Science must destroy religionSome (contradictory) thoughts, in no particular order.
Our fear of provoking religious hatred has rendered us incapable of criticising ideas that are now patently absurd and increasingly maladaptive. It has also obliged us to lie to ourselves about the compatibility between religious faith and scientific rationality.
In the spirit of religious tolerance, most scientists keep silent when they should be blasting the hideous fantasies of a prior age with all the facts at their disposal.
Sam Harris, University of California, Los Angeles
1) I hadn't noticed any particular reluctance to criticise ideas that are incompatible with a naturalistic perspective. The closest to tolerance from mainstream science, as far as I know, was Gould's perspective in "Rocks of Ages", which basically said that religion could be tolerated as long as every religious statement and perspective was relegated to the private arena.
2) "Most scientists keep silent when they should be blasting the hideous fantasies of a prior age with all the facts at their disposal." Rather strongly worded, but it would be good to see Darwin's Theory dealt with in this way.
3) Odd to see that, in the old "battle between science and religion", "science" is now quite clearly the intolerant one that is unable to brook dissent.
Incidentally, if religion is to be done away with, who will take the place of religious communities in humanitarian activities?
