“How can a symbol mock something that it does not believe exists in the first place?”

It mock’s the belief not Jesus per se.

“Can you really defend the slaughter carried out in the name of Christianity on the basis your assertion that it is mostly Muslims who are doing it right now? Does that make it OK?”

No, I can’t defend it and what’s more I don’t. My assumption is that the Darwin Fish is a comment on today’s society rather than part of a historical discussion. I think most people agree with that. Besides, in the old days everyone was waging war on everyone so it’s not like it evens out.

“Who gave you the right to distinguish between ‘terrorism’ and the kind of mass murder that you have decided is legitimate? Even when you admit that it was based on lies?”

The distinction between war and oppression on the one hand, and terrorism on the other is not a moral distinction. I never said that massmurder is legitimate. Where did you get that from?

“Are you sure your god will accept your defence that ‘we didn’t really know what was going on, and anyway, Muslims are worse’. Did your god not suggest that “he who is without sin should cast the first stone”?

I never said “we didn’t really know what was going on, and anyway, Muslims are worse”. Feel free to quote me, but don’t make up stuff I didn’t say.

Your assumption that I’m a Christian is also wrong. I’m not a part of organized religion. I’m merely criticizing those who constantly nag about Christianity when there is a world religion that is much, much worse that they rarely talk about.

“How can ‘applied science’ destroy a planet? It has no agency. The clue is in the ‘applied’ – it is people who do that bit – choose what science will be used for. Human greed is destroying the planet.”

True, greed is a strong incentive. But scientist give the greedy the tools they need to destroy the planet. In that way science is more harmful than religion.

“What have your preachers got to say to the people who drive the 500 yards to church in their SUVs? Or are they too busy focusing on one passage in the Old Testament, written in the Bronze Age, about the ‘evils’ of sodomy, to notice the many, many passages in the New Testament whch instruct believers who own two shirts to give one to someone who has none? How many shirts do you have?”

My preachers are busy not existing (see above on organized religion).

I have 5-6 shirts, about 10 t-shirts and a few sweaters. Does that make me a bad person?

“If we do away with ‘applied science’ then we have to live without even the use of rudimentary tools. We could try sitting in trees waiting for your god to provide but he seems curiously unwilling to do that for the millions of people (many of them believers) who are starving around the world today.”

Well, there were rudimentary tools before there was science, but I get your point. It would suck a bit. Still, I think we are overdoing it. Sure life is comfy today but tomorrow when global warming, overpopulation and pandemics start kicking in? We are easing into disaster. But I don’t want to get rid of applied science altogether. I just think we should be a little more low-tech.

“These stickers are not mocking ‘Jesus’ – they are mocking the kind of smug, self-righteous, xenophobic, intellectually-challenged, intolerant, superstitious, arrogant people who think they have the right to impose their beliefs on the rest of us and then whinge when they get a bumper sticker in return. I think you got off lightly.”

It’s a parody of the Jesus fish. It essentially says “I believe in Jesus”. If you can deduce smugness, self-righteousness, xenophobia, low intelligence, intolerance, superstition and arrogance from such a simple statement then maybe you are somewhat arrogant and cognitively challenged.

Wrong, in Ireland catholics and protestants have been fighting in Ireland for hundreds of years. When I was growing up Northern Ireland was on the news every week for IRA bombings in Belfast.

But I agree that most of todays terrorism seems to be about religion – but almost exclusively about Islam. That’s just one religion.

And let’s not forget what is really destroying this planet – applied science.

Come on, it’s a mockery. Regardless of opinion I think most people would agree with that.

“And, that religion represents the majority of evolution opposition in the United States (You don’t see a lot of islamic and jewish organizations openly opposing evolution, not in the headlines atleast). Therefore, your symbol represents the main opposition to evolution in the united states.” /…/ “I assure you that if Islam had an anti-evolution symbol in common place USA that could be easily or creatively adapted to support evolution, it would be done too.”

If you oppose creationism then you should do that when the theory is put forward. The Jesus fish is a very old Christian symbol, not an anti-evolution symbol. The Jesus fish doesn’t even say with certainty that the person using it is a creationist. Since most Muslims are creationists it’s a less generalization to make fun of any of their symbols. And even if it always implied creationism then all attributes specific to creationists would be should be considered anti-evolution and be mocked with. Orthodox Jews are creationists but you don’t make fun of their attributes, such as the earlocks or the kippa.

“The symbol was chosen simply for convenience and popularity’s sake.”

I agree completely ; )

Now, you’re thinking at this point, “why the fish instead of the even more common symbol the cross, or some other common religious symbol?” The answer to that is just plain convenience. The theory of evolution has been painted by opposers for a century now with images of fish crawling to land and sprouting legs and walking about (complete nonsense! *rolls eyes*). But, the fish symbol is so common and this image of fish sprouting legs to represent evolution is so common that it was only a matter of time before the merged into the darwin fish honestly. All it took was a couple of stick legs! Really, I’m surprised it took so long before someone connected them.

So, the darwin fish may be adapted from your jesus fish and may oppose your beliefs but it wasn’t meant to be a strike at christianity. Not directly or exclusively atleast. The symbol was chosen simply for convenience and popularity’s sake. I assure you that if Islam had an anti-evolution symbol in common place USA that could be easily or creatively adapted to support evolution, it would be done too. So don’t feel like the lone target in the shooting gallery. I don’t hate christians, not most anyway. There are radical christians that I think we’d be better off without, but for the most part I don’t care about someone’s religion. I fully support the right to believe in whatever god(s) you want to or to believe in none at all. I’m an apatheist (if you don’t know what that is, it’s defined on wikipedia) myself and I have an agnostic-quaker, a christian, and a jewish roommate, we get along just fine despite our beliefs. i hope you can learn to set aside your own predjudices and biases someday and just respect other’s different points of view.

I don’t know you but I hope you have a wonderful life.

Sounds like an interesting book. I noticedon Amazon that it got a bad review from Publishers Weekly, but the reader reviews are very positive and I alway trust them more than the experts.