"And it's not just faith itself: it's the idea that faith is a virtue and the
less evidence there is, the more virtuous it is. You can actually quote,
well, Tertullian for example: "It is certain because it is impossible."
Sir Thomas Brown, actually seeking for more difficult things to believe,
because things for which there is mere evidence are just too easy, and it's
no test of his faith. In order to have a test of your faith, you must be
asked to believe really daft things like the transubstantiation, you know,
the blood of Christ turning into wine, and stuff... That is so manifestly
absurd that you've got to be a really great believer, in the class of the
Electric Monk, in order to believe it..... You're actually showing off your
believing credentials by the ability to believe something like that...
If it were an easy thing to believe, substantiated by facts, then it
wouldn't be any great achievement."
[Richard Dawkins, interview with Douglas Adams]