Tom Piatak

July 15, 2008

My friend Scott Richert has a profound meditation on P Z Myers’ pledge to desecrate the Eucharist, which I would encourage all of you with an interest in this controversy to read here.

A few more points.  As is typical of the “new atheists,” Myers is both disingenuous and ignorant of Christian theology.  This is how he was quoted at Rod Dreher’s blog, justifying his stunt:  “The point of desecrating the host isn’t to make people angry—it’s to demystify and desanctify nonsense.  It’s how we wake people up—by showing that their beliefs are powerless.”  Even Myers had to realize that his pledge to desecrate the host would enrage Catholics, and his protestations to the contrary can’t be taken seriously except as a token of Myers’ bad faith.  And if Myers actually thinks that Catholics believe that God will zap him if he profanes the Blessed Sacrament, he is even more ignorant than he appears to be. 

And even though Myers first publicly pledged to desecrate a consecrated host in connection with a controversy over a student at the University of Central Flordia who did indeed steal a consecrated host, it seems that Myers has been planning to do this for some time.  As he commented on his blog, “I’ve been intending to do something like this for a few months now.”  What sort of man spends several months thinking about how best to desecrate something millions of his fellow Americans hold dear?  It all seems rather orc-like.  At least I think that’s how Tolkien—another stupid cracker-worshipper—would view it.  After all, Tolkien, in a letter to his son, wrote, “I put before you the one great thing to love on earth:  The Blessed Sacrament.  There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth, and more than that…”