Scientology is Bad Medicine

There is no actual "science" in Scientology.  Like Christian "Science," it is a faith-healing cult with some naturalistic fallacy in the mix.

The pseudo-science begins with L. Ron Hubbard's appropriation of a gadget called an "e-meter," or electropsychometer, which measures galvanic skin response.  It is akin to a "lie detector" (which is also pseudo-science).  The mark stooge customer (Scientology began as a business, not a religion) holds two "cans" while answering a series of questions posed by an "auditor."  The process is called auditing.  L. Ron Hubbard believed (or claimed to believe) that "engrams" were imprinted on the brain by traumatic experiences, going back to birth or possibly gestation.  When it became clear that there was a dead-end to the process, which meant a dead-end to the grift, Hubbard came up with the idea that traumas from past lives carried into present lives.  And if that wasn't enough to keep the grift going, the e-meter was supposed to capture memories of "overts" and "withholds," akin to crimes of commission and omission in Catholicism, from the present lifetime and earlier lifetimes.

The danger of this seems minimal on the surface.  Who cares if people want to believe in nonsense?  And people who have undergone this system find some benefit -- they have the attention of one person, sometimes for hours at a time and over the course of months to years, and they experience a kind of trance that may be soothing.  So as a form of talk therapy, it's not completely useless.  Actual talk therapy grounded in evidence-based methodology would be better, though.

And this is the danger of pseudo-medicine:  the person who accepts this kind of "treatment" forgoes treatment that is actually better.  Hubbard's e-meter methodology was rejected by actual psychologists and psychiatrists after the publication of his book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health  in 1950.  They recognized it (rightly) as quackery.  He responded by making psychology and psychiatry the enemies of Scientology.  (Scientology replaced Dianeticism for reasons I won't go into here.)

Hubbard continued to invent treatment methods to "treat" both physical and emotional illnesses, all dangerous.  Scientology became a method to make "the able more able," so people with actual psychiatric disorders were denied entry to the cult!  If his methods really worked, why wouldn't they work for schizophrenia?

Scientologists have died due to his methods, either because they refused useful treatment, or directly from the "tech" (techniques).  I fear that others may have died because of Scientology's propaganda against psychiatry and psychiatric medication.  Tom Cruise's infamous interview with Matt Lauer is the result of this brain-washing.  (Scientology crazy talk begins at 8:11)

Cruise parroted talking points of 1950s L. Ron Hubbard, especially criticizing electro-shock therapy and the history of psychiatry.  Scientologists don't keep up with advances in medicine, because they consider the words of L. Ron Hubbard, a.k.a. "Source," as inviolable, and L. Ron Hubbard didn't bother studying advances in medicine.  Any legitimate criticism of psychiatry is obfuscated by this utter balderdash (substitute your own b-word if you wish).

Scientology's "methods" beyond the e-meter include the "Purification Rundown," a required "cleansing" ritual involving dangerously high levels of niacin and hours in a sauna, and sequestering a person experiencing a psychotic break in a bare room with no outside contacts except to receive food.  For physical ailments, they conduct a "touch assist," in which one member touches the sick member's body in specific ways that may indeed resolve pain through hypnosis, but is not at all curative.

Scientology is responsible for numerous deaths, and they should be banned from operating simply due to their bad "medicine."  The following are some of the more well known examples:

Elli Perkins was stabbed to death by her son, Jeremy, in 2003.  He suffered from schizophrenia, but never received anti-psychotic medication.  He killed her because of his delusions.  CBS News's website details his symptoms and lack of care here.  Despite his obvious psychiatric symptoms, his mother forced him into a vitamin regime (probably the Purification Rundown, or perhaps simply niacin overdosing), and when that didn't work, took him to a non-Scientology quack.  In the years since Hubbard's rejection of psychiatry, many medications were developed that could have helped Jeremy and prevented this tragic loss of life.  This is indeed a sin of omission (or "withhold") for which this "church" should be held responsible!  Sadly, other mentally ill children of Scientologists have killed their parents.

Lisa McPherson died in 1995 after being confined as "treatment" for a psychotic break.  Called the "Introspection Rundown" it is extremely cruel, especially in light of Scientology's claims that psychiatry was cruel. Psychiatry had long ago abandoned the "padded "cell," which at least protected inhabitants from self harm.  Scientology couldn't even do that for its patients victims.  Mike Rinder, who left Scientology in 2005, discusses the first use of this technique in his book, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.  Lisa McPherson was finally taken to a hospital, but not the closest one.  She went to a hospital where a Scientologist who was an M.D. worked, and she was dead on arrival.  David Minkoff (father of fashion designer Rebecca Minkoff) shamefully received a slap on the hand (one year suspension of his license and a settlement that's a pittance in light of his wealth) and now runs a natural "health" business.  Quackwatch, an excellent site that uncovers medical pseudoscience posted the State of Florida's findings in the case.

• Suicides in Scientology are too numerous to list here - assuming they were actually suicides.  Scientology's homophobia may have been the motivation for L. Ron Hubbard's son, Quentin, to run a hose from the exhaust pipe of his car into the passenger compartment.  Scientology's pseudo-"treatment" for drug addiction (vitamins and saunas), through a company called "Narcanon," is responsible for several suicides.
• Flo Barnett, mother-in-law of current Scientology leader David Miscavige, shot herself... or did she?  The Village Voice wrote a lengthy article about her death, "The Strange Death of Flo Barnett, Mother-in-Law to Scientology Leader David Miscavige" in 2012.  The author was Tony Ortega, staff writer for The Village Voice until 2012, who is now an independent journalist reporting on Scientology.  (Follow his Substack blog, The Underground Bunker,  here)
• Kaja Ballo, a college student in Nice, France, took her life after learning the "results" of the personality test that Scientology uses to lure new members.  Its so called "Oxford Capacity Analysis," which has no association with Oxford and no basis in research, guarantees to find some kind of problem that only auditing can fix.  Kaja seems to have believed the crap she was handed -- dead from Scientology before even joining!  Scientology has targeted college students almost from the beginning, and just recently opened a recruitment center near the University of Texas-Austin.

