daniel dennett: thank goodness for christopher hitchens

on on faith, the washington post.

'if you insist on keeping the myth of the effectiveness of prayer alive, you owe the rest of us a justification in the face of the evidence. pending such a justification, i will excuse you for indulging in your tradition; i know how comforting tradition can be. but i want you to recognize that what you are doing is morally problematic at best.'

and

'those of us rooting for christopher hitchens in his contest with cancer are an open-minded multitude; we wish him the best, not just because we appreciate his great contributions in the past and his talent for giving delight, but because we need him for our future endeavors. he is a most valuable player. and we welcome the prayers of those on the other side of the field as a generous-spirited gesture rather like applauding the injured player on the other team. it is also, of course, a sincere indication that hitch has not yet persuaded them of the futility of what they do. fair enough. stay tuned.'

read it all here.