Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Beyond Science

Effects of remote, retroactive intercessory prayer on outcomes in patients with bloodstream infection: randomised controlled trial

BMJ 2001; 323 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.323.7327.1450 (Published 22 December 2001) Cite this as: BMJ 2001;323:1450

Rapid Response:

Re: Re: Leibovici's paper is religious propaganda, not science

The reason 93% of scientists do not believe in God is:

1. They recognise that discussion of Divine intervention is
itself a logical fallacy unless you can demonstrate the existence of "the
Divine", in other words God. God's existence is unproven and unprovable,
therefore any talk of his alleged activities, eg intervention of any
kind,is meaningless. The particular fallacy is that of the Double question
or statement; of assuming one thing in order to prove another, eg: "When
did you stop beating your wife?"

2. Scientists do not hold to the Post-Modernist fallacy of claiming
that any opinion is as good as any other. The evolution of the Universe is
rational and causal, and does not require divine, or any other arbitrary
interference. This makes activities by such an interfering and improbable
Agent highly unlikely.

Competing interests:  
Atheist medical Doctor

Competing interests: No competing interests

01 July 2003
Reginald Henry Le Sueur
retired
JE3 7BE