Freethinker Sunday Sermonette: Atlas scrubbed (and ready for surgery)

It always makes me nervous when the Right agrees with me. Where did I go wrong? But maybe right wing libertarians are a special case, I don't know. Anyway, the far right Ayn Rand Institute (so far to the right they are almost on my left) has also weighed in on the subject of last week's Freethinker Sunday Sermonette (about the study showing prayer did nada to help by-pass surgery patients). Their conclusion was the same as mine, as expressed in an email to BoingBoing:

Dear Editor:

The Harvard medical study showing that prayer has no effect on recovery from heart surgery is shocking. It is not shocking that prayer has no medical effects--what's shocking is that scientists at Harvard Medical School are wasting their time studying the medical effects of prayer.

Science is a method of gaining knowledge by systematically studying things that actually exist and have real effects. The notion that someone's health can be affected by the prayers or wishes of strangers is based on nothing but imagination and faith. Such blind belief represents the rejection of reason and science, and is not worthy of serious, rational consideration. What's next? A study of the medical effects of blowing out birthday candles?

Every minute these doctors spend conducting this sort of faith-based study is one minute less spent on reality-based research--research that actually has hope of leading to real medical cures.

Dr. Yaron Brook

Ayn Rand Institute Executive Director
Irvine, CA

Who says bipartisanship is dead!