N4, I went through and read the posts and never saw a direct quote of mine that you challenged. Instead you kept making some point about terms are either synonymous or you state that I am 'rambling.' I am under no obligation to defend a position I never tried to establish, the bottom line you do not like the OP. I have read many posts that I wanted to respond to but did not bother just because it requires time and effort and there really is no payoff but you stayed with this one for awile. I got a few comments that found the OP interesting, to each his own. Still it seems odd to resent a topic just because you unable to appreciate the information.
You do make a valid point that Darwin was very much like his contemporaries. An important difference is that Darwin was influential, he was not just an obscure figure. I believe you also point out that the "Founding Fathers" had many flaws which is true and well acknowledged in history but was beyond the scope of my post. I have no objection to whatever praise is due Darwin be given but it should cut both ways. The OP was focusing mainly on eugenics and I pointed out the American eugenicist Margret Sanger.
Eugenics are still a valid concern today where the powerful Rockefeller family were early advocates and IMO should never be trusted. Since the topic came up before, the Malthusian eugenics championed by Cecil Rhodes is linked directly to Royal Institute of International Affairs or current known as the Chatum House. I am also concerned how a eugenicist like John Holdren holds the position of Directer of WH Office of Sciences. Trust who ever you want, I trust few powerful people.
As far as evolution goes I was very clear throughout the complete thread. What I questioned was the origin of modern man. Yet the topic evolution was at the forefront not because of me but because that's the only way other knew how to make their points.
I am a Catholic but my beliefs are influenced in part by researcher like Sitchen, van Doniken, Pye and many others that do not seem to be Christians. The field of intelligent design is more involved then anyone here seemed to appreciate and like any other field far from established fact. But at least I am willing to consider other theories.
It worth noting that evolution was the subject of one of the longest hoax's in history with the "Piltdown Man." Other cases like "Kennewick Man", the hobbit like "Floresiesis" skeletons or the "Ice Man" really highlight the shot comings of of widely accepted theories and the protective nature of conventional thinking.
An interesting case involving Thomas E. Lee, of the National Museum of Canada, found some highly advanced tools on Manitoulin Island on Lake Huron. The tools were shown to be at least 65,000 years old and perhaps as old as 125,000 years. Because of his find was inconsistent with the established scientific theories, Lee was "hounded" at his job forcing him to resigned. Lee was ostracized in his field and his work was misrepresented. The tools vanished and the museum director was fired for supporting Lee.
The authors of "Forbidden Archeology" Cremo and Thompson, note that the "treatment of Lee was not an isolated case." As they explain, "there exists in the scientific community a knowledge filter that screens out unwelcome evidence. The process of knowledge filtration has been going on for well over a century and continues right up to the present day." Or as explained by another anonymous researcher, "realize, that scientific institutions , such as the Smithsonian and the National Geographic Society, are set up by the world's elite factions in the first place to either debunk, distort or simply ignore any scientific data that tends to enlighten people about their true origins."
The field of "science" has a spotty record even though some seem to feel it is a source of absolute truth. I see keeping one's my mind opened as the "rational" thing to do.
I would say I have an open mind since I was once a creationist who came to accept evolution on the basis of understanding and evidence. You should visit talk.origins and I believe they will be able to answer all of your questions. Go to some science and skepticism messageboards and ask questions. I have spent time on christian message boards asking questions and I mostly encounter a great deal of ignorance about the theory of evolution and the origins of man. For one thing, I have never had a reasonable answer to one question in particular. If man did not evolve, then how do you explain the commonality of endogenous retro-viral insertions and how their frequency aligns with expected morphological distance?
I guess the main point I was trying to make is that there is no purpose in pointing out that Darwin held views that were racist by today's standards, but commonplace and even enlightened in the context of his time. It seems intentionally dishonest on your part to present such information out of context. And while Darwin was influential, he alone did not drive the cultural tide. Eugenics, by it's nature, is artificial selection, not natural selection. I suggest you look more toward Herbert Spencer for taking evolutionary theory and attempting to apply it to social systems.
In any case, it does not reflect on evolutionary theory itself. Even if human evolution were to validate ideas about eugenics, it does not affect the factual basis of human evolution.
You say you are Catholic? You support an organization that burned people alive. Priests representing your church flayed Hypatia alive with oyster shells. It tortured Bruno in a horrible manner for supporting a Copernican view of the solar system. It placed Galileo under house arrest for his entire life for his beliefs. How many were tortured and maimed and killed by the Inquisition? And the holy book of all christianity has multiple incidents where your god directly orders the genocide- men, women, and children- of entire groups of people just simply so "his" people could take their land. Yet you post about how darwin's racist opinions, common for his time, might have influenced other men to do evil?
Forgive me if I am astonished at the hypocrisy.