But, as Scott Atran has pointed out, the whole point of religious faith is that it is contrary to what we know by material means—that is why it’s faith. In other words, it is because it’s impossible for the sun to stand still that people value their belief that God made the sun stand still for Joshua.As Atran puts it, “religious thought is insensitive to the kind of simple-minded disconfirmation through demonstrations of incoherence that [Sam] Harris and others propose.” So when you come along and say science shows the Sun can’t stand still, you’re failing utterly to speak to the reason people believe in the miracle.
Of course, if you point out that the reason people believe in miracles is either ignorance or a narcissistic need to believe in magic, that the universe itself is favorably disposed toward them and regularly intervenes on their personal behalf for the most petty reasons, and you suggest that this is not merely a false security but an unhelpful mindset that they might do well to leave behind, you’re accused of being rude and condescending. You’re not allowed to make a case against religious belief with science, you’re not allowed to make it with logic and rationality, and you’re not allowed to make it with psychology. It’s almost like certain apologists want atheists to just shut up and go away altogether. Oh, wait…