Proclaiming "nothing is sacred," atheist P.Z. Myers took the Christian eucharist, pierced it with a rusty nail, and threw it into the garbage. Then he posed his action on the world wide web.
Who is Myers? He's a biology professor at the University of Minnesota and a close ally of Richard Dawkins. In fact, Dawkins has praised Myers, conducted public conversations with him, and I count several links to Myers' articles on richarddawkins.net. Dawkins also urged his fans to write in support of Myers.
Myers rose to semi-fame, or perhaps I should say notoriety, when he praised University of Central Florida student Webster Cook who stole the eucharist from a church and held it hostage. Apparently figuring that such antics were more likely to gain attention than his own relatively undistinguished scholarship, Myers decided to get into the act himself.
On his blog Pharyngula, Myers wrote "It's a Frackin' Cracker" and said that if someone would send him a eucharist he would "show you sacrelige, gladly and with much fanfare." Myers' desecration was widely viewed on the web and raised much comment, much of it infuriated--but we can assume that this was Myers' intention.
Asked whether he cared about injuring the feelings of Christians, Myers professed surprise. "I've got so many people writing me and saying that I have seriously hurt them. But what have I done? I have thrown away a cracker."
This would be like someone burning a cross and then saying, "I cannot understand why all those black people are upset? All I did was set fire to a piece of wood." If a child did it, you can possibly say he was innocent. But when a professor acts this way, isn't malevolence the obvious explanation?
The National Catholic Register caught up with Myers recently and asked him the source of his hostility toward religion. "Religion has been selling everybody a bill of goods for so many years. It's about time somebody spoke up and said it's a load of nonsense."
Asked whether Christianity deserves credit for founding the first Western hospitals, universities and even scientific breakthroughs, Myers said, "No. People made those contributions to Western civilization."
But werent' those people Christians acting on their religious convictions? "That's like saying that because for so many years people got smallpox, smallpox is to be credited for all the virtue men have done."
Here we see Myers' thought in all its glorious idiocy. No, Myers, the two are not even comparable. Smallpox has nothing to do with the building of Gothic spires and astronomical observatories and setting up institutions like Harvard and the Red Cross. Christianity was a powerful motivating force in why people did those things. You can find all this out by opening up a history book.
The problem with people like Myers and Dawkins is not that they are complete morons. It is that they are biologists who know something about one thing but pretend that they know a lot about other things. Consequently they come across sounding like morons. Have pity on them.
Reader Comments ( Page 35 of 35)
511. I DO have the right to morally offend you, it's part of what makes America great. As a religious studies major I used to yell out "smoke a joint for Jesus" and I'm sure I offended many. But it's my belief and my way to worship, so get over it if it's offensive. As long as I don't hurt anyone it's protected speech. As for desecrating a muslim symbol, show me one and I'll stick the freaking thing up my @ss. I could care less what those pederasts believe!
hurricane at 2:02PM on Sep 16th 2008
512. As a follow of Jesus Christ, who, by the way, IS a historical figure (read the Jewish historian, Josephus), I believe that at the last meal he shared with his disciples, he took bread, gave thanks and gave it to them saying, "This is my body which will be given up for you." And in the same way, took the cup of wine, and after saying a blessing, said, "Take this and drink. This is the cup of my blood--the new and everlasting covenant-- It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me." Because of John 6, we believe Jesus intended to give himself in the lowly elements of bread and wine.. It is a very beautiful sacrament, because through the eyes of faith, we know our Lord is here, present among us.
Because we believe in the real presence of Jesus within the Eucharist, Catholics reserve any left over consecrated hosts in a tabernacle within the sanctuary of our churches. (They do not bury it.) A candle in the sanctuary lamp is constantly burning to signify this presence. Any left over wine (the sacred blood, under the appearance of wine) is consumed at that liturgy. When the chalices and ciboriums that have held the sacred elements are cleaned, they are washed in special sinks with pipes that go directly down into the earth, not into the general waste that other plumbing does. All this is to show our deep respect and devotion for the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Many people through the ages of Christianity have died protecting the Eucharist. This is true. (A good film to watch is "Romero.")
