Superstition debunked, butthurt follows

9/22/2008 | 10:25 PM | Evolved Rationalist

An epic example of science successfully debunking superstitious dogma:

FOR centuries the faithful have gathered in their thousands to watch one of Christianity’s most enduring mysteries. But yesterday they were told that the “miracle of the blood” was an elaborate hoax.

Every year Neapolitans pack into the city’s cathedral to witness the “miracle”. In an atmosphere nearing hysteria, the archbishop holds up a glass phial that is said to contain the dried blood of San Gennaro, the city’s patron saint, and declares that it has liquefied.

Liquefaction, a central part of life in Naples, is held to guarantee good fortune. By contrast, its failure is thought to presage disasters ranging from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius to the defeat of Napoli football club.

But yesterday’s ceremony, which marked the 1,700th anniversary of the martyrdom of San Gennaro, was overshadowed by a claim made by an Italian scientist that the liquefaction was nothing but a fake.

OH SHI--

Read the article for the scientific explanation.

The predictable BAWWWW responses from the butthurt crowd soon followed:

Marchese Pierluigi Sanfelice, an aristocrat who is one of the official guardians of the phial and takes part in the liquefaction ceremony, said that the Church had conducted tests on the phial in the 1980s which showed that its contents included haemoglobin, the key pigment in blood corpuscles.

Oh, the Church did a scientific study on this phenomena, you say? Why am I not impressed?

That aside, isn't it amazing that the scientific evidence for such a miracle never made it into a peer-reviewed journal? Wouldn't such a discovery shake the scientific community? Why has nobody heard of their so-called 'study', and why can't we find references to this in a reputable scientific source? Could it be because the so-called 'study' is simply bullshit and mere hot air from the gullible crowd?

The Marchese said: “The trouble with scientists is that when they cannot find an explanation they invent one. They simply cannot accept that some things are beyond human understanding.”

Translation: BAWWWWWW

Also, science does not work that way!

Who gets to decide what is and what isn't beyond human understanding? There was a time when rain was beyond human understanding, and if the anti-science lunatics had their way, science would come to a standstill. Science is the candle that shines light into the dark crevices of the universe, and the anti-science morons want to put that light out simply to protect their ancient, antiquated dogma. We must not let them win.

Onwards, science soldiers!

Posted in Skepticism |