Nova

First, in regard to the "healing power of prayer", studies have in fact NOT shown that it helps heal. At best the evidence is inconclusive, which means that with a 50/50 result it's as if no one had ever prayed at all. I invite you to do an internet search for "scientific studies power of prayer", or something similar, to find out what's really true and what's not. You'll find along the way that in the case of a major study or two that suggested that prayer is efficacious, the methodology was shoddy enough to require the disregarding of results. But please- when you do your search don't got to "faith healing" or "power of prayer" because you're not going to get impartial information.

Second, in response to the notion that "Those who believe religion is useless are just as closed minded as those who follow their faith blindly", I agree for the most part, although probably not for the reasons the writer gave. Religion is always "useful" because it serves both as an effective escape from reality when under duress and also as a means of controlling the population. As Karl Marx correctly noted, religion is the opiate of the masses. When a recent political candidate referred to people in one particular state as having dealt with hard times by retreating to their religion and guns, he was blasted in the press and forced to backpedal. It's a shame, because he was right. We all do it- retreat to those things that give us comfort. And religion and guns are, for some people, sources of comfort. But God forbid that anyone actually say that in public, because the PC Police will have him cuffed in no time.

Third, I disagree with the implication that those of us who have done the hard work of studying the evidence on both sides and concluded that God is very unlikely, are as closed minded as those who won't pick up a book to save their neck. Anyone who studies any subject in depth is far more authoritative regarding what's true and what's not, and to suggest that studying any subject in depth leaves the serious seeker just as closed-minded as those who aren't is just about as bass-ackward as an idea can be.

Fourth, It's also NOT true that one can believe in both God and evolution, at least not in the sense of believing in the God of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Each of those religions is based on the Old Testament, where it very clearly states that the earth is a few thousand years old. No more than that. Read the genealogies in the book of Matthew- every name, right there in order, from Adam down to Jesus, and if you can find a way to force upon these "facts" the evolution of species then you're in need of immediate psychological intervention because there's no way to make that work. Unless, of course, you think that Noah had a pair of Triceratops on the Ark. And then made sure that when the dinosaurs died he made it look like they actually had died millions of years previously. Neat trick! You can believe in the God of our major religions, and you can believe in evolution, but you can't have your cake and eat it too. Not without losing your brain in the process.