Darwin fish

[Jenna]

Hello all!

Just wondered what you all think of these Darwin fish based on the Jesus fish?

http://www.darwinfish.co.uk/darwinfish.html

It slightly bothers me that Darwin, one man, is being given such high status (on a parallel with Jesus). is it just me?

[norman]

I had similar concerns when I first became aware of this particular homage to Chalres Darwin. My concerns were fuelled less by the comparison between Darwin and Jesus but more around the fact that Darwin was religious! We all know he was a Christian, but in some cases we conveniently overlook it so we can use him to counter religious argument. I think these badges make it far harder for us to separate Darwin from religion - which is a bad thing in my opinion!

Not sure I like the design either :P

[kf_]

I'm pretty sure Darwin's not being elevated to a messianic status... The badge is accompanied on the website by FSM badges and "Fish 'n' Chips" (which made me smile), so it's probably not meant to be taken too seriously...

[AlexMagd]

It's only really a problem in a society where people equate Darwinism and atheism, like in some parts of the USA. Some of the TV coverage has to be seen to be believed! In the UK though I'm pretty confident that most people don't think that Darwin was King of the Atheists and that we don't worship him. The badges make me laugh, but the FSM ones make more of a valid point: our imaginary god is just as good as yours

[grammar king mike]

I like them, it's a good way to make people look twice, thinking they're seeing the Jesus fish but then noticing it has legs...

The legs themselves show that this isn't a homage to Darwin, rather to evolution by natural selection. I don't think it's at all a problem if Darwin was religious (I believe in fact he rejected his faith after the death of his daughter and refused enter church?), because it doesn't matter at all who the theory came from, you judge an argument on its own merits rather than those of whom it comes from.

This is something we've seen in talks with people such as the Edinburgh Creation Group. Often they'll bolster their own theories through authority rather than by the merits of what they're saying, and discredit rival atheist theories by claiming that Darwin and Einstein were religious or crackpots or had pagan roots or something. It's a common theme throughout aoplogist literature. I've just finished The Case for Christ, for example, which is full of it.

[StuartR]

I always just thought it was a 'get it up you' to fundamentalist Christians who have that fish on their cars. You know - fuck you, we've stolen your fish AND made it a symbol of what you really hate. And it's also meant to be funny - nothing to take too seriously!

Inevitably, the Christians have responded (http://store.answersingenesis.org/WebServices/images/37-4709-ImageEnlarge.jpeg).

[Rogerrp]

One of my favourites ...