Physical illnesses have also claimed the lives of Scientologists:

• Alexander Jentzsch died from pneumonia after being offered only a "touch assist" for his breathing difficulty.  He had been taking pain killers for a back injury, but wasn't offered an antibiotic or even a trip to the doctor for his pneumonia.
• Celebrities Kirstie Alley and Kelly Preston (wife of John Travolta) died from cancer.  Is this a coincidence?  Or is it due to them believing Scientology's promise of immunity from cancer?  (Newsweek covered the question in depth in 2022)
• Cancer may also be caused by asbestos on the Scientology boat, the Freewinds, or from L. Ron Hubbard claiming that cancer isn't caused by smoking cigarettes but by not smoking enough cigarettes.  Smoking is certainly common amongst Scientology worker bees in the Sea Organization.  Sunny Pereira's guest post on Tony Ortega's blog talks about smoking (and cussing) in the Sea Org.
• Epilepsy, which is easily treated with medication, may have killed John Travolta's son Jett, and it  nearly killed Tory Christman, who has spoken out against Scientology since 2000.  (She discusses medical abuse in this video from 2009.)  Epilepsy medication occupies a gray area in Scientology, but since it works on the mind, many members believe it should be avoided just as they avoid psychiatric medication.  And of course, Scientology's faith healing "tech" would be the solution.

Book Review: Jesus and John Wayne

Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation (2021) by Kristen Kobes du Mez.

I borrowed the audiobook version of this book from my local public library, not knowing anything about it.  I expected a screed but it was remarkably neutral (-ish) and straightforward history of the authors, organizers, and celebrities of the religious right from the 1950s to the election of Donald Trump.

Her previous book, A New Gospel for Women: Katharine Bushnell and the Challenge of Christian Feminism (2015) was about gender bias in Christianity from a feminist perspective, so this second book's focus on Christian views about masculinity is a book-end for that work.  

From the cowboy masculinity of John Wayne (literally), admired by McCarthy-era conservatives, du Mez weaves a story that results in a new kind of masculinity, infused with a belief in Jesus the sword-bearing warrior and a Christianity that embraces "strength" and forgives sexual misbehavior in its leaders.  She relies on books, video, and other written records rather than interviews, so it is a bit distant though not as chilly as a scholarly text.

If you want to learn the who's who of the religious right this is a must-read.  She discusses internecine disputes, TV hosts and the cult of Bill Gothard -- a single man who never had children yet became the pope of family and childhood patriarchy for many.

Mormons Explain Ruby Franke's Journal

Something wicked this way comes.... from the Mormon community.  As if the Ruby Franke/Jodi Hildebrandt situation weren't depressing enough, John Dehlin's "Mormon Stories" podcast explains it in the context of modern Mormon trends.

After learning about Jodi's visions and Ruby's delusions, I thought these women were just crazy people who found a religious context for their symptomology. But no... they are the symptomology and a toxic thread within Mormonism is the disease. John Dehlin and his guests explain that visions, possession obsession, and end-times theology are promoted in a book that's popular with Mormons: Visions of Glory: One Man's Astonishing Account of the Last Days by John Pontius. The author has written Mormon fiction, so how should we take the back cover description? In this true account of near-death experiences, we learn about the miracles of the millennium, the return of the Ten Tribes, the building of the New Jerusalem and temple, and many other astonishing events long prophesied in scripture but never before described in such vivid detail. Visions of Glory is a mesmerizing and fascinating read that you will not be able to put down. The book came out in 2012, so this is a recent development, but as Dehlin explains, end-times theology is an essential element of Mormon belief.  That's the "Latter Day" idea. One of the unique features of Mormon theology is the belief in prophets as a continuous stream of pope-like figures who lead the church from one generation to the next.  Unlike the papacy, though, anyone can imagine themselves to be a prophet Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell, who were convicted of murder, were also influenced by the book.  Vallow killed her own children, a fate that Ruby Franke's two youngest narrowly escaped.  Vallow was reading it at the time of her arrest!  The Daily Beast covered this movement, discussing these murderers and also disgraced phony child-rescuer, Tim Ballard.

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This is not the polygamist faction. It's similar to the fundamentalist wing of other Abrahamic religions but without that element (so far).  And like other religions the argument that "those are just the extremists - that's not the real version of my religion" just doesn't hold water.  If your holy book has language that can be used to hurt other people, then your religion is toxic.

Child Abuse and Religion: Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt

This week, Idaho authorities released some of the evidence in the case of the "Eight Passengers" mommy vlogger Ruby Franke and her business partner, bad therapist Jodi Hildebrandt.  Ruby and Jodi pled guilty to four felony child abuse charges each and will serve as little as four years in prison to a maximum of thirty years.  (Redditors have compiled the evidence here.)

If you haven't followed this case, the "eight" passengers were the two parents and their six children. Ruby's tactics were questioned at the time, and CPS were contacted, but no legal action was taken. Ruby refused to bring lunch to school for her five-year-old daughter who'd forgotten it, and forced a teen to sleep on a bean bag chair in the living room for eight months after pulling a prank on his younger brother.  

Over the years, Ruby fell under the spell of Jodi Hildebrandt, a Mormon therapist who was recommended to her, originally to help with the oldest boy.  As Hildebrandt had done to other couples, she drove a wedge between husband and wife, and the husband, Kevin Franke, moved out in 2022, ostensibly to save their marriage.  He joined a men's support group organized by Hildebrandt, and believed he was a sex addict.  He had no contact with Ruby or any of their children for a year.

In 2023, Ruby and the the younger boy, "R," and the youngest daughter, "E," moved to the 10,000 square foot home of Jodi Hildebrandt. Ruby joined Jodi's company, "Connexions," and they made videos together, sharing their religiously based, cultish advice on how to inculcate "truth" in children and banish "distortion."  Meanwhile, the two children endured horrible mistreatment under the guise of getting right with God, including going up and down stairs carrying heavy boxes, weeding a cemetery for hours in the desert heat (without permission of the cemetery owner!), doing manual labor outdoors at Hildebrandt's home, being forced to stand outdoors in the sun, being forced to sleep outdoors or being confined in a closet, being denied food and water, and Ruby played mental games that gave them little hope of meeting their mother's approval.  According to Ruby's journal, the two children knew that what she was doing was wrong, and they rebelled against her.  She kicked and beat R with a cactus and forced "E" to hug a cactus. "R" escaped one night and Ruby found him walking on a road, then bound him to her to prevent him from escaping again.

Apparently, she ramped up the bondage, because when "R" escaped again, he had wounds from being bound at the wrists and ankles.  He sneaked out a window and went to a neighbor's house asking to be taken to a police station, possibly because his mother asked him if being in jail would be better than being with her. The neighbor called 911, and police found an emaciated boy with wounds on his body in addition to the rope wounds -- which had been "treated" with honey and cayenne pepper.  He told them about his younger sister, and police immediately went to find her.  She refused to stand up or speak for four hours!  She only reluctantly ate pizza they offered her... and then ate the whole thing. 

