Ride, Suzuki, Into The Sunset

The prominent Canadian, Dr. David Suzuki, has stated that that politicians who speak out against human-caused global warming should be punished with fines and jail time (Jail politicians who ignore climate science: Suzuki).

"It's an intergenerational crime in the face of all the knowledge and science from over 20 years."

Meanwhile, back at the solar system, (The Sun Also Sets), it seems that there is some concern that we are headed into a prolonged cooling period, possibly like the Little Ice Age of the Maunder Minimum. For history buffs, that was the period in the mid-1600's when the world went through some very cold years; stories about the freezing over of major rivers like the Hudson and the Thames and the Ohio abound. And, about 400-500 years before that was another extended cooling period, which caused the Norsemen to abandon their farming settlements in Greenland and Vinland. (Jah, you t'ink maybe d'ere vass a reason to call d'ere place GREENland?). As the astronomical clock goes, the cuckoo may be about to pop.

There is a good case to be made that atheism is merely a recycled paganism of a sort. The atheist will claim that he does not believe in God, but in actuality, he is his own god (and frequently sees himself "at one with nature"). If he needs a devil, the person who disagrees with him will fit the role well. Of course, the atheist will hotly deny such a charge, especially those most closely entwined in scientism.

There is a difference between science and scientism. Science is an activity; a means of examining the world, forming ideas about how and why things work, testing to see if those ideas are viable, and if so, using those ideas to help predict the outcome of certain activities. Science has been practiced at some level of sophistication throughout human history, and has coexisted with every form of religious belief and practice.

Scientism is a belief system, that all things can be explained and predicted in an orderly manner by the application of science. The phrase "Deo volente" is the greatest taboo in scientism.

It is because of the truly human nature of science that it is naturally attractive to the atheist. In the cloak of scientism (the synthesis of science and atheism), the atheist takes current observations and projects them backwards in time to generate his own creation myths. The practitioner of scientism sees mankind as the apex of evolutionary development, and inheritor of the responsibility for maintenance of the universe (though why this should be so is hard to explain, since he has no one to answer to but himself, and within a century he will be raw material for a new, random evolutionary experiment). Therefore, as an article of faith, he accepts the responsibility for the future of the universe, and, doubting nothing, produces a roadmap for human conduct into the future. As surely as Thor and Zeus and Ra ordered human destiny by their whims, he must also sacrifice to nature in the ordinances of his faith; the sacrifice of a pious practitioner of scientism causes much orderliness. One sect even had as its motto, "Alles in Ordnung". Hence the rabid ferocity of Suzuki, Gore, et al.

On a more practical level, it can be seen that the sacrifices required by the practitioners of scientism are nothing less than the rites necessary to retain power over others. Rush Limbaugh has commented that it is humorous to watch liberals become frantic as they suspect that they are losing their power over others. It is tragic, however, when the practitioners of scientism, whether atheistic or theistic, see their domains crumbling. It is also dangerous. The abortion issue, the debate over embryonic stem cell research, the ethics debate over "assisted suicide"; all illustrate quite aptly the proclivity of the practitioners of scientism to invoke human sacrifice, just as their pagan ancestors, as a necessity for satisfying natural progress.

A study of the Galileo affair shows that it was not heresy involving the basic tenets of the Roman Catholic church that got him into trouble, but the production of instruments and observations that flatly contradicted the theistic scientism of his day. If it were still acceptable to burn heretics at the stake, would Suzuki be satisfied with fines and jail time?