Posted on 01/13/2002 8:47:59 AM PST by aculeus
He was the originator of the most dangerous idea in history. He disenfranchised God as our creator and revealed the animal origins of humanity. Many believe his influence was pernicious and evil.
But now a campaign has been launched to establish an international day of celebration on 12 February: birthday of Charles Darwin, author of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
'Along with Shakespeare and Newton, Darwin is our greatest gift to the world,' said Richard Dawkins, honorary president of the Darwin Day Organisation. 'He was our greatest thinker. Any campaign to recognise his greatness should have a significant British contribution.'
The Darwin campaign was launched by US activists two years ago to resist the anti-evolution campaigning of fundamental Christians. Now the aim is to create global celebrations by 2009, the bicentennial of his birthday.
'We have little chance of getting a national holiday for Darwin in the US - there is far too much anti-science and pseudoscience,' said project organiser Amanda Chesworth.'We are more likely to get one established in Europe, particularly in Britain, his birthplace.'
Celebrations will include seminars and lectures, and the showing of films and plays on Darwin's life, though other ideas include an atheist giving Radio 4's Thought for the Day, and a lesson on evolution being preached at Westminster Abbey. 'I'd do it like a shot,' said Dawkins.
Darwin was originally religious. He saw nature's diversity as proof of God's existence. Only a divine creator could be responsible for such marvels, it was then thought. But, after travelling the world in the Beagle, and after years of thought and experiment at his Down House home in Kent, he concluded that natural selection offered a better explanation.
Life forms better suited to their environments live longer and so have more offspring, thus triggering an evolution of species moving into new ecological niches. As philosopher Daniel Dennett said, it was 'the single best idea anyone has ever had... ahead of Newton and Einstein and everyone else.'
It is also remarkably simple. 'You can explain natural selection to a teenager,' said UK biologist John Maynard Smith. 'You have difficulty with Newton and little chance with Einstein. Yet Darwin's idea is the most profound. It still haunts us.'
Nor is opposition to Darwin confined to religious figures. Sociologists, psychologists and others involved in social policy hate natural selection, said Maynard Smith. 'They deny human behaviour is influenced by genes and evolution. They want to believe we are isolated from the animal kingdom. It is damaging, intellectual laziness. That is why we need a Darwin Day.
This point was backed by biologist Steve Jones. 'If you look at Africa, US fundamentalism, and the Muslim world, you realise evolution supporters are outnumbered by creationists. Yet these are people who have deliberately chosen to be ignorant. They are flat-Earthers without the sophistication. We need a Darwin Day to counter that ignorance.'
Species on the Earth have gone through at least 6 mass extinctions, including volcanism, an asteroid, glaciation, and others. This is home sapiens' time on earth, as successors to an age of worms, age of reptiles, and an(earlier) age of mammals. Nothing at all states that homo sapiens is the height of evolution, or that intelligence is a superior trait. The dinosaurs lasted for 120 million years - we will be lucky to last for another 50. We can derive whatever comfort we like from ancient mythologies and ancient writings. However, we have a very limited time on earth, it is best to make the best of it before we pass on.
Perhaps you could show us an example of any mutation that has occurred that has had a positive effect on the organism for which the mutation occurred? After, evolution assumes we'll all be x-men sonme day?
Perhaps you'd care to explain how any organism evolved, or how all the necessary components to support a biological function all evolved at the same time.
I guess people with no imagination have to blame evil on somebody. Sure, people have abused his theory and applied it to areas to which it had no business being applied, but that sounds more like a personal problem to me.
Back in post 13 I gave you a link to an exhaustive listing of all our prior discussions on those very subjects. I suggest you pause to take a look. Generally, organisms evolve due to the mechanisms of mutation and natural selection. There are numerous texts written for those who are just beginning to approach the subject of evolution, and I think you ought to take the time to become familiar with some of the basic principles involved.
As for your question about "all the necessary components to support a biological function all evolved at the same time," I assume you are paraphrasing Behe's argument, which has been debunked to death. Please see some of the many links on this by visiting post 13 and checking that site out. You may be astounded to learn -- but you ought to learn -- that the stuff you're reciting is nothing but junk science.
As a side note, my understanding of the 30 years war is a little shakey. Please correct any wrong assumption I make. I thought the Germans (Protestants, Catholics and Calvinists) were fighting a civil war amongst themselves for control of Bavaria, etc. Upon seeing the weakened state of the Germans, surrounding nations invaded for the purpose of capturing territory. Thus, what percentages of the deaths would you contribute to Christians?
Read his post 55 again. Patrick was using sarcasm to critique your implicit assertion that the "math of intelligent design" is valid. It was really funny, because... well, if a joke needs to be explained... :-)
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