This week, authorities released evidence including Ring doorbell footage, body camera video, police interviews, photos of the boy's injuries, and heavily redacted scans of Ruby's diary. It's far worse than it seemed when the situation came to public attention last year!

The Hidden True Crime YouTube channel has uploaded individual audio and video files, which are chilling.  That channel's focus is on the psychology of crime, not religion, but it's worth following because many of the cases they study involve religion and/or cults.  They have a playlist devoted to this case so you can catch up if you were not aware of this criminal case.

Key takeaways:

Demonic possession and evil children: Jodi read Bible verses about children rising up against their parents ... and who could blame the Franke children for doing that!  Ruby wrote in her diary about the children being evil and accused them of being influenced by Satan.  This is probably the most vile thing about the Abrahamic tradition.  Children are presumed to be in a state of sin, and abuse is the remedy.

Shame and guilt:   The two children believed they deserved their punishment abuse because they were evil and could  not be around other people.  The little girl refused to leave her closet/prison cell for four hours!  

Sadism:  Ruby seemed to have a very sadistic streak, which would have made her a bad parent in any case, but she was able to justify what she did through religious teaching and her own revelations.

Religious Therapy:  If someone advises you to seek spiritual counseling or a clergy member offers to make a referral for you, RUN!  If someone is already religious and has serious problems, applying that same religion is throwing good money after bad.

The Aftermath Foundation: An Update

Shortly after my previous post about the Aftermath Foundation, they announced new board members, and people working on the short-lived billboard project have spoken out.

The new board members include British apostate Jon Atack, who left Scientology in 1983 and wrote one of the must-reads about Scientology, A Piece of Blue Sky and interviews people on his YouTube channel, "jon atack, family and friends," Phil Jones, whose self-funded "Call Me" billboard campaign, inspired this year's billboard, and Stefani Hutchinson a "never-in," (a term coined by YouTube commentators when the SPTV movement gained momentum), who has been actively fighting Scientology online since 2017, according to her profile.  You can read her blog posts here.

You can learn more about Phil in an interview with Mark Fisher and Janis Gillham-Grady on their Scientology - Peeling the Onion channel. He is 70 years old and hasn't given up hope that he'll reunite with his two children one day. After this week's billboard take-down, he was interviewed by journalist Tony Ortega on his Underground Bunker podcast.

Phil Jones on Peeling the Onion:

Phil Jones on Tony Ortega's podcast (on YouTube):

The Aftermath Foundation: Ex-Scientologists Setting an Example for other Ex-Cultists

A few ex-scientologists who were featured on Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath have set up a foundation to raise funds for the work they were already doing to help Sea Organization members (the equivalent of priests and monks) to escape the cult.  For those in the main facilities, life is extremely circumscribed:  they have no access to the internet or libraries, many have no high school diplomas (or have even gone to high school), they live and eat communally, and they are paid a very tiny stipend as "religious volunteers."  They have almost no ability to live on the outside.  Most don't even have driver's licenses, and their passports are held by their organization.  Many younger members are the children of Sea Org members and so have no contacts on the outside, and they have been forced to "disconnect" (shun or cease all contact) with anybody who has left or spoken against the organization.

To complicate things, those at the secretive compound near Hemet, California, are kept behind locked gates and fences topped with razor wire, and they risk being chased down and retrieved if they leave without permission ("blow").   One of the stories featured in the Aftermath series described the  harrowing escapes of Mark Headley and his wife Claire.  (Headley expands on this in his book, Blown for Good: Behind the Iron Curtain of Scientology).

Many ex-members worked under the radar for years helping people with the practicalities of starting a new life from scratch:  escaping, taking a bus or plane to a safe space with family or an ex-member, getting a social security card, driver's license, passport, GED, job, and eventually an apartment.  Their network was informal, much like the networks that helped Jews escape Nazis or enslaved American Blacks escape to freedom.  It's difficult, scary, and expensive work, all paid out of pocket.

The Aftermath Foundation formalized the work in 2017, naming the new organization after the TV series. The main focus is raising money for the many expenses incurred when people leave.  Their website has a link for people to apply for aid, expanding the reach of the group beyond the friends-network that's been operating since the 1960s.  They also maintain a database of people willing to help.  Can you pick people up from the airport?  Give someone a job?  Leave Aftermath Foundation cards at a Scientology facility? Offer someone a place to stay?  Let them know!

Their latest effort was quashed by Scientology within three days!  They collaborated with a distraught father who has been trying for years to contact his children to post contact information on a billboard within sight of the Hollywood building where members and potential members could see it.  Clear Channel Communications, owner of the billboard, removed the billboard after being pressured by Scientology.  Their official statement on Facebook reads in part: 

In December 2023, we approached former Scientologist Phil Jones because of his successful 2016 Call Me billboard campaign that exposed Scientology’s destructive practice of “disconnection”, which tears families apart. Disconnection is the forced separation of a current Scientologist from anyone (including immediate family) who has been declared an enemy of Scientology.

Phil and his wife, Willie, suffered through disconnection when their adult children, Mike and Emily Jones, refused to communicate with them in any way after being ordered to cut off all contact by Scientology. Phil Jones joined the board of The Aftermath Foundation in March 2024.

We located the perfect billboard site close to and visible from Scientology’s buildings in Los Angeles and signed a one-year contract with Clear Channel Outdoor, including the First Right of Refusal at the end of the contract term. We developed a simple billboard design with our message and established a toll-free 24/7 helpline: 888-FREE-002.

The billboard was installed on March 11, 2024 at 9:00 AM.

Initially, Clear Channel Outdoor was very supportive of our campaign. The manager told us that their office staff thought we were doing a great thing.

By 10:00 AM, Scientology had erected a cherry picker in front of the billboard, intending to block our toll-free helpline from the view of their members. By that afternoon, they had also erected a scissor lift.

The next day, March 12, we were contacted by our Clear Channel Outdoor account representative, who told us they were under extreme pressure to remove the billboard and relocate it because Scientology claimed the message was “controversial”.

Today, Clear Channel Outdoor removed the billboard. We learned of this news when a supporter sent us a photo; we did not receive a notification from Clear Channel Outdoor in advance.

