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Charles Darwin

2007-03-20T20:44:05Z

Cypher 00.0: /* Early Career */

[[Image:darwin.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Charles Darwin]]
Charles Darwin was a famous naturalist born in [[England]] to a Christian family on February 12, [[1809]]. He is best known for the [[Theory of Natural Selection|theory of natural selection]] which has since been generally accepted by biologists as the major mechanism for [[Theory of Evolution|evolution]]. The concept is that biological species develop over time via natural selection, branching from common origins. Outside of evolution in particular, he was regarded as an expert on barnacles as well as credited with discovering how coral atolls were formed.

the big bearded bastard who finally proved us wrong. and we cant be having that, people will stop enslaving themselves to us. the horror!

==Religious Beliefs==

Charles Darwin was a Christian up and through his famous five year voyage on the ''HMS Beagle''. But in the ensuing two years after returning to England (1836 to 1839; and in his late twenties) Darwin abandoned Christianity (1) and [sic] "had become a 'materialist' (more or less equivalent to an atheist" (2). About twenty years later in 1859 (at the age of fifty) Darwin published his famous book ''The Origin of Species''. "In order not to hurt the feelings of his friends and wife, Darwin often used deistic language in his publications" (3). According to Darwin, the "manifestly false history of the world" (4) as recorded in the Old Testament and New Testament miracles led him to reject Biblical veracity (5). Eminent Darwin biographer, Professor Janet Browne, sums up Darwin's views concerning religion: Darwin "mapped out a comparitive evolution of the religious sense, proposing that religious belief was ultimately nothing more than a primitive urge to bestow a cause on otherwise inexplicable natural events...In short, he made no secret of his view that he did not believe religion to have any rational foundation at all" (6). Yet, in spite of these views, when he died in 1882 at the age of seventy-three, Darwin was buried at Westminster Abbey next to Sir [[Isaac Newton]].

When investigating transmutation of species he knew that his naturalist friends thought this a bestial heresy undermining miraculous justifications for the social order, the kind of radical argument then being used by Dissenters and atheists to attack the Church of England's privileged position as the established church. Though Darwin wrote of religion as a tribal survival strategy, he still believed that God was the ultimate lawgiver. His belief dwindled, and with the death of his daughter Annie in 1851, Darwin finally lost all faith in Christianity. He continued to help the local church with parish work, but on Sundays would go for a walk while his family attended church. He now thought it better to look at pain and suffering as the result of general laws rather than direct intervention by God. When asked about his religious views, he wrote that he had never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God, and that generally "an Agnostic would be the more correct description of my state of mind.". Ultimately he found that his discoveries conflicted with the belief in God as the one and only truth.

== Darwin's Illness ==
Charles Darwin's work set off a great deal of controversy. And Darwin closely watched the public's response to his ideas while his allies [[Thomas Huxley]] and [[Joseph Hooker]] advocated his ideas within the scientific community. For example, [[Richard Milner]] wrote regarding Darwin in the 2002 issue of Scientific American in a article entitled [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=000B62D6-7E63-1D7E-90FB809EC5880000# "Putting Darwin in his Place"], that Darwin ''"clipped, catalogued and indexed hundreds of offprints, about 350 reviews and 1,600 articles, as well as satires, parodies and Punch caricatures, with which he filled hefty scrapbooks..."'' And it appears as if the criticism of his work may have troubled Darwin. Milner in the aforementioned article, wrote that after [[Charles Lyell]] published a very weak endorsement of Darwin's Antiquity of Man, ''"Darwin's disappointment brought on 10 days of vomiting, faintness and stomach distress". Also when anatomist St. George Mivart made a strong attack on The Descent of Man, Milner wrote it "triggered two months of "giddiness" and inability to work..." ''

Charles Darwin's illness afflicted him for most of his working life. [http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v17/i4/darwins_illness.asp] Most medical experts believe that [http://www.conservapedia.com/Darwin%27s_illness Darwin's illness was psychobiological or psychological in origin.]

== References ==
# Mayr, Ernst ''Growth of Biological Thought'' (1982:402).
# Mayr, Ernst ''One Long Argument'' (1991:75).
# Ibid. (1991:75).
# Barlow, Nora (editor) ''The Autobiography of Charles Darin'' (1958:85).
# Ibid. (1958:85-87).
# Browne, Janet ''Charles Darwin The Power of Place'' (2002:341)

[[Category:Biographies|Darwin, Charles]]

Atheism

2007-03-20T19:52:35Z

Cypher 00.0: /* Christian View of Origins */

Atheism is disbelief in the existence of a [[God|god]] or gods.

Well-known Atheists include [[Stephen Hawking]], [[Stephen Jay Gould]], [[Carl Sagan]], [[Richard Dawkins]], [[Douglas Adams]], [[William Borden]],[[Sam Harris]], [[Jeremey Alliadiaere]], [[Gary Neville]] and [[Ricky Gervais]].

== Atheist morality ==

Atheists often base their [[moral code]] upon [[emotion]], [[experience]], empirically derived ethics, or some combination thereof.{{fact}} It is important to note, however, that just as many religions disagree on specific moral points, and there is sharp disagreement within many religions (e.g. denominational disputes within Christianity), atheists differ substantially from each other in the details of their moral beliefs. Thus, it is difficult at best to summarize the beliefs of the "average atheist."

Atheists typically hold that no religious text can be our only source of morality although all of them may contain useful ideas or principles. As atheists do not believe in any form of deity, books purported to be based upon the wishes of such deities are inherently suspect. Additionally, many atheists point out that all religious texts contain, and often ascribe to God, extremely immoral acts such as the Israelite expulsion of heathen nations from Canaan (i.e. [[ethnic cleansing]]), the stoning of [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/gay/long.htm homosexuals] to death, questionable treatment of [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/gen/19.html#1 women] and the institution of [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/says_about/slavery.html slavery]. Additionally, atheists often point to a large number of prominent [http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/by_name.html contradictions] present in the bible and other religious texts. The presence of such contradictions challenges claims that these works are the infallible word of God.

Atheists sometimes subscribe to the secular humanist idea that it is far more desirable to do what is right because you believe that it is right, rather than because you fear divine punishment or desire divine reward. This view is illustrated by celebrated atheist [[Albert Einstein]]:

:“A man’s ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death”.

Atheists sometimes condemn religious desires for exclusive reward (and the punishment of others) such as are found in all religious texts.

== Origins ==

An atheist would claim that Atheism has existed for as long as man. That man evolved, then Religion was invented by man.

A Christian would claim it can be traced back to specific date, as Adam and Eve believed in God so at some point somebody must have stopped believing.

=== Christian View of Origins ===

the route of religion lies in the pathetic need to feel special, that, unlike all other organic creatures, we do not die and rot, we are taken to a special place, by a non-existant father figure, because relious followers are weak and fear death, fear abandonment, fear the truth.
They brainwash their children, so as to not have to deal with the fact of life, death is inherent and unavoidable, get over it.

you dont need a god to live you're life, or be a good person, i see more atrocities performed in the name of this "God" than i do any other cause.

relax, you are not a special or unique snowflake, you are the same decaying organic material as everything else. now was that really so hard?

from tailbone to appendix, evolution is right in front of you, they are called evolutionary markers, did you, for instance, know that at one point in the womb you have gills? yes, gills, like fish, because thats where we originated, and the tailbone, a throwback to out primate ancestors, we were all once single celled organisms, so dont tell me we came through thousands of years of evolution to reach this, religion.

but i suppose that wont matter to you, this will be deleted, most likely without being read, because the truth is just too dangerous. i hope, somehow, someone reads this and thinks, perhaps not agrees, but thinks beyond what they have bee force-fed their entire lives,
The writer of the Book of Psalms knew of atheists and atheism and registered disapproval in Psalm 14: "The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." I, The Militant Atheist, Say it loud and clear because, knowing the truth in evolution, i can feel safe in the knowledge that religious idiots wont be around too long.

(respect to my man Charles Darwin)

Cypher

== Prejudice Against Atheists ==
Research by Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis and Douglas Hartman in the American Sociological Review [http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asoca/asr/2006/00000071/00000002/art00003 indicates] that most Americans would be more willing to vote for a gay or Muslim presidential candidate than an atheist. The same study indicates that 47.6% of Americans would disapprove of their child marrying an atheist. More recent [http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=26611&pg=1 Gallup polls] confirm this finding. In addition to discrimination in voting practices and marriage, George H.W. Bush has previously [http://www.positiveatheism.org/writ/ghwbush.htm stated] that he does not believe atheists should be considered citizens of the United States.

However this is not the case around the world, in the Great Britain 2001 census 15.5% of the population identify themselves as having no religious beliefs [http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=293 2001 Census].

== The Problem of Evil==

One argument against belief in all-powerful entities ('gods') is the problem of evil. First identified by the philosopher and materialist Epicurus (341-270 BC), this problem points out the difficulty created by the mere existence of evil:

:Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
:Is he able, but not willing? then he is malevolent.
:Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
:Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

A number of responses to this logical paradox have been put forth including those which assert human ignorance as the culprit, the concept of free will and the specific writings in some faiths which discuss the co-existence of good and evil (such as the book of Job in the Christian and Jewish faiths).[http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-log.htm] Many Atheists, however, do not regard such evasions as convincing solutions to the underlying problem.

==References==

<references/>

[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]