Response to the letter to the editor

I posted my letter to the editor a week or so ago. Today I got a letter from a local Lutheran pastor (I am amazed at how many Lutheran churches there are in this town). I won't post his name or the letter here, since it was a private correspondence. He thanked me for my letter and wrote about how science shouldn't be a threat to religion.

It's gratifying to hear that, and it makes a few points. The first is that religion is not the enemy. This isn't the first time I've had a minister thank me for my support of science. People who deal with creationism spend so much time seeing the ugly anti science side of a few people that we can forget that most religions are supportive of science. They can help us to spread understanding of science, and we should not antagonize them. The view of science and religion expressed by this minister would be much more likely to make people appreciate science than pure logic.

The second point is that writing letters and doing small things can help. Even if you don't hear anything or think what you did didn't matter, there are at least a few people who appreciate it. At the very least, we can stop the erosion of support for science, and maybe even fight back a little bit. Too many scientists and science supporters are silent. Defend science, respectfully, or we will lose it.