Thursday, March 01, 2007

The rise of Atheangelism

Darwin could not have predicted how effectively his theory would aid the rise of "atheangelism".

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, don't bother looking for it in the dictionary. I've just coined it, and here's how I define it:

An "atheangelist" is a person who aggressively evangelizes the cause of atheism to the general public, using the theories of Charles Darwin to support the argument that there is no God. Common tactics of atheangelists include ridiculing the intelligence of those who hold an alternate point of view as well as ignoring or glossing over the legitimate scientific arguments presented by opponents. Atheangelism is a world view and belief structure based on certain key assumptions, which include abiogenesis, the unassailability of Darwinism, and the natural superiority of atheangelism to all other belief structures.

Thomas Huxley was the first atheangelist, and the belief structure was christened in 1860 during his famous debate with Bishop Samuel Wilbeforce. The atheangelist standard since then has been carried by many scientists and social theorists, including Ludwig Bruchner, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris.

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