Comments on: Darwin’s Religious Odyssey http://blog.oup.com/2009/08/darwins-religious-odyssey/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Fri, 17 May 2013 12:26:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Darwiniana » Darwin’s religious views http://blog.oup.com/2009/08/darwins-religious-odyssey/#comment-152902 Darwiniana » Darwin’s religious views Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:06:07 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=5229#comment-152902 [...] Darwin’s Religious Odyssey [...] [...] Darwin’s Religious Odyssey [...]

]]> By: Mariano http://blog.oup.com/2009/08/darwins-religious-odyssey/#comment-152899 Mariano Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:43:38 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=5229#comment-152899 It is important to note that whatever traditional Christian tenets Darwin held before the Beagle expedition, he was already, most certainly, highly influenced by the anti-Christian and pro-“evolution” views of his relatives and others. One fascinating thing is that Darwin found certain Christian tenets damnable doctrines and considered the cruelty of the ichneumon and the general clumsy, wasteful, blundering low & horridly cruel works of nature. However, what he accomplished was to deal with the “problem of evil” by simply doing away with evil. Since nature is the outworkings of material processes alone then those damnable doctrines are simply bio-chemical reactions within the human brain which simply do not accurately represent reality: they served an evolutionary purpose at some point in humanity’s evolution. Nature is not interested in reality or truth but only survival; if holding to those damnable doctrines assisted in your survival then so be it. The ichneumon the cuckoos, etc. were not evil—they just were. If nature is all that there is then anything that happens just is and plays a beneficial part in evolution. This, for example, is why Sam Harris argues that rape played a beneficial evolutionary role. Some points on Darwin and evil are found at these URLs: http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/2009/07/charles-darwin-voyage-that-changed.html http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/2009/04/darwins-chaplain.html It is important to note that whatever traditional Christian tenets Darwin held before the Beagle expedition, he was already, most certainly, highly influenced by the anti-Christian and pro-“evolution” views of his relatives and others.

One fascinating thing is that Darwin found certain Christian tenets damnable doctrines and considered the cruelty of the ichneumon and the general clumsy, wasteful, blundering low & horridly cruel works of nature.

However, what he accomplished was to deal with the “problem of evil” by simply doing away with evil.

Since nature is the outworkings of material processes alone then those damnable doctrines are simply bio-chemical reactions within the human brain which simply do not accurately represent reality: they served an evolutionary purpose at some point in humanity’s evolution. Nature is not interested in reality or truth but only survival; if holding to those damnable doctrines assisted in your survival then so be it.

The ichneumon the cuckoos, etc. were not evil—they just were.

If nature is all that there is then anything that happens just is and plays a beneficial part in evolution.

This, for example, is why Sam Harris argues that rape played a beneficial evolutionary role.

Some points on Darwin and evil are found at these URLs:

http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/2009/07/charles-darwin-voyage-that-changed.html

http://atheismisdead.blogspot.com/2009/04/darwins-chaplain.html

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