In the end theologians are jealous of science, for they are aware that it has greater authority than do their own ways of finding "truth": dogma, authority, and revelation. Science does find truth, faith does not. Jerry A. Coyne More Quotes by Jerry A. Coyne More Quotes From Jerry A. Coyne If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance “God”. Jerry A. Coyne history-of-scienceignoranceshows If the history of science teaches us anything, it is that what conquers our ignorance is research, not giving up and attributing our ignorance to the miraculous work of a creator. Jerry A. Coyne giving-upresearchignorance Science has only two things to contribute to religion: an analysis of the evolutionary, cultural, and psychological basis for believing things that aren't true, and a scientific disproof of some of faith's claims (e.g., Adam and Eve, the Great Flood). Religion has nothing to contribute to science, and science is best off staying as far away from faith as possible. The "constructive dialogue" between science and faith is, in reality, a destructive monologue, with science making all the good points, tearing down religion in the process. Jerry A. Coyne twobelievereality The fact that both Jews and Christians ignore some of God's or Jesus's commands, but scrupulously obey others, is absolute proof that people pick and choose their morality not on the basis of its divine source, but because it comports with some innate morality that they derived from other sources. Jerry A. Coyne christianpeoplejesus Religion is based on dogma and belief, whereas science is based on doubt and questioning. Jerry A. Coyne atheismdoubtreligion In religion, faith is a virtue. In science, faith is a vice. Jerry A. Coyne virtuevicesfaith We don't have faith in reason; we use reason because, unlike revelation, it produces results and understanding. Even discussing why we should use reason employs reason! Jerry A. Coyne understandingusehave-faith Faith is a padlock of the mind, and few keys can open it. Jerry A. Coyne padlockskeysmind All scientific progress requires a climate of strong skepticism. Jerry A. Coyne progressclimatestrong Now, science cannot completely exclude the possibility of supernatural explanation. It is possible though very unlikely that our whole world is controlled by elves. But supernatural explanations like these are simply never needed; we manage to understand the natural world just fine using reason and materialism. Jerry A. Coyne materialismreasonworld Evolution tells us where we came from, not where we can go. Jerry A. Coyne where-we-cameevolution Damn, but science is just a constant feed of cool new facts and theories. Theology doesn't come close. Jerry A. Coyne damntheoryfacts Can a geology teacher blithely tell his students that the earth is flat, or a European history professor that the Holocaust didn't happen? That's not academic freedom, but dereliction of duty. Jerry A. Coyne academic-freedomholocaustteacher We are the one creature to whom natural selection has bequeathed a brain complex enough to comprehend the laws that govern the universe. And we should be proud that we are the only species that has figured how we came to be. Jerry A. Coyne proudlawbrain There is no horror, no amount of evil in the world, that a true believer can't rationalize as consistent with a loving God. It's the ultimate way of fooling yourself. Jerry A. Coyne evilwayworld These mysteries about how we evolved should not distract us from the indisputable fact that we did evolve. Jerry A. Coyne mysteryshouldfacts We humans have many vestigial features proving that we evolved. The most famous is the appendix. Jerry A. Coyne featuresprovehumans Theology is the post hoc rationalization of what you want to believe. Jerry A. Coyne theologywantbelieve We now have many of the answers that once eluded Darwin, thanks to two developments that he could not have imagined: continental drift and molecular taxonomy. Jerry A. Coyne developmentanswerstwo Why, exactly, are scientists supposed to accord "respect" to a bunch of ancient fables that are not only ludicrous on their face, but motivate so much opposition to science? Jerry A. Coyne ancientfablesfaces
