What I particularly like about Jerry Coyne's article is that he evaluates the evidence. Accomodation doesn't seem to be working. That's all we need to know unless there's evidence to the contrary. Our gut feelings about it don't mean a lot.

What I remember clearly about my christian experiences (catholic and later, evangelical) is that it was not OK to question beliefs in that world. Everyone had to play along. That's what keeps the game going. What REALLY keeps the game going is that people on the outside treat it with kid gloves. It's not OK for them to be critical, either. So, where will the critical thinking come from?

It makes me think of a dysfunctional family decades ago, where a man could beat his wife and kids to a pulp but people would look away because that was within the family and none of their business. Sure, someone sticking their nose in might make him beat them harder but eventually he'd do that anyway.

At some point, somebody has to pipe up, "This is WRONG and ABSURD."

I'm grateful that people like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens (and many others) understood the necessity of holding faith accountable. The more I learn, the more obviously necessary I see it is.