Today's atheism rant

Every once in a while, you just read a sentence that you know you'll be quoting for the rest of your life.

And so it was today, when I read P.Z. Myers responding to an article he read:

And the Dawkins-inspired "science vs. religion" way of viewing things alienates those with strong religious convictions. Do scientists really have to portray their knowledge as a threat to the public's beliefs?

YES! YES! YES! Knowledge is a threat to beliefs held in ignorance...

"Knowledge is a threat to beliefs held in ignorance." Mmm, that's good. Unfortunately, I think I'm a bit behind the religious world, who seem to have realized this fact for a very long time.

I also spent some time today listening to a local priest deliver a sermon via podcast. This line struck me:

...For faith is not blind; faith is, in fact, very, very reasonable.

Faith is reasonable? Interesting, because throughout the history of Christianity, it seems that faith has never been reasonable enough. The "faithful" have sought to prove God's existence through philosophy and logic (see: Aquinas, Anselm, etc.) The "faithful" have sought to prove God's existence through the scientific community (see, "intelligent design", etc.) It's never just faith alone... it's always faith and something else.

Faith has never been enough for most people, and that's why they continue to fund scientific studies that seek to prove the healing effects of prayer. (Shorter version: no, prayer does not have healing effects.)

People are smart enough to realize that science is an effective way to discern truth about reality. Perhaps one day people will realize that faith is an ineffective way to discern the truth about reality.

Apparently my local priest is scared shitless of that day coming to pass.