out as well that the fact this little essay is bein' read by anyone points to the overall validity of the still-not-entirerly-explained-or-understood Theory of Electromagnetism, with all its disputes, controversies, and other problems. While on that tack, perhaps Gravitational Theory merits mention as well; there are questions and disputes in that discipline, too, but when's the last time you noticed anything fall "up"?

Those darn balloons the little kids like to let float into the sky.

On the one hand, you make a statement such as this, using a ludicrous term, "devout evolutionist," as though considering that particular scientific theory plausible and well-established makes one a subscriber to a system of belief commensurate with religion. That is, of course, preposterous. While there are undoubtedly a certain number of people who "have faith in science," believing it has truth on its side, while not actually understanding any part of it--by and large, those who accept scientific evidence in a great many areas do so because their education has prepared them to understand, and in the less complex matters, to judge of the processes which have lead scientists to assert the significance of their findings. It is an intellectual process which relies upon the ability to judge plausibility, and method, and thereby to make informed decisions.

Religious dogma requires unquestioning adherence, and one subscribes to a belief set as an article of faith, rather than because of plausibility, or the demonstrable character of the tenets advanced by the theology. It is an entirely different exercise than scientific questioning and investigation; it does not change with time and the accumulation of knowledge; it is never to be questioned, and those who express doubt will eventually reach a point, very likely sooner rather than later, at which they are declared heretical, to be, at least shunned, and at the worst, persecuted.

On the other hand, you make a statement such as this:



It becomes rather difficult for me to avoid believing that you only came here to argue because of the author of the thread, and the raft of assumptions you habitually make about what i believe ideologically. It is not in the least difficult for me to understand that irrational beliefs are at the heart of all religious demagogery. This, however, is the first time i have come across such a succinct statement of a superstitious fear of evolution, and a contention that it is a part of an atheist conspiracy. Knowing full well the eternal popularity of theories of evil conspiracy does not alter the very surprising character of some of the tom-fool things which people will believe. So it was my purpose in this thread to discuss the exact nature of this superstitious fear of a scientific theory, and no part of what i have written authorizes the condescending assumption on your part that i would be surprised that someone has faith. It is not the fact of such everlasting idiocy which came as a surprise to me--it was the details of this particular bit of lunacy, which had never before presented itself to me in all of its details.

At last, somebody put this topic in the correct category. Thanks, set.