The Foundation's "Survivor Stories" page shows the lengths they are willing to go to help others.  One touching story was turned into a film and shared on several YouTube channels.  Serge Obelenskey was ejected from Scientology after an accident destroyed his hands.  With nowhere to go, he become a beggar on Hollywood streets known as "No-Hands Man" until a social worker and the Aftermath Foundation helped him move forward with his life.

Warren Jeffs's imprisoned Mormons and the Amish who want a life on the outside need help just as much as Scientology's slave laborers. I hope they're able to find that help.

Happy Birthday, L. Ron Hubbard

L. Ron Hubbard, (all informational links in the post go to Wikipedia pages unless otherwise specified) founder of the "church" of Scientology, would be 113 today.  Scientology has a few annual celebrations, and the anniversary of the birth of "LRH" is one of them.  (This is a bit odd, because Scientology believes in past lives and the eternal nature of the spirit, or "thetan," so every day is probably at least one birthday for him.)  Hubbard died, or "dropped his body" in 1986, and may or may not be spreading the good news of Scientology on another planet, a.k.a. "Target Two." But anyway, Happy Birthday L. Ron!  May the next year bring an end to the abusive cult you created.

Book Review: "Troublemaker" by Leah Remini

Book Review: Leah Remini Troublemaker

Leah Remini's autobiography interweaves the events of her life with her exposé of the problems with the "Church" of Scientology. That's because almost her entire life revolved around Scientology, as it does with many of its members. Like other cult religions, members spend an inordinate amount of time (and in the case of Scientology, money) devoted to being "good" members.

In her TV series on A&E she interviews past members about the abuses of the church: bleeding members' financial resources, forcing families to "disconnect" from members who left the church, punishment for "crimes" (including beatings). This is an important exposé because these things are common to so many extreme religions. I can imagine relatives of people involved with Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, or Independent Funadamentalist Baptists watching her show and thinking "wow, that's like my brother's church!"

In the book, she tells mainly her own story, which is a whopper. She joined the church as a child and experienced several different aspects of the church. She began her "studies" in Scientology in middle school, commuting from Bensonhurst in Brooklyn to the Times Square building where she would meet up with her mother. This was in the 1980s, when Times Square was not a nice place for little girls. Soon, her mother took her and her sister to Clearwater, Florida, where the kids were put to work cleaning a Scientology hotel. Children of members lived in motel rooms converted to dorms, and babies spent their days in a collective nursery. Kids were not properly cared for . At. All.

Takeaway #1: Scientology does not believe in the connection between family members -- all humans are supposedly "spiritual beings" who are equal to each other, including children and babies, whose needs are not special.

She & her sister joined "Sea Org" as a way out of their circumstance, and they flunked out. L. Ron Hubbard disapproved of sex before marriage, and the definition of "sex" was rather wide. They were rather innocent teens but told they were sluts. The family moved to Los Angeles after that, and Leah was determined to help her family by becoming an actress (her lifelong dream anyway). Meanwhile, she & her sister worked at whatever jobs they could find despite not being old enough to work. The Scientology network in the area helped them find jobs, but the cost of being a member was a constant strain for them. Fees were the same for everyone - no 10% tithing for them! And being equal to adults, they didn't have to go to school and their mother didn't punish them as most parents would. She used Scientology on them.

Remini describes some of the training she received, some of which seems to have some psychological validity -- for example, learning to keep your cool while being baited by your trainer. There is also a rating scale for emotionality, with "low" or negative numbers on one end and "high" positive emotions on the other. I can see how this could be a handy concept in life, too. People around us can influence our moods, and thinking about that in our interactions is potentially a good thing. It's easy to see how you can feel like you're getting something for your money, at least in the beginning.

Takeaway #2: Scientology offers members a sense of community and mutual support, while giving them a few psychological tools. The downside is that these things also give them a sense of superiority to outsiders, which cements their relationship to the church.

As Remini started having some success in Hollywood, she also continued in Scientology, but she tried to avoid discussing it during her work life. The culmination of her career was a 9-year run co-starring in the sitcom, "King of Queens." Now she had two sources of community and friendship: her church and her sitcom family. She also got entré into the Scientology Celebrity Centre in Los Angeles. She continued her "training" after work and during breaks, and rubbed elbows with Tom Cruise and the other celebs. As a celeb she was pressured to donate more and participate more. And she also witnessed more. My personal opinion is that her coworkers on "King of Queens" gave her an alternate universe that helped her see the crazy of Scientology for what it was. She also seemed to have a fighting spirit that was impervious to Scientology's "tech."

As a true believer, she was disturbed by what she saw. Members were supposed to tattle on each other whenver they saw someone committing a "crime," i.e. not being a perfect Scientologist, and she took her responsibility seriously. She and her husband went to Tom Cruise's famous wedding in Italy, her friends J-Lo and Marc Anthony along for the ride. Absent from the wedding party was Miscavige's wife, Shelly, whom Remini considers a friend. The wedding guests also included married people who were cheating with each other, and caregivers for Suri who were clueless about caring for a baby. (Remini doesn't mention the cognitive dissonance of a baby being born out of wedlock to people who weren't supposed to be having sex outside of marriage)

Leah reported on the misdeeds of the higher-ups, including Cruise and post-LRH leader David Miscavige. She honestly believed the church would care about and fix the situation (with more training at the miscreants' expense). Instead, she was punished and this became the biggest wedge between her and her religion. After the famouse Cruise divorce, she tried to clear her record (and get her money back), and she got no satisfaction. She asked why the regular members had to pay for retraining when there had been a report on them, but the people at the top didn't. She also got no satisfactory answers to her questions about Shelly MIscavige's whereabouts. That didn't stop her from trying, and it led to her separation from the church.

Takeaway #3: You can take the girl out of Bensonhurst but you can't take the Bensonhurst out of the girl... which is a very, very good thing.

As she was getting the runaround, she looked -- for the first time -- for former members' stories on the internet and in person. This got her into even more trouble. One was Mike Rinder, who accompanies her on the show. She was now "disaffected" -- unhappy with the church -- and her friends were being told to help straighten her out. As things got worse, her friends started disconnecting from her, too. Eventually she decided she'd had enough, and took a step that would get her labeled as a "suppressive person:" She filed a missing person report on Shelly Miscavige with the LAPD. I had heard about this, but hadn't connected Remini with it. I have even more respect for her now that I know this.

