Science and Religion
A few years ago we were staying at my parents in Cornwall, and my nephew was there for the entire summer (don't get me started on his Mum and Dad repeatedly doing that to him).
One evening before bed, he started asking me difficult questions about where things come from, and why they are the way there are. While trying to think of child friendly descriptions for him (he was about 9 at the time) I stopped myself, and decided to tell him what I really thought.
For about an hour we talked about science, religion, faith, conflict, war, prejudice, and fear.
We talked about the church trying (rather successfully at the time) to destroy Galileo's life.
We talked about Gideon Mantel finding the Iguanadon in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, and his career being shut off in all directions by the church.
We talked about the Sunnotbeing the center of the universe, and Copernicus getting into all sorts of trouble suggesting as much.
We talked about the madness that 85% of people in the modern world still believe a supernatural beinginventedeverything, when all observable evidence contradicts that idea.
It became more and more difficult to provide balanced arguments. His child's mind asked question upon question, and made any faith based view of the world no more solid than “because I say so”, whereas science always provided another levelanother layerand they all became connected, and they all made sense.