It really depends on how you define your terms. I disagree with the definition offered in the original post. And "Yes" Rap. I have read "A Canticle For Liebowitz" more than once. A classic of the genre and definitely not limited to the genre.

Elements of a Dark Age are all around us. You can have a technologically advanced civilization and still be immersed in a Dark Age in which the masters of technology become the high priests of all that may be considered beneficial as well as controlling. It is amazing that what transpired in Europe after the collapse of Rome never touched the Far East (though they had a problem of 'social stagnation' but that's another topic) and it was shortly after this time that Muslim Empire(s) reached the height of science and technology of its time. And of course natural causes played an important role in all this too: the Little Ice Age and the plagues to name, probably, the two biggest contributors. Throw in the ascendancy of Aristotelian logic the temporal powers of the Church of Rome and the relation of Charlemagne to the same and you have the recipe for all that is now our history.

The main component of the Dark Ages was IGNORANCE. When the powers structures embrace ignorance and superstition as fact and impose the same upon those who look to them for leadership, look out! Some of the flippant remarks above demonstrate the proper attitude of those who would take us down that road. Oh, I know. It was witty and clever and you *really* know what's going on...but do you? And if you do, how about those who only *think* they know and really believe what you say? It really is a serious topic that deserves a serious discussion because your children and your children's children will reap which ever way this particular discussion goes.

One of the biggest problems with democracy is that the majority can be wrong and when "Truth" becomes the domain of popular opinion we are in trouble. This is one of the reasons why I often stress the need for logic in this forum. And some of you may say "Isn't this the guy who is always trying to make a case for God?" the answer is "Yes!" I do believe in God but I also believe that God gave us the brain power, for the most part, to reason out right from wrong and understand our world on its own terms, whether we believe in Him or not. In other words you can be a religionist or a Christian and be dead wrong about the how-and-why of this world or you can be an atheist and be right on about the how-and-why of our material existence. Of course the reverse is also true. Truth stands on its own. Period. That is why I embrace the scientific method of reasoning concerning all things worldly.

Concerning things spiritual and moral I take Jesus Christ's point of view as delineated in the Bible. And if you wish to debate THAT aspect of what I have said, it is the subject matter in OTHER threads already going. Just keep in mind that it was the Protestant Reformation which provided much of the impetus which lead to the Renaissance and the Enlightenment and the same carried over with the advance of reason right up until today.

A lot of things and topics have been mentioned above, such as global warming, biodiversity, corporations, Bill Gates, giant lizards and Atlantis, and true or untrue, these things do not get to the heart of what could cause the collapse of our civilization. In all cases it would be a combination of events and circumstances but at the heart of it would be ignorance, apathy and self indulgence.