FAITH. No one word personifies the absolute worst and most wicked properties of religion better than that. Faith is mind-rot. Itโs the poison that destroys critical thinking, undermines evidence, and leads people into lives dedicated to absurdity. Itโs a parasite regarded as a virtue. I speak as a representative of the scientific faction of atheism: itโs one thing we simply cannot compromise on. Faith is wrong.
PZ MyersThe mediocrity principle simply states that you aren't special. The universe does not revolve around you; this planet isn't privileged in any unique way; your country is not the perfect product of directed, intentional fate; and that tuna sandwich you had for lunch was not plotting to give you indigestion.
PZ MyersThe hypothesis of the supernatural and/or a supreme being is vague, unfounded, and inapplicable in any practical fashion
PZ MyersWe godless lack that certainty, and we know the world is a complex place that requires compromise and is not ruled by a moral force - virtue is subject to negotiation, and is found in working together with others to find mutually satisfactory solutions. Good is not absolute, it is an emergent property that arises from successful networks of individuals. It is also something that is measured by evidence: we look at the good that people do, not the promises that they make and never keep, or the lies that dovetail nicely into dogma. Competence is a virtue. Intent is meaningless without action.
PZ Myers