How Darwin caused atheism

Atheism became more prevalent after Darwin announced his theory of evolution, therefore Darwin caused atheism. Can you say "post hoc ergo propter hoc?" I'm certainly not a sociologist, but I'd venture to guess that there were myriad social forces at work.The ToE is exactly as important to atheism as are astronomy, geology, medicine, seismology, meteorology, psychiatry, and any other science that explained phenomena that were attributed to gods.In one sense, atheism is completely independent of any science. Once one realizes that there is no evidence for any religious claims, and that attributing real world phenomena to gods doesn't really answer any questions anyway, religious fails regardless of whether science can answer the questions. Did the rise of science make this process easier? It makes sense to suppose that it did. But I'm not aware of any reason to elevate the ToE to the position you propose above all other sciences.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

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We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

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It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

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...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

One is chemistry, the other is biology. The only ones who want to conflate them are those whose religions are threatened by them.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

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We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

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It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

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...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

Yes, you've made it clear what you think. Now all you need is some evidence. I'd love to see it. It's far from clear to me what this has to do with the point I made. In any event, the problem with religion in general, and creationism specifically, as far as explanations for the world is concerned, is that they don't explain anything. Even in a one horse race they lose, because they don't even get out of the gate. "Goddit and his ways are mysterious" isn't an explanation. It's throwing one's hands up in the air and assuming we'll never know. That's not an explanation, it's an excuse for not looking for an explanation.Also, I'd love to hear what you consider to be an "activist defender of the ToE." I'm intrigued by the concept.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

The problem of course, which you have so far ignored, is that gods don't explain any of those things, and gods aren't needed because of them. Gods were conceived because of human inability to explain things they didn't understand, that much is true. But it doesn't follow from that that gods actually explained the things they were conceived to explain.Obviously, the ToE doesn't strike down the most popular argument for gods, since most people who believe in gods also understand that evidence supports the ToE.Also, I'm still waiting to hear what you consider an "activist defender of the ToE."

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

I'm one of those odd ducks who says what he means. Gods don't explain anything. As I described above, "Goddit" isn't an explanation, it's an excuse for not looking for an explanation. You need to square that with the fact that most religious people acknowledge that the ToE is the best explanation for life on this planet.I think you will find that these discussions would progress faster if you actually respond to the points others make rather than simply quoting them, then reasserting the same error that they are trying to correct. Just a thought. And thus, you have refuted your own point. Well done.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

Since you've refuted your own thesis, I'd expect you are done with everyone. But I guess I can live with the fact that you have no real response to what I'm saying.

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

Sorry, not following you. Can you expand or clarify?

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

WTF? Are you on the rag or something?

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist

The way you're going on, it really sounds like someone not only peed in your Wheaties, but they took a dump as well. Dude, chill out. If you have something rational to say, it's a lot more likely to be taken seriously if you sound rational. I kinda doubt you have anything rational to say, but try to calm down and give it another shot. Who knows, I've been wrong before.{AbE} I have no doubt that you know things I don't. I'm equally certain I know things you don't. We could compare lists, but that seems silly.I do strongly suspect that you are wrong about a lot more things than I am, but I'm not interested enough in the question to actually inquire.Edited by subbie, : As noted

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Ridicule is the only weapon which can be used against unintelligible propositions. -- Thomas Jefferson

​

We see monsters where science shows us windmills. -- Phat

​

It has always struck me as odd that fundies devote so much time and effort into trying to find a naturalistic explanation for their mythical flood, while looking for magical explanations for things that actually happened. -- Dr. Adequate

​

...creationists have a great way to detect fraud and it doesn't take 8 or 40 years or even a scientific degree to spot the fraud--'if it disagrees with the bible then it is wrong'.... -- archaeologist