After much controversy and much investigation, it now seems clear that the story originally told by "Tom Johnson" is not credible. Details are here and here. I regret defending it as I did with this post.
Last week, the New Atheist comment machine targeted the following post, in which I republished a preexisting blog comment from a scientist named "Tom Johnson" (a psuedonym). In the comment, Johnson had related how some of his New Atheist-inspired scientist colleagues had behaved toward religious folks at bridge-building conservation events. The comment obviously reflected one individual's experience and point of view, and nothing more. But it struck me as worth highlighting, in light of my many well known concerns about the New Atheist movement. I'm a bit surprised how much hoopla the simple elevating of a comment into an individual post, with minimal additional commentary, has caused. Clearly, Johnson really touched a nerve. Accordingly, ...
