Feeling Great for Haiti

Jan. 17, 2010 - PRLog -- Thanks to all who wrote wondering where I was.  I have been here, but taking a break over the holidays.

Outside of a piece concerning the Canadian Cancer Society's recent endorsement and promotion of medical quackery, I haven't written anything since mid December, despite having plenty to write about, courtesy of the Calgary Herald (Canada's Largest Christian Daily).  Fortunately, most of what the Calgary Herald had to say over the holidays of concern to skeptics came in the form of trivial remarks or minor pieces.

The first of these came as the inevitable pieces lamenting the term holidays or holiday season. The Calgary Herald doesn't want us to use these terms. It wants everyone to use 'Merry Christmas'. No, it doesn't matter if you are Jewish or Muslim or Hindu or even an atheist - everyone should use Merry Christmas as a greeting during the holiday season. We are, after all, a Christian nation and these holidays are all about the birth of Christ and damn it, that's all there is to it. Now everybody shut up, stuff your personal religious beliefs in the closet and repeat after me, Merry Christmas!

Next, came a small editorial on a recent study concerning the benefits of prayer. The editorial staff of The Herald, evidently desperate for any information supporting their long outdated prejudices concluded with:

Skeptics don't even like the idea of prayer being subjected to scientific scrutiny, but they are wrong to fret and get angry at the researchers. Perhaps they should say a prayer and feelings of forgiveness and love will flow through their shrivelled hearts as a result.

Well, better a shrivelled heart than a shriveled brain. The study conducted by Frank Fincham, director of the Family Institute at Florida State University, essentially concluded that if you believe in the power of prayer and then asked to pray for someone, you will report feeling good about it. I know, I too am shocked. In other words, just another piece of pseudo-scientific crap masquerading as real science (and beautifully dissected at One Minions Opinion).

A few days later, in the January 03 edition of the Herald, Mark Milke published a piece entitled Patience with God - and His Creatures, a review of Patience with God - Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion (or Atheism) by Frank Schaeffer. In his review, Mark states:

And when they (atheists) ignore dark-side atheists such as Mao, Stalin or Pol Pot, they're making the same mistake as religious folk who see no possible downside to religion.

This is a familiar and fallacious bit of nonsense that has become an official policy of sorts at the Herald - always muddy the distinction between someone being a bad person and being an atheist, (true for Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot) with being a bad person because of atheism (not true for any of the people listed).  I am aware of many horrors perpetrated on humanity by atheists and believers alike, but I am not aware of any horror perpetrated on the human race in the name of atheism. Neither is anyone at the Herald, including Mr. Milke. In contrast, we only need to look back a few years ago to the slaughter of 9/11 to get a feel for what can be accomplished in the name of god. This is what physicist Steven Weinberg was talking about when he said we have:

. . . good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things, but for good people to do evil things, it takes religion.

Which of course brings us to Pat Robertson. In case you missed it, and if you depend upon the Calgary Herald you did, as the Herald only prints stories in which Christianity is presented positively, evangelical preacher Pat Robertson recently blamed Haiti's troubles, including the occurrence of a recent earthquake in which thousands have been killed, on the people of Haiti for having made a pact with the devil. According to Mr. Robertson, Haitians and the devil reached a deal to kick the French out back in 1791. Ever since then, Haiti, and the people who live there, have been cursed, evidently by god.  So don't feel bad for Haitians in this tragedy, evidently they got what they deserved.

Now I know what you are thinking - Pat Robertson is just another stupid, Christian nut case. You're right.

But he is not without compassion. Mr. Robertson urged his congregation to pray for the people of Haiti. But wait, according to the Herald, the evidence suggests this will only make those doing the praying feel better. Yes, but that is what religion is all about, feeling better about yourself because you prayed, even as tens of thousands suffer and die in agony.

So here is a different plan concerning Haiti. Send money to one or more of the following:

CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Save the Children Canada or the Canadian Red Cross

I have no idea if any of these organizations have a religious base or not. I do know they are good people doing good things which means their idea of helping is to do a helluva lot more than sit around and pray.

Meanwhile, over at The Herald, I am sure they will be following Pat Robertson's lead and praying for the people of Haiti - so they can feel better about themselves.

# # #

ASkepticRTN is dedicated to battling pseudo-science and superstition in the media. Specifically where facts, rationality and truth have been sacrificed upon the alter of entertainment.