Takeaway #4: Scientology punishes dissenters, and even has a facility near Hemet, California, that is like a prison.

After coming out as being out, Remini decided to speak up for those who can't. Fortunately for her, she had friends outside the church (though she lost dozens of friendships by leaving the church), and her family left too.

Takeaway #5: Belonging to a religion doesn't make you a better person in any way if people who don't belong to a religion can be better friends, colleagues, and family.

　

　

　

Religious Parents Neglect a Child to Death... Again...

Washington Post: Minn. Parents Let Son (7) Suffer wounds, inflamed Pancreas, With No Medical Attention Before He Died, Police Say

The parents had “issues with going to doctors”, they told authorities, and instead relied on their own research, giving the boy vitamins, “medical honey” and Neosporin, adding later that they “prayed” for the boy’s health.

Incredibly, this is a misdemeanor!

In a statement, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said the office initially approached the case as a homicide, given the boy’s physical injuries and apparent emotional trauma. But after a year of reviewing the evidence and medical information, investigators could not link the parents’ alleged actions — or alleged lack of actions — to Seth’s pancreatitis and death. As a result, Freeman said, prosecutors imposed the most serious charge the law allows, the gross misdemeanor charge of neglect of a child resulting in substantial physical harm.

To add insult to (fatal) injury, they started a crowdfunding page and bragged about what great parents they were. It's offline now but the WaPo quotes:

After their son’s death, the Johnsons created a crowdfunding page on Youcaring.com, raising $7,000 to “ease the financial burdens” of funeral expenses and leave from work, so that “Tim and Sarah can focus on getting their family through this difficult time.” Their son, they wrote, died unexpectedly in their home.

On the fundraising page, which has since closed, the Johnsons wrote that Seth “was a very quiet and hurting little boy” when he joined their family.

“His family embraced him completely and loved him unconditionally, and slowly began to see growth and change,” they wrote.

His parents “taught him about God’s love,” they added. “What it meant to be loved. What it meant to give love.”

It took over a year for authorities to figure out what happened and what to do about it.  If there really were a god, he would have smote these pigs by now!   Fortunately no other children died in their care in the meantime.

A lot of prisoners are parents who truly love their kids and regret not being better parents to them.  Instead of beating themselves up, they will have better targets now.... assuming the authorities have the kahonas to imprison them.

Scientology is Taking a Beating

Actress Leah Remini, a former Scientologist, has taken up the fight against the destructive cult/business in an 8-part television series called Scientology: The Aftermath on A&E.  Recently, she did a reddit AMA and she will answer more questions from reddit tomorrow on A&E.

Three episodes have aired so far (Tuesdays, 10 p.m. EST).   The episodes center on former Scientologists and the impact their devotion had on themselves and others.  It becomes apparent that the "religion" is big business, costing members about $250,000 to achieve the highest level, and that anything short of total devotion is severely punished.  Remini interviews people who perpetuated the abuse and suffered from it.


And over on Discovery - ID, a network that focuses on murder stories, the "Deadly Devotions" series reran an episode that documented the role of Scientology in the murder of devout believer Elli Perkins.   Perkins refused to allow her schizophrenic son to be treated by an actual psychiatrist and instead took him to a Scientologist "psychiatrist" who prescribed vitamins.   Her son's delusions eventually caused him to kill his own mother.

Naturally, Scientology denies all claims of malfeasance and insists that ex-members are disgruntled whiners & opportunists.  If you've ever known someone with a severe mental illness, their anti-psychiatry stance alone should remove all doubt about it being dangerous.   Check out the show if you haven't already.

Twelve Questions in Genesis

Some Questions about the Creation Story as told in Genesis:

1. How could there be days before the Sun was made?  (Gen 1:3 vs. Gen 1:14-18)
2. How could there be plants before there were night and day?  (Gen. 1:11-16)
3. God made the Sun, the Moon and the Stars but not planets?  Where are the planets?  (Gen 1:14-19)
4. If God is all-powerful why did he need a day of rest?  (Gen 2:2)
5. Why aren't microscopic plants and animals mentioned?
6. Why did God make livestock and then tell Adam & Eve to eat only plants?  (Gen 1:24; Gen 1:29)
7. Why does Chapter 2 have a different version from Chapter 1?  Were there plants before Man was made or not?  And why was it a problem that there were no crops yet when they already had all they could eat in the Garden?  (Gen 2:5)
8. If Adam was not alive until God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, does that mean that a fetus is not alive until it takes its first breath? (Gen 2:7)
   
9. If Eve didn't know about good & evil before eating from the tree of good & evil, then how could she be punished for committing evil?  (Gen 3:4)
10. If God is a spirit, how did Adam & Eve hear him clomping around the Garden of Eden?  (Gen 3:8)
11. If the serpent was already a serpent, then why did God curse it to crawl on its belly?  Didn't it already do that?  (Gen: 3:14)
12. If there is only one god, then why did he say, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." (Gen 3:22)

Eugenie Scott profiled in the New York Times

She's a true hero in the battle for science education.  Kudos to the New York Times for calling attention to her life and work:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/03/science/eugenie-c-scott-fights-the-teaching-of-creationism-in-schools.html?pagewanted=1&tntemail0=y&_r=2&emc=edit_tnt_20130902&

And they also profiled high school students who defended science education.

August 31 Link Round-Up

Kitten in a Cup for to Cheer you Up

The myth of the teenaged temptress.  "It doesn't matter if a young girl is saying yes, it's an adult man's job to say no."  (Blog post in response to the judge who gave a teacher a slap on the wrist in a rape case involving a 14-year-old student who subsequently committed suicide.  The judge basically blamed the victim in his statement)

Employers are not accommodating diverse religions, but evangelicals have no problem expressing themselves at work, unlike others.  Wow.  Surprise.

A new film, God Loves Uganda, documents the rise of evangelical Christianity.

A new book, The Story of the Jews, is really many stories of many Jews, killed during the Middle Ages in Europe for various trumped-up reasons. 

A study of almost 190,000 people shows that religious people are happier when they are poor.  Is it wrong to then have Schadenfreude over the misery that Joel Osteen must be suffering?

Dolphins are dying from a measles-like virus.  Other related viruses have affected dogs and cattle, and vaccines are effective in preventing those diseases.  Vaccinating dolphins could be rather difficult, though!

A shark that walks along the ocean floor has been discovered in Indonesia.  

Another superheavy man-made element makes it onto the Periodic Table.  More for high school students to memorize!

