At 9/14/09 11:06 AM, GiantDouche wrote:
Observe (graph on Richard Dawkin's website)
I think this is about right.
NG needs a Philosophy Forum badly.
I see that picture, and as an Atheist, I have to completely disagree with the message it sends. Religion did not cause the dark ages. Religion did not cause the Western Roman Empire to fall, for the nomadic people of Europe to settle into a chaotic state, with warring factions vying for control over territory. In fact, the Church set up monasteries, where monks did about the only writing and studying in Europe. Islam bound together the Middle East and allowed it to unify under the caliphs.
While the atrocities of that time related to religion (the Inquisition, the crusades, so on) are horrible, saying that the development and progression of human technology is solely depending on religion is vastly ignorant. In fact, if not for religion, Western Rome probably would have fallen much sooner, without being able to hold it's power long enough to develop more in what was to become Byzantium, and keep what little culture was left thriving.
So saying that religion caused the dark ages is completely ignorant. It only became a problem when the Church held onto ideas of the past, hindering scientific discovery during the Renaissance.