Defenders of the Faith: Scientists who blast religion are hurting their own cause

Newsweek ^ | Jul 14, 2009 | Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

As soon as Francis Collins, an evangelical Christian geneticist who headed up the pioneering Human Genome Project during the 1990s, was floated as the possible new director of the National Institutes of Health—he was officially named to the post on Wednesday—the criticisms began flying. Evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne of the University of Chicago, for one, said Collins is too public with his faith. Collins wrote a book called The Language of God, frequently talks about his religious conversion during medical school, and recently launched the BioLogos Foundation, which declares, "We believe that faith and science both lead to truth about God and creation."

...

Although the New Atheists are not so numerous, and much younger as a movement than their polar opposite—the Christian right—they've amassed a powerful following, especially online, and have sold millions of books by prosecuting a culture war in precisely the opposite direction from the one waged by Christian conservatives. Science is their watchword, but it has always been about much more than that. The New Atheist science blogger PZ Myers, for instance, has publicly desecrated a consecrated communion wafer, presumably taken from a Catholic mass, and put a picture of it, pierced by a rusty nail and thrown in the trash, on the Internet.

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

THE THEOCRACY IS COMING!!! Fire crazy Collins and give the job to a real good rational scientist-blasphemer-desecrator like Myers!!!

So Collins is "too public" with his faith. How do you like that?

Here's an example of a lunatic reaction from an atheist (evolutionist) on this issue: Collins may be NIH director.

Here is a little history lesson on atheist-evolutionist scientists. Should guys like that occupy every gov position?

[Ethan Clive Osgoode]

“You are too public with your faith” peeng

[coconutt2000]

Fire crazy Collins and give the job to a real good rational scientist-blasphemer-desecrator like Myers!!!

Heck, why stop there. Just give the job to an ACORN community organizer. I'm sure they took a course in biology at some point and all that experience organizing communities should come in handy.

[Old Landmarks]

These gutless, atheist sissies like Coyne and Myers are just giving faithful worship to their gods, that being the leaders of the nineteen sixtie’s “hate America” and the “use the leftist court judges to destroy the Constitution” movements.

[samtheman]

If the "atheist scientists" (whatever the hell that means, since a true scientist should do his/her job completely outside the realm of making theological or anti-theological points) were really worried about the integrity of Science, they would get their own house in order, and come down HARD on any scientific/academic institution that enforced any kind of conformity-of-thought in any field of science, as is blatantly being done now in the so-called "field" of "climate research".

But most of them don't really give a crap about science. What they care about is advancing their left-wing causes.

And I say that as an atheist.

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

What’s ironic about all this is that the advocates for scientism (a philosophy which must be understood as distinct from “science” as a methodology) are the ones who constantly run around accusing people of faith of causing the “conflict” between science and religion.

[SECURE AMERICA]

The New Atheist science blogger PZ Myers, for instance, has publicly desecrated a consecrated communion wafer, presumably taken from a Catholic mass, and put a picture of it, pierced by a rusty nail and thrown in the trash, on the Internet.

Thank you PZ Myers for your admission that God exists.
If he did not then you would have no reason to desecrate a communion wafer as it would have absolutely no meaning to you. In other words why fight against something that does not exist?

[SECURE AMERICA]

I have no problem with science.
It only exists because God does.
The problem comes from the way some men use of science.

[metmom]

The title says it all.

[metmom]

Some artiste somewhere is probably jealous that he didn’t think of it first.

[metmom]

This guy is not going to be happy about where God throws him in the end.

[Stultis]

If the "atheist scientists" [...] were really worried about the integrity of Science, they would get their own house in order, and come down HARD on any scientific/academic institution that enforced any kind of conformity-of-thought in any field of science, as is blatantly being done now in the so-called "field" of "climate research".

But most of them don't really give a crap about science. What they care about is advancing their left-wing causes.

Your criticism doubtless applies to many. OTOH, I was plugged into the "Skeptic" movement (which seemed to be largely, but not exclusively, populated by atheists, agnostics and secularists) some 20 years ago and, in addition to debunking "psychics," UFOlogy and antievolutionism, they were also pushing back pretty hard against the global warming hysteria even then, long before many other critics jumped on the band wagon.

[Fichori]

It seems to me that the atheists are always complaining about what they are doing.

All their screaming about Collins being public with his faith is just them being public with their faith.

Hmmm, isn't that kinda like fascism?

Thanks for the ping.