Because Mr. Myers has chosen to show his anger at religion by taking something very holy to Catholics and desecrating it, the only thing I can do is to pray for him. It is Jesus, himself, who prayed on the cross, "Father, forgive them. They do not know what they are doing." Jesus, present in this humble host, lets everyone treat him as they wish, just like he did 2000 years ago. He still comes among us, whether we ignore him or desecrate him or adore him.
I know that God loves us all, no matter what. So, there is no doubt that PZ Myers is a beloved son, too, whether he knows it or not, whether others respect him or not, whether he respects the beliefs of others or not.
Truly, ever since I heard about this situation, he has been in my prayers. He may not wish to be, but that is the thing about prayer...you can't make another stop praying for you ... or loving you!
God bless you all!
jdep at 1:41AM on Sep 18th 2008
513. this is a very poor argument . You are arguing that people would be without morals if it wasn't for christianity. This is exceptionally silly, to assume that if it wasn't for the church the brilliant people that founded these hospitals wouldn't have cared to help the ill. And more to the point of your article why should anyone care about the feelings of people who think that a priest can magic a cracker into the body of a guy who died 2000 years ago. this despite the fact that after the priest does his juju its still a cracker. And the cross burning comparison is not well thought out .
Cross burning comes along with a lot of baggage like lynching and other racist crap that left real people dead. Their is no harm done when a cracker gets tossed. Their is no implication that PZ is gonna come get you. PZ is also not trying to infuriate people so much as show support for a kid getting flak over a magic cookie.
dblbassbill at 10:20AM on Sep 20th 2008
514. Since D'Souza is a pro-christianity dickhead, his siding with the baying mass of brain-dead religionists is unsurprising, and boringly predictable.
Myers is right, and religion is stupid. Catholics are just bit further along the stupid scale than some other groups.
Paul Hands at 10:54AM on Oct 19th 2008
515. Good article Dinesh. Most of the comments here are based in ignorance and hate. Can't do much about the hate, but we can educate.
For example, post #512, the KKK cross burners were anti Catholic as well as anti-Jew, anti-Black, etc. So the "baggage" does apply, and the analogy is perfectly appropriate.
Also, post #513 says "religion is stupid". So, irreligion is smart, right. So Stalin was good? After all, he blew up a really beautiful Cathedral, right? That was a good desecration in your books too, I suppose. Oh, and the Declaration of Independance which based its defiance of the King on an appeal to God, that was stupid too, right?
So lighten up hateful atheists. Myers was wrong to do waht he did.
Glen Bryce at 6:02PM on Sep 26th 2008
516. "Just a cracker". Hmmm, anything starting with "just a" is usually a warning that a reductionist error is about to be made.
I would be inclined to believe the professor's sincerity more if he had instead passed the nail through himself first. After all, he surely believes that he's "just a" pile of quarks and electrons, right?
Glen Bryce at 6:19PM on Sep 26th 2008
517. Re Post 512 "this is a very poor argument . You are arguing that people would be without morals if it wasn't for christianity."
That was not the argument. The argument was that Christian faith inspired good and bad people alike to be better than they were. The same could be said about other religions, and even old paganism, like that of Marcus Aurelius. The same cannot be said about neo-paganism. Modern neo-paganism and organized atheism inpire people to be worse and worse. Hitler is one example of a neo-pagan atheist.
Glen Bryce at 6:27PM on Sep 26th 2008
518. Oh, and Hitler based his racism on Darwin's science. It was the inspiration for it. For how could we have evolved "equally"? Surely some specimens are better than others.
As Colonel Kappler says in "The Scarlet and the Black", "There are two halves of humanity, those with the will to power, and the other cattle to be slaughtered". Sounds like Nietzsche on "survival of the fittest".
There's your atheo-scientist heritage: Hitler. Sorry to remind you it's a historical fact.
Glen Bryce at 6:42PM on Sep 26th 2008
519. Why did Myers desecrate the God Delusion? I thought Dawkins and Myers were best buddies and TGD would've probably been one of Myers's favorite books.
Carlo at 3:14PM on Dec 29th 2008