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The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is to support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.
The Magic of Reality
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Sean Faircloth:
Attack of the Theocrats!
Wonderful! As a clinician, I have often marveled at how frequently patients give their god the credit when things go well, and blame the clinician when things go poorly. What a great gig that god has going!
A dear atheist friend with spinal cancer frequently hears from well-meaning religious friends that they are praying for her. She says it is all she can do not to respond with, "Would that be the same god who GAVE me the cancer?" But of course, lucky God gets only the credit for good, never the blame for bad. When my friend is assured that "God never gives you more than you can bear," she adds, "Except when he kills you."
I think we should have two distinctly different kinds of hospitals. One would be science-based, with medical care based on evidence from rigorous research, and the other would be staffed only with clergy, who would pray and chant and cast spells of sorts. Patients would have to choose which hospital they wanted.
Thank goodness, and thank science.
Permalink Tue, 07 Nov 2006 06:31:00 UTC | #7173