pop morality

[athrock]

if I get to thinking about the 1000 years we lost in the Dark/Middle Ages, in which religion practically controlled all Europeans' thought, and the fact that we could be 1000 years more technologically advanced (same thing happened with the Muslims, after a brief period of enlightenment that ended in the 11th century CE), I get sick to my stomach.

I have always been puzzled by this "Dark Ages" claim, so I decided to Google the phrase "Not so dark ages".

An atheist historian by the name of Tim O'Neill wrote an interesting book review on the "dark ages" that might make you feel less queasy:

The Dark Age Myth: An Atheist Reviews “God’s Philosophers”
http://www.strangenotions.com/gods-philosophers/

In this article, O'Neill writes:

One of the occupational hazards of being an atheist and secular humanist who hangs around on discussion boards is to encounter a staggering level of historical illiteracy. I like to console myself that many of the people on such boards have come to their atheism via the study of science and so, even if they are quite learned in things like geology and biology, usually have a grasp of history stunted at about high school level. I generally do this because the alternative is to admit that the average person's grasp of history and how history is studied is so utterly feeble as to be totally depressing.

So, alongside the regular airings of the hoary old myth that the Bible was collated at the Council of Nicaea, the tedious internet-based "Jesus never existed!" nonsense, or otherwise intelligent people spouting pseudo-historical claims that would make even Dan Brown snort in derision, the myth that the Catholic Church caused the Dark Ages and the Medieval Period was a scientific wasteland is regularly wheeled, creaking, into the sunlight for another trundle around the arena [emphasis added].

O'Neill seems like a pretty sharp guy, and you are one of the few in this forum who might appreciate his views. I look forward to hearing what you think of his article.