James Moore - Darwins Sacred Cause

source: Google books
In this remarkable book, Adrian Desmond and James Moore restore the missing moral core of Darwin’s evolutionary universe, providing a completely new account of how he came to his shattering theories about human origins.

There has always been a mystery surrounding Darwin: How did this quiet, respectable gentleman, a pillar of his parish, come to embrace one of the most radical ideas in the history of human thought? It’s difficult to overstate just what Darwin was risking in publishing his theory of evolution. So it must have been something very powerful—a moral fire, as Desmond and Moore put it—that propelled him. And that moral fire, they argue, was a passionate hatred of slavery.

To make their case, they draw on a wealth of fresh manuscripts, unpublished family correspondence, notebooks, diaries, and even ships’ logs. They show how Darwin’s abolitionism had deep roots in his mother’s family and was reinforced by his voyage on the Beagle as well as by events in America—from the rise of scientific racism at Harvard through the dark days of the Civil War.

Leading apologists for slavery in Darwin’s time argued that blacks and whites had originated as separate species, with whites created superior. Darwin abhorred such "arrogance." He believed that, far from being separate species, the races belonged to the same human family. Slavery was therefore a "sin," and abolishing it became Darwin’s "sacred cause." His theory of evolution gave all the races—blacks and whites, animals and plants—an ancient common ancestor and freed them from creationist shackles. Evolution meant emancipation.

In this rich and illuminating work, Desmond and Moore recover Darwin’s lost humanitarianism. They argue that only by acknowledging Darwin’s Christian abolitionist heritage can we fully understand the development of his groundbreaking ideas. Compulsively readable and utterly persuasive, Darwin’s Sacred Cause will revolutionize our view of the great naturalist.

Richard Green discusses AtheismUK at Dorset Humanists, November 2010

Richard Green who co-founded Atheism UK in 2009, will lead a discussion on AtheismUK at Dorset Humanists, on Wednesday 24th November at 7.30pm. Venue: Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown BH9 1TW

Why was Atheism UK formed? What is the difference between Atheism, Secularism and Humanism? What are the principles and activities of AtheismUK?






The Humanist by Dorset Humanist Paul Beckett

To be a Humanist; You see
Is liken; it appears to me
To be as open, and sincere
As a blue sky; so bright and clear

To be as helpful as you can
To everything; both beast, and man
Your main belief is plain; clear-cut
And not in some 'religious rut'

So be considerate to those
Whose indoctrination; we suppose
Was forced upon them, as a child
When they were innocent; beguiled

So speak them gently; soft and kind
And you may open up their mind
To the realities of life and love
And to realise: 'there's no god above'