I didn’t watch Dateline Friday night, but when Jon Montgomery, the Salt Lake City Freethinking Examiner, sent me the link, I made the mistake of checking out the transcript.

I read the whole damn thing in one sitting. (Curse you, Jon.)

In short, a woman named Faylene died several years ago — she drowned in a bathtub with Ambien pills at her side. Days earlier, she had fallen 60 feet off a cliff (a tree may have saved her life). Her husband Doug was the prime suspect in her death — even his 911 call is in question. However, Faylene’s own writings in the days before her death indicate that she was ready to leave this world, in part so she could meet her not-yet-born child who was in the state of pre-existence. (Thank you, Mormonism.)

The most compelling part of the case is that it’s possible her husband did not kill her directly, but manipulated her enough so that she believed she needed to die. And her “talks” with God (not surprisingly) confirmed exactly what she wanted to believe.

The transcript notes:

Was Faylene divinely inspired? Brainwashed? Suicidal? Or all three? The detective knows what he thinks.

[Reporter] Josh Mankiewicz: You think if she jumped or deliberately fell [off the cliff], it was because that idea was placed in her mind by her husband?

Det. Sy Ray: Absolutely.

In other words, he thinks it was an attempt at murder by manipulation. A brilliant — if diabolical — plot.

The full video will be up on the Dateline website on Monday. But the transcript makes for some great Sunday reading.

An article critical of The Oprah? In a mainstream magazine?

Nice work, Weston Kosova and Pat Wingert of Newsweek.

They manage to point out the flaws in the thinking of anti-aging Suzanne Somers and anti-vaccine Jenny McCarthy. And they go after the idiotic message of The Secret. Basically, they go after the things gullible Oprah viewers have been taking as fact when, in fact, it’s all dubious or outright lies.

You know how they do it?

They talk to credible doctors who have expertise in the topics above instead of celebrities who crave attention by peddling pseudoscience.

This is where things get tricky. Because the truth is, some of what Oprah promotes isn’t good, and a lot of the advice her guests dispense on the show is just bad. The Suzanne Somers episode wasn’t an oddball occurrence. This kind of thing happens again and again on Oprah. Some of the many experts who cross her stage offer interesting and useful information (props to you, Dr. Oz). Others gush nonsense. Oprah, who holds up her guests as prophets, can’t seem to tell the difference. She has the power to summon the most learned authorities on any subject; who would refuse her? Instead, all too often Oprah winds up putting herself and her trusting audience in the hands of celebrity authors and pop-science artists pitching wonder cures and miracle treatments that are questionable or flat-out wrong, and sometimes dangerous.

I do have one problem with the article. They blame Oprah for just about all of this. And yes, Oprah deserves most of the blame.

But at the same time, the viewers who buy into what Oprah says without doing any critical thinking or fact-checking themselves should be reprimanded. If they didn’t fall for the lies, Oprah wouldn’t have this much power.

What’s sad is that with her wealth and celebrity, Oprah could actually be doing a great service to the country. She could be promoting sound science. Instead, she misleads her audience when she allows people like McCarthy and Somers to go on air. It hurts all of us in the process.

Obviously, a god had nothing to do with this recession. But if you wanted to point a finger at someone, a god seems like an easy target. Maybe a god caused the recession… or a god wanted you to lose your job… or a god is preventing you from getting any new job interviews.

But you won’t see any of that in this article by Niraj Warikoo and Christina Hall in the Detroit Free Press.

The people quoted in this story only think that the recession has brought them closer to their God.

I’m used to seeing a person or two thanking a god when things look bleak, but this many!?

Look at the number of quotations in this story that go without any rebuttal — Not a single statement about how correlation does not necessarily imply causation. Not a single person saying he’s just hit a rough patch that was outside his control. Not a single rationalist in the bunch.

• “The less you have, and the less secure that you are … the more that you have to draw upon faith,” Gendron said after church last Sunday.
• Gendron: “What do you trust? Do you trust your finances, or do you trust God?”
• “When the tension comes and the pressure comes, I just ask God for relief,” he explained after services at Connection Church in Canton last Sunday. “He’s in charge, even when things are bad.”
• “People who have a steady diet of prayer have an even-keel type of feeling that things will work out,” Alawan said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
• “It’s good to know there is an all-powerful presence overlooking everything in the world,” said Malladi, who attends the Bharatiya Temple, a