What's wrong with science and religion

About a week ago, I wrote an article titled Myers' Friendly Middle is No Friendly Place. In it, I briefly mentioned a salon.com interview with Karl Giberson, as well as a response from PZ Myers (you can find links in the entry).

Why mention this? Well, it looks like salon.com enjoyed the controversy enough to encourage all participants to step into the ring for a grudge match. Take 15 minutes to read Giberson's latest piece: What's wrong with science as religion. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite:

PZ Myers is a true believer, a science crusader with the singled-minded enthusiasm of a televangelist. A biologist at the University of Minnesota at Morris and a columnist for Seed magazine, Myers has earned notoriety with his blog, Pharyngula, in which he reports on new developments in biology and indiscriminately excoriates those he views as hostile to science, a pantheon of straw men and women that includes theologians, journalists and churchgoers. He is Richard Dawkins without the fame or felicitous prose style.

Currently, Myers is under fire from his university and an army of righteous Catholics over his self-proclaimed "Great Desecration" caper. On July 24, he pierced a Communion wafer with a rusty nail ("I hope Jesus' tetanus shots are up to date," he quipped) and threw it in the trash with coffee grounds and a banana peel. The nail also cut through pages of the Quran and Dawkins' "The God Delusion." He featured a photo of the "desecration" on his blog, and wrote, "Nothing must be held sacred. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet."

( Of course, in an effort not to disappoint his own loyal readership, Myers drew up a quick response: Karl Giberson strikes back! )