People who watch / listen to conservative media are more likely to distrust science and to deny global warming.  Someone got paid to figure that out!

Book of the week:  Breaking their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment.   A friend recently read this and said it's chilling.  I'm not sure I have the stomach for it but I'll pass along the info here.

Science video of the week:  Sign the petition to name hurricanes after climate-denying lawmakers:

http://www.upworthy.com/this-is-probably-the-funniest-most-effective-way-to-deal-with-people-who-ignore-science-facts-ever-2

August 24 Link Round-up

Rationalist assassinated in India. Wow. Just. Wow.

Anti-vaxxer Texas megachurch surprises nobody with measles outbreak.  Another example of child abuse in the name of religion!

Westboro Baptist Church gets another smack-down from another legal venue.  It seems protests at funerals offend just about everybody everywhere.

God tries to smite the creation museum with lightning, misses, only injures one person.

Fundamentalist muslim in Australia says "Kill all Buddhists and Hindus."  Religion of peace.  yeah.

Religion rakes in $82 billion per year.  Well, if tax subsidies count.  I chose the wrong profession!

Video of the Week: Minute Physics on Science, Religion, and the "Big Bang":



Video of the Week 2: 25 Strangest Geological Formations on Earth:

Jerry Coyne on Beluga Whales in Confinement

My previous post included a link to a recent decision by the NOAA not to grant permission for importation of captured beluga whales.  Although I follow Jerry Coyne's blog, I had forgotten that he had written a touching and passionate blog post about this petition last year:

http://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/beluga-whales-to-be-captured-jailed/

Apparently, this is one instance when the good guys won.  Perhaps the outcry by Coyne and his readers and other humans with compassion for other sentient beings has turned the tide for these animals. I hope sentient sea mammals can continue to do what they do without our interference or capture!

On the Ethics of Keeping Animals

Note: there will be no link round-up today because a couple of blog posts and news items inspired the following post:

A recent study found that humans have more empathy for beaten puppies than for human crime victims:

Jack Levin  and Arnold Arluke, sociology professors at Northeastern University, used the opinions of 240 men and women, most of whom were white and between the ages of 18-25 (college students), at a large northeastern university (guess which one) who randomly received one of four fictional news articles about; the beating of a one-year-old child, an adult in his thirties, a puppy, or a 6-year-old dog. The stories were identical except for the victim's identify. After reading their story, respondents were asked to rate their feelings of empathy towards the victim.

Survey results showed that abused adult people have it bad in our culture while dogs have it quite good.  Even the difference in empathy for human children versus puppies was statistically non-significant.

Granted, this study was done within just one part of the American public,  but it raises an important question:  Why do humans hold sentient, social animals in captivity despite our sympathy for them?

This month on the Secular Web, there's an article by Richard Schoenig on whether there can be objective ethics without a deity, and he proposes a system of "ethical rationalism."  He deliberately left aside the issue of ethical treatment of animals other than human beings.  I'm going to try to fill in that gap a little.


Schoenig's "system" includes principles that most people would not dispute regarding human-to-human interactions:

1. The principle of respect for the life of others ...  to respect the integrity of others' lives... also that we must not cause any unwarranted pain or suffering.
2. The principle of fairness requires that we give others their due...
3. The principle of truth-telling says that we must not lie, mislead, or withhold the truth when the situation calls for telling the truth.
4. The principle of respect for legitimate property ...
5. The principle of self-support ...
6. The principle of autonomy (for competent people)
7. The principle of assistance (PA) states that capable people have a moral obligation under certain circumstances to help those in need who cannot help themselves...

He expands on the last point quite a bit, and to me, this one and the first one are the core values that would apply to relationships between humans and other animals.  Schoenig seems uncomfortable with the idea of rendering assistance, and he goes into detail working out his rather libertarian views on helping others.  He quotes the classic "trolley problem," which I think does apply to our treatment of animals.  In the trolley problem, the subject has to choose between diverting a trolley, thus saving five people but sacrificing one, or letting the trolley run its course, guaranteeing the death of the others further away.   Schoenig's response is rather libertarian, in my opinion, and his calculations lack the one factor that I think causes us to worry about these things in the first place:  compassion.

The trolley problem writ large is a perfect metaphor for our struggle with issues of animal ethics.  For example:

• Should we prohibit the killing of lions in the savannah because they are endangered, even if it means the lions will eat the villagers' goats and cause them to starve?  Or to Americanize it, should we prohibit the killing of the grey wolf even by farmers who are protecting their livestock?
• Do we protect the snail darter, a tiny fish from Tennessee Valley Authority's planned dam, which would disrupt its life cycle and destroy its habitat? (The Supreme Court decided in favor of the dam, but the fish were relocated to a different river and it is still a threatened species)
• Should billions of acres be devoted to corn for animal feed when deforestation is one of the causes of global warming?  If we didn't eat pigs and cows many of those acres could be returned to their native state.
• Is the human-animal bond sufficient to justify keeping parrots as pets?
• Should food animals be raised with modern methods to maximize their potential to feed more people?
• Should we allow the human population to continue to grow, considering how many species we are endangering?
• Should exurbia continue to sprawl into native habitats when inner cities have vacant housing that could be restored?

Religion isn't very helpful here.  Buddhists revere all life, are strict vegetarians, and literally will not hurt a fly.  On the other extreme are cultures that have no regard for animal life whatever, and engage in what many Americans would consider atrocities.  And then American animal treatment has a long way to go.  In each of the above examples, animals are on the losing end because we consider our needs and comfort to be more important than theirs.

At the risk of sounding post-modern, the less we relate to another, the easier it is to disregard the "other."  The United States no longer has any states where African-Americans are considered 3/5 human, or where women are prohibited from owning property, but current political debate continues to involve the resistance of the "sames" to the "others:"   gays, immigrants, Muslims, etc.  (No debate about whether it's okay to hate atheists, yet, though)

More and more, though, we are accepting that we are not quite as unique as we would like to feel.  We are not the only species to adopt orphans.  We are not the only species to show grief at the death of a family member.  Other species have been found to use tools and to have language-like abilities.  Here are some recent news items about other animals:

• Dolphins can remember their fellow captives years later -- by name!
• Humpback whales put sounds together into phrases
• Enough animals use tools to justify a whole book about them
• Lizards can mate for life and form families

As biologists continue to find commonalities with other animals, our biggest uniqueness seems to be the ability to make or break the existence of other species.   Protection of species and the environment have succeeded in part because of enlightened self-interest:  If we continue to  decimate the Brazilian rain forest we might cause the extinction of a plant that could cure cancer!  If we kill too many deer this year, there won't be enough next year for us to hunt!   We love to visit redwood forests, so lets keep some of them for our amusement!
 
