Andy Thomson gives his talk titled ‘Why We Believe in Gods‘ at the American Atheist 2009 convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

J. Anderson Thomson, Jr., M.D. is Assistant Director of the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction (CSMHI), Staff Psychiatrist at the University of Virginia Student Health Services and in private practice.  In this presentation he puts forward his compelling ideas of how belief in unseen deities is actually a by-product of many of the evolutionary mechanisims used in our early survival at the dawn of our species. 

See Randolph Nesse’s blog here: 
http://skepticaladaptationist.com/

Charles Darwin was born near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England on 12 February 1809. He would be 200 years old this year if such a thing were possible. In many ways it’s a shame it’s not possible, because if anyone deserved to see how correct he was about his contribution to humanity it should be Darwin. He would be positively ecstatic to see the mountain of evidence especially in the field of genetics, DNA and the Human Genome Project that categorically proves Evolution is a fact.

I and many others, including Richard Dawkins, believe that evolution and survival by means of natural selection is one of the easiest scientific concepts to grasp for the average layperson. And from its understanding much follows. Evolution refutes every account of our origins on earth put forward by religious doctrine and dogma.

Unfortunately in our society today there is still much resistance and ignorance about Darwin’s ideas and how modern biology understands the world in evolutionary terms. Evolution is taught as an aside in most second level schools in Ireland. And unless you are studying Evolution directly in third level, it is much the same story. Can you believe that most medical doctors in this country are only given a cursory intro to one of the most powerful medical facts ever!

So if you are one of the many who thinks that evolution can be summed up by the oft misquoted phrase “Survival of the Fittest”, or if you think it means we’ve descended from monkeys or apes, then I suggest you take the time to understand the subtleties of Darwin’s and Dawkins’ ideas. I believe their genius will be looked on as one of the greatest contributions to our species ever!

Here are some resources to get you started: -

The Richard Dawkins Foundation

The Complete Works of Charles Darwin Online

The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

The Genius of Charles Darwin by Richard Dawkins

Click here to view the embedded video.

More to follow . . .