The letter from Jonathan Willans headed 'Science and church at one' is entirely specious and is indeed quite a remarkable sophistry.
It is curious to note how the religious party line has reversed, from the Pope who bullied Galileo into recanting his discoveries because science and religious belief were incompatible, to the present day where now they say: 'Christian belief and science are in harmony together'.
But it seems to me that to prosper the present day church has adopted a secondary bible - a textbook of logical fallacies - which it takes as absolute reason.
Mr Willans writes: 'Science merely tells us how God makes things work.' But as there is no proven god this is nonsense. And by the religious, this assertion is cheap opportunism, and the theft of science.
Mr Willans says the Bible tells us why we are here. But because one can ask a question 'why'does not mean there is an answer. And the question why is (again) cheap and opportunistic. The real and only valid question is 'how'.
Mr Willans says that many scientists see 'true science as the friend of religious belief'. But this is a fallacy (a beggared question) which prequalifies science as being only that which his 'many' scientists assert.
And the final dishonesty is another beggared question - in the words, 'believe in God'. Because the word 'believe'means something (merely) asserted as true, while the preposition 'in' implies something exists. And thus Jonathon Willans and his ilk can reasonably only say that they believe there is a god.
ERNEST PENDROUS
Acton
