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2003-12-03 Home Front

Crichton: Environmentalism is "religion of choice for urban atheists"

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Posted by Dar 2003-12-03 2:07:56 PM|| || Front Page|| [7 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Yes! I've been saying for years that activists with their various causes act like the most whacked-out born-agains (you know the ones I mean - find Jesus at an AA meeting and throw the tv out because the Smurfs were satanic). I don't know which faith, if any, is right. But it seems like a lot of people need that certainty, even if they tend to scoff at established religions. I wonder if they are even aware that they fit the same profile.

Posted by BH 2003-12-3 2:22:57 PM|| 2003-12-3 2:22:57 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 I like the comment some guy I can't remember made about environmentalists: "Gaia is their goddess - the goddess of dirt."

Posted by M. Murcek 2003-12-3 2:53:55 PM|| 2003-12-3 2:53:55 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 wow... read the whole thing... great speech

Posted by ----------<<<<-- 2003-12-3 3:33:36 PM|| 2003-12-3 3:33:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Whether you are going to be one of the people on the side of salvation, or on the side of doom. Whether you are going to be one of us, or one of them.

As usual I'm one of them.
Fetch Me the Homelite!

Posted by Shipman 2003-12-3 3:45:23 PM|| 2003-12-3 3:45:23 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Wow, I've been saying something like this for a while, too, but I never thought about the Eden analogies. That's brilliant. (Still don't care for Crichton's books, though.)

It's not just environmentalism. Pretty much anything can be used as a substitute religion, as long as it 1) requires some sort of sacrifice, and 2) allows the believer to look down on nonbelievers. If there's some sort of study of arcane knowledge involved, so much the better. At some point, the rituals and sacrifices begin to matter more than the original goals.

For example, for a while there were a lot of people who seemed to belong to the Church of Physical Fitness. That petered out after a while, though.

You don't necessarily need to be an atheist to subscribe to these ersatz religions. Some Christians (say) seem to believe that modern Christianity is not demanding enough for them.

Posted by Angie Schultz 2003-12-3 5:18:06 PM|| [http://darkblogules.blogspot.com] 2003-12-3 5:18:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 No matter how wacky people think that Creationaism is the folks that teach global warming in schools are absolute dingdongs.

For instance, I have not spent much time studying the idea of reducing carbon dioxide emmisions. Yet it strikes me that removing any gas will reduce overall pressure in the aptmospere due to the Law of Partial Pressures. Wouldn't the reduction in pressure result in the vaporization of water into vapor to compensate? Water vapor is a green house gas also. Do we intend to cover two thirds of the Earth's surface with a tarp to prevent vaporization?

Don't even bother punching holes in the ridiculous theory that I pulled out of my butt from half remembered physics lectures that are 20 years old. Look carefully at the math behind the global warming studies; it's bunk.

Posted by Super Hose 2003-12-3 6:03:36 PM|| 2003-12-3 6:03:36 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 The math is irrelevant. Remember the earth was created in seven days? Most people don't have time or ability to follow the analysis. Religious scholars used to argue about how many angels could stand on the head of a pin. Completely meaningless disussion but folks trusted the parish priest anyway. So you pick who you believe, Pope John or David Suzuki, and let the scientists argue over atmospheric loading and temperature gradients.

I think it was Pat O'Reilly on Chris Matthews show the other night who described his christian convictions with the logic that his faith was a good idea just in case it turned out there really was a righteous God and heaven and hell and the judgement day existed.

Well, almost everyone uses the same logic when it comes to Kyoto. Just in case.

Posted by john 2003-12-3 9:22:54 PM|| 2003-12-3 9:22:54 PM|| Front Page Top

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