So back to Schoenig.  His Number One rational value is: The principle of respect for the life of others ...  to respect the integrity of others' lives... also that we must not cause any unwarranted pain or suffering.  This stands alone, without respect to our own amusement or comfort.  I can't kill someone to harvest their kidney for myself, nor can I torture him for sport.

Now let's widen the circle a little - to some of the more closely-related "others."  In the 1970s and 1980s, young baboons were sacrificed for their hearts, which were transplanted into infants that died soon after.  The most famous was "Baby Fae."  How did the baboon's mother feel about this?   Nobody thought of that in the 1980s.  Studies of baboon social life indicate that females bond very closely to their female relatives.  ... and they love their offspring.  Yes, love. Parental love is due at least in part to the hormone, oxytocin, which is present in almost all placental mammals.  Let's decide to stop killing primates to harvest their organs, okay?

But what if you could save ten babies named Fae with one baboon heart?  That's the trolley problem.  Fortunately, as in the case of the snail darter, the trolley problem may have been a false dilemma.  (The ethics of keeping doomed babies "alive" is another topic for another day)

"Unwarranted" pain or suffering is the razor's edge, though.  If we hold a human baby's life in higher regard than a baboon's, then the baboon's suffering is justified.  But what if the human benefit is not life-or-death?  And what if the human's chance of survival are not greatly improved by the baboon's sacrifice?  Animal activists have been arguing against unwarranted animal destruction and have been successful in a number of areas:

• Animal testing on cosmetics has greatly reduced
• Dog fighting is a felony in all 50 states 
• Cock-fighting is a felony in all but four states
• Exotic animal trade is regulated by treaty (though not necessarily for the animal's sake)

What got me thinking about ethics and animals was a recent news item in which the U.S. government denied a petition to import beluga whales for public display.  Belugas, like other whales, live in pods.  Separating the individuals from their pods is cruel, and if the recent dolphin study is indicative of cetaceans (marine mammals) in general, they would recognize their pod if reunited.

The debate whether zoos are important has good points on both sides, but as much as I enjoy zoos, I'm starting to view them as being on the wrong side of history.  In the past, we had traveling circuses where people viewed animal tricks, and in general gawked at alien animals.  Then we had Sea World and Siegfried und Roy in stable locations coaching animals to do tricks.

Zoos and Sea World are becoming more humane, though, and nobody wants to follow in Siegried and Roy's dubious footsteps.  Habitat areas in zoos are more similar to the natural habitat, and keepers give the animals stimulating activities.  Sadly, though, too many social animals are still alone in their enclosures, or one of only a few when in the wild they would live in an extended family.  Even if they embrace their keepers in a human-animal bond, it's not the same.  An example is Lucy, an Asian elephant living in the cold climate of Canada, without any other elephants to socialize with.  The zoo claims she's happy.

The educational value of captive enclosures is perhaps the best argument for keeping zoos and aquaria, though I think they could still expand environments.  And we have to admit -- if we're being honest -- cute, beautiful, human-like, or scary animals are still the real attractions.  Would Sea World want those Beluga whales if they didn't look a bit like Homer Simpson?

Land animals can be "preserved" in sanctuaries or wildlife reserves, but preservation of sea animals is more of a challenge.  Their natural range is much further than land mammals, so even turning the Grand Canyon into a sea would not be enough space.

The best argument for zoos and aquaria in my opinion is the advancement of veterinary science for those animals.  We can help injured animals now, and we often do.  If the same could be accomplished by sanctuaries that would be even better.

There are sanctuaries for African animals in the United States, which is rather disturbing.  Many of the animals came from the exotic pet trade, as owners realize their cute little lion cub is not quite as cute as an adult.  A "sanctuary" implies there would be no other option for the animal, and they will be in safe keeping.  But it's still keeping.

Why do we keep animals, either in zoos or as pets?  The animals sometimes suffer terribly.  Parrots pull out their feathers.  Large mammals in small enclosures pace in circles.  Big cats attack zoo employees at their first opportunity.  I think it's because we like them and feel some empathy for them.  Only recently have we become sensitized to their suffering in captivity.

So how do we define our ethical responsibility toward other animals?  Studies of animal behavior can help us define what constitutes suffering for them, not in comparison to our suffering.  I think it comes down to the brain development of the species, and their instinctual needs.  We can assume that all animals with brains can experience pain.  I admit to a need to eat meat, so I can't go the distance to encourage vegetarianism, but farming methods and slaughter methods can be made less painful.

Social animals with brains capable of social bonding should not be separated from their family groups.  This would include other primates, elephants, giraffes, and other zoo staples. If zoos are to continue, they should create social groups and provide sufficient space to support the entire group.  With the advent of webcams, visitors can be shown video images of the animals wherever they happen to be within their space rather than forcing them into small pens.

Aquaria and Sea World shouldn't keep dolphins or whales unless they can give them large spaces to swim.  Animal tricks would not be possible without some kind of human-animal bonding, and I don't dismiss this possibility.  There are many instances in nature when an animal fosters the young of a different species.  But when you consider the large ranges of dolphins and whales, is the distraction of tricks for treats sufficient to make up for what they've lost?

India has banned the keeping of captive dolphins and Costa Rica closed its zoos.  Will Sea World and your local zoo go the way of the circus?

Animals that need to learn their survival behaviors from a family group, are kind of stuck, and they are our responsibility if we have reared them.  This brings us to the libertarian #7 of Schoenig's system: fostering an unhealthy dependence.  When it comes to humans, I don't think this is really that much of a risk.  When it comes to intelligent and social animals, it is definitely a risk. There are many of these.  We habitually rescue animals that need to learn life skills that we can't possibly teach them.  An example is a walrus that is now at the Indianapolis zoo.   Humans and other sentient animals can bond, but should they, erm, we?

Unfortunately, due to our ability to destroy the planet through deforestation, pollution, overpopulation, overfishing, and global warming, all species on the planet are now our responsibility.  They have an unnatural dependence on us whether we have contact with them or not.  In the case of domesticated animals, we created their species so we are 100% responsible for everything related to their suffering and survival.  In the case of endangered species, we have most likely caused their endangered status, so nurturing individuals in rescue/rehabilitation programs is essential.  Preserving the gene pool through zookeeping, maybe not so much.  We should definitely be banking sperm from endangered animals to the extent we can.  We should be saving ecosystems by converting golf courses (yes, golf courses!) and other unnatural spaces back to their original states.

