[The winner is Jammer at 11 for The Gnusades. More below]
The most recent Uncommon Descent contest was April 21: Give University of Chicago Darwinist Jerry Coyne’s atheist crusade/jihad a name.
The background is Jerry’s War against religions other than new/gnu atheism, most recently prosecuted in an evolution journal.
In case you wondered why many informed citizens doubt evolution, look no further than that. (Barham has the scoop in more detail here and here.) … but back to the main event:
Some of us were not happy with terms like “crusade” or “jihad” to describe Jerry’s War because we thought that something specific to new/gnu atheism was needed.
It was fun. So many clever entries, so little time away from the grind … that’s why this contest was a bit late getting judged:
Liked lpadron’s Dar Wars at 3, but it is not specific enough for a new atheist assault on other belief systems. Good in its own right though.
Collin’s spaghettihad (at 6) is good too, but the Flying Spaghetti Monster razz was directed explicitly against ID, and the term works best in that context. Incidentally, how many here know that some guy in Austria won the right to have the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster regarded as a religion and be photo ID’d for his driver’s licence with a spaghetti strainer on his head?
Godchaser offers jerrymandering at 22, as a play on gerrymandering (after an early governor of Massachusetts, E. Gerry). It means redistricting a jurisdiction to gain an advantage in an upcoming election. But gerrymandering is usually a stealth operation, not a frontal, public assault on the other party’s candidate – and therein lies its effectiveness. Let’s save this one for when gnu atheists try stealth.
At 32, materialinfantacy offers gnuhad, and at 40, Eugen offers Jerryhad, both of which almost work, for a reason explained below.
At 34, God chaser offers “Coynoscopy – The search for truth in all the wrong places.” A bit too edgy? Anyway, the focus here should be the crusade/jihad element, not private “search for truth” issues. One might say the same of Coyneurysm (Joe at 46).
At 36, julianbre offers a great pun, Coynecidental Evolution – let’s remember that one when writing about the Big Splat theory of evolution.
Much other interesting material. And now the winner: Jammer writes at 11: It’s the gnu atheists’ very own Crusades, so… The Gnusades. That succinctly captures the apparent religious element of gnu atheist campaigns against other systems of thought. As with entries “gnuhad” and “jerryhad,” the main point to get across is that these people will not live peaceably with anyone, not even with other atheists.
Jammer needs to be in touch with UD News at denyseoleary[at]gmail.com for his prize, a copy of Nature of Nature: Examining the Role of Naturalism in Science, shipped to his home.
Re the entries at 32 and 40, “gnuhad” and “Jerryhad”: First, in the world of neologisms, “almost works” is praise. Usually, the problem is technical. In this case, the stress falls on the new part of the word, not the old, recognized syllable. “Gnusades” puts the stress on the recognized syllable, “-sades,” which increases the likelihood of reader recognition.
Also: An interesting discussion arose around “antidarwindisestablishmentarianism” (OmneVivumExVivo, 31), formed from antidisestablishmentarianism, (see also StuartHarris at 20). That might become the longest word in English if it took off. For the record, the word probably first appeared in 19th century Britain and refers mainly to opposition to disestablishing the Church of England. It is probably more applicable to controversies around that church than around the Roman Catholic Church (as was suggested) because the Church of England was founded by the king, Henry VIII, who made himself its head. That’s not a scenario you’d often find in the “Roman arena.” 😉
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