An uninformed slam against us

Chili Town Board candidate Tim Lancaster declared himself an atheist as he criticized the Interfaith Alliance of Rochester as a "silly group" and said that its members rejected science and evolution because religion is "superstitious and based on mythology." As a longtime member of the Interfaith Alliance and president of the Greater Rochester Community of Churches, I would like Lancaster to meet some of the hundreds of believers — Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and others — whose faith is compatible with science. The methodical search for truth in scientific inquiry adds to our sense of the grandeur of God's creation.

It is important for a declared atheist to know which God he or she doesn't believe in. A lot of people of faith don't believe in the caricature of God assumed by Lancaster. And, as he was wrong about our faith, he is wrong that any of us "harbors al-Qaeda sympathies."

We invite him to come to know us. Such knowledge would better qualify him to represent the people of Chili on the Town Board. If he honors science, let him seek the truth.

—REV. RICHARD MYERS

SCOTTSVILLE