We do indeed have a moral obligation to prevent suffering and care for those animals that depend on us directly or indirectly.


Disclaimer:
Dogs in "captivity" are also our responsibility because we created their species from wolves.  They do not have the jaw strength to hunt like wolves, and they are juvenile temperaments have been bred into them, so they can't mimic wolf packs as much as people would like to think.  Dogs can revert to "wild" but even in undeveloped areas of the world, they are rather parasitic and seemingly unable to survive away from human settlements.  Mine are happy when I come home and they sleep with me.  Would they prefer to chase squirrels all day?  Possibly.  But they were bred to be companions of humans.

So I'm keeping them.

More Child Abuse in the Name of Religion

In the local paper today, a Christian couple that starved their children after leaving Muncie to join some cult in Branson, Missouri, are being held to account:

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20130815/NEWS01/308150037/child-neglect

According to documents at the time of their arrest, Jason and Amy Doty told police they had moved to Branson, Mo., in March 2012 “to follow a church ministry there.” While there, the family ran through its savings; the parents acknowledged they would go without feeding the children for two to four days at a time, and had noticed them losing weight but did not seek assistance or medical attention until they returned to Muncie, just days before their arrest.

...The younger girl, who was taken to Riley Hospital for Children for severe malnutrition in June 2012, had stopped walking by the time she was hospitalized, according to police at the time. She eventually learned to crawl and then walk again, but suffered irreversible brain damage as a result of malnutrition, Whitehead reported.Both girls lost much of their hair, had seriously compromised immune systems and had physical problems as a result of poor hygiene. Both still suffer from nightmares and have trouble eating, being prone to “gag and puke” regularly at the table during meals, the aunt said.

But... seven years is the sentence.  Seven years?  They should stay in jail until the children are 18 at least.   And these idiots want to gain custody of the children.  Fortunately, an aunt has taken them in and cared for them and wants to adopt them.

An Arizona couple went even further, geographically at least.  They left the country in a boat -- with their toddler and newborn -- to escape supposed religious persecution in the U.S.  The Young Turks got it right:  God didn't help them navigate, so the couple got lost, then "miraculously" rescued, and they wound up in Chile, where abortion is illegal.  So perhaps God wanted them to be in Chile.... but no, now they're going back to the U.S., paid for by the State Department.

August 10 Link Round-up

Baptist pastor expelled from church for attending Rick Ross ("God Forgives, I Don't") concert.  Oh the irony.

The Slate reports on the sexual harrassment problem in secularism.

Crazy Christian in Washington (state) blows up the family dog because it had demons.

Two British teens visiting Zanzibar are the victims of an acid-throwing attack.... because they sang during Ramadan.  Seriously?  Singing?

Conservatives don't care about the consequences of their "morality."  Someone got paid to study that.  I picked the wrong career!

Teens exploited by churches around the country to demand a ridiculous exhibit comparing abortion to the Holocaust.  Even sadder, they're probably aware of being used and proud of it.

Former  basketball coach converts to Islam, goes off the rails, threatens Mormons & Catholics, and gets arrested for pot possession.  Yes, this is the real reason pot is illegal: to get people you don't like off the streets.

Link round-up at a blog I've recently started following, "No Longer Quivering"  Great links, great blog.

Atheism is considered a suicide risk by the military.

Clashes between Hindus and moslems in Kashmir, the only Islamic-majority part of India.

Salon says it misses Hitch more than ever since a video of Kissinger dancing with Colbert goes viral.  (with video interview of Hitch from 2001)

A humanist chaplain at Harvard explains why a humanist/atheist chaplain would be a good idea in the military.

The Barking Atheist challenges Rep. Michael Burgess on his vote to deny atheist chaplains in the military.  Check out the Barking Athiest's blog, too.  His video of this event is the video of the week, below:

August 3 Link round-up

The big news this week is that Ball State University's president made an unequivocal statement on the non-place of Intelligent Design in science education.

Blog posts of interest, mainly for the comments!

• Ball State alumna Jessica Bluemke blogs about it on The Friendly Atheist at Patheos.
• Larry Moran gives the Canadian academic view on Sandwalk.
• Richard Dawkins's site reprints the SF Gate story by Tom Coyne (no relation to Jerry Coyne) and links to the original in SF Gate.
• The comments after the Huffpo piece are a hoot!
• Inside Higher Ed:  Taking a Stand for Science
• Chronicle of Higher Education: Ball State U. Bars Teaching of Intelligent Design as Science
• Jerry Coyne was interviewed for The Christian Post.  
• The Christian Post:  Ball State University Denounces Intelligent Design, Keeps Professor Accused of ID Bias (warning: annoying prosletyzing video loads)
• 
  

The local paper's comment section continues to be trolled by creationists and idiots:

• July 31  Intelligent Design Removed from BSU Class (675 Facebook Shares)
•  July 31:  President Gora calls Intelligent Design Religion, Not Science, which also reprints the statement.  There are over 550 Facebook shares.
• August 1:  Ball State Fumbles Handling of Hedin Case Whiny professor fears faculty will have to do their jobs now  (375 shares)

For comparison, the Huffpo piece has 944 shares, and the latest local story about Ball State being a good deal for the money has zero Facebook shares so far.  So apparently people are paying attention.  I wonder how many re-shares these stories have gotten.


Video of the Week, Saul Becomes a Christian (Atheist Bible Study):
He had to do a second take, which means he was even drunker than usual while reading the Children's Bible. I literally laughed out loud in the middle of this one! My brain says "hey, he's really not that funny" but then I laughed anyway (especially after about 5:20).

Ball State President's Statement on Intelligent Design

President Jo Ann Gora declared Intelligent Design is not a science and does not belong in a science classroom.  She said it belongs in social science or humanities courses, but only if it is presented in the context of other 'theories' of similar ilk.

You can read the entire statement at Jerry Coyne's blog or the local newspaper.  Additional information about Hedin's course is vaguely hinted, but apparently he's been "cooperative" in working with the higher-ups on the issue.

The local student paper covered the story more briefly, and quotes FFRF attorney Andrew Seidel.

This is great news, assuming she really means it.