Hi, Abe.
If you'll permit me to take a side trip for this post, I'd like to make a couple simple observations.
ApostateAbe writes:
The only event separating abiogenesis from Darwinian evolution is the chemical synthesis of the first self-replicating molecule...
I agree that there's a lot of connection between evolution and abiogenesis. Mechanistically, they don't differ all that much: whatever caused the transition between "non-life" and "life" almost certainly happened via what could arguably be called a "random mutation," so it would seem to fit the mechanistic definition of "evolution" just fine.
Where they diverge is in the fact that one of them (evolution) could happen even if the other (abiogenesis) didn't. Thus, they're not
dependent on each other. However, proponents of abiogenesis are, without exception, also proponents of evolution. So I'm sure that at least some proponents have philosophically or ideologically linked the two such that they rather
are dependent on each other. Still, I doubt it's the typical case, so I'm not sure that it's particularly relevant.
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ApostateAbe writes:
There seems to be so much bone-headed groupthink that goes on in the activist defenses of the ToE that the side of me who is arrogant prick really shows whenever I talk about it.
Yeah, I know I've personally taken part in "ToE activism" on multiple occasions. I think it's more an artifact of having a lot of evolutionists on this site, so the posts against evolution tend to get better coverage.
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Also, I don't think you're arguing that Darwin
caused atheism: you're arguing that Darwin
enabled atheism.
Intuitively, it makes perfect sense. Man's status as a special creation of God being arguably the most important dogma of most religions, it seems perfectly reasonable to think that a theory that challenges the specialness of man would be the most important reason for people to reject most religions.
But, beyond simple intuitiveness, I don't have much to suggest that it is the actuality of things. I think it would make an interesting volunteer survey: "what is the most common reason why atheists decided to become atheists"? Does anyone know if this has been done?
Edited by Bluejay, : Why are there three ways to spell "site"?
-Bluejay (a.k.a. Mantis, Thylacosmilus)
Darwin loves you.