Warning: Science and Atheists Beware

I've been watching a disturbing trend lately that is currently disjointed and without real direction, but if it ever finds its feet it could become a real problem. This problem is a concerted effort by some members of the religious community to try and get science in particular and atheism in general branded religions so that they can compete on "even" ground.

Now, I must admit that my own efforts to clarify my particular position on atheism have not helped. I have said and will continue to say that atheists are spiritual in that spiritualism is following a particular defining thought. That is not to say that atheists believe in ghosts, spirits or deities of any kind.

Further, I have also not helped the cause a great deal by arguing that a logical position of claiming the existence of a deity and disclaiming the existence of a deity are equally valid. While I still believe it is true, it could be misconstrued to mean that the belief in a personal, intercessory god and the disbelief in the same are also equally valid and this is simply untrue. So, to sound the warning drums and perhaps be allowed back into the fold by my atheistic brethren, let me show the signs of an effort to make science and atheism into religions, but only by the religious.

Over the last several months I've noticed time and again when the religious refer, especially to global climate change and evolution as “religions”. This may not be a concerted effort as of yet, but it could become one. The argument that has so far been successful in keeping religion out of schools and government is the separation of church and state clause in the Constitution of the United States. Yes, yes, I know, the Constitution doesn't actually mention the separation of church and state, but we all know what it means and where it is. First amendment for those of you playing at home, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”. However, if the religious can get science declared a religion, well then, boys and girls, we are well and truly screwed.

There are several web-sites out there, just type in evolution/religion, which already purport the nonsense that evolution is a religion and that Charles Darwin is the founder of that religion. Now, how can this be? Well, any sensible person can see that there is a significant difference between a systematic, methodical, reasoned approach, based on empirical evidence and a mythological approach based on a single book written over several hundred years. However, we must remember that we're not dealing with reasonable or sensible people. We're dealing with the religious and they will do whatever it takes to force their world view upon you.

And really, what else can they do? To their mind, what looks to many of us as forcing us to believe as they do, is simply them trying to do the best they can to help us. From their point of view it's like seeing your neighbor on fire. Wouldn't you do the best you could to help them? For the religious, those of us who do not believe are like that neighbor on fire. Out of caring they want to put us out and to their mind we just keep dumping more and more gasoline on the fire.

And we should also remember that most (though by no means all) of these people are rational, logical, reasonable people outside of the realm of religion. If you were to ask them to pray the lights on, they would say, rightly, that it is a ridiculous notion. These are not monsters or animals they are generally decent, caring people who most of the time are not off their rockers. But, when religion enters the picture it's like the reason centers of their brains shut down and the god shouter section takes over.

So, the solution, to their mind, is to get science and atheism declared religions. That way, everything can be on equal ground and they can get back to the job of using the state to indoctrinate the children into their particular mythology. Now, many of them would say that using the state to indoctrinate the children into the church of science and evolution is just as bad. Well, on that notion I'm just going to have to disagree. Vehemently.

Science is a way to explain the world around us in such a way that we can reliably depend on the same set of events causing the same set of outcomes. We don't have to sacrifice a chicken to Oogoo Boogoo the Sky King every time we want to drive a car just to see if we'll make it, we have “faith” in our science and technology. Now, if you read the previous sentence carefully you'll notice I used a specific word that causes those who want to turn science into a religion to have little tingles up and down their spines. I used the word faith and that word has religious connotations, so I must be talking about a religion, right? Wrong.

Evolutionary theory is the one that really gets them going. They would love nothing more than for evolution in particular to be declared a religion and just be done with it. Then they could declare a fatwa or jihad or crusade or some other religious killing spree and get it over with. Because evolutionary theory directly contradicts the Bible (in particular although the Muslims don't like it either), it must be wrong. There is even this wacky thing called Creation Science (huh?) that is used to “prove” how wrong evolution must be. The point that they're missing is that evolutionary theory, like all theories, tends to, well, evolve.

So, I'm sending out a warning to all of you out there who like the idea of technological progress. I'm sending a warning to all of you out there who like the idea of searching for the truth of things and their root causes and not counting on the vagaries of Oogoo Boogoo. I'm sending this warning because I can see the blood in their eye and it scares me. Bad. Hmm, I wonder where a guy can find a chicken at this hour of night?