In Friday's New York Times, Nicholas Kristof said it disturbed him to learn that 83% of Americans believe in the virgin birth of Jesus and only 28% believe in evolution. He finds belief in the virgin birth absurd, as did his grandfather, a Presbyterian elder.

I'm grateful that he wrote this, but I do want to point out that of I'd stayed in the Catholic Church I'd now believe in evolution and the virgin birth -- for all its faults, the Catholic Church made peace with evolution a long time ago, and it's one of many churches that have done so. I'm an atheist now, and I figure you can't believe in God without believing some things that defy reason. That's OK; the problem is not believing what massive amounts of evidence shows is true. I'm far more upset at people (including, reortedly, the president of the United States) who don't believe in evolution than I am at people who believe in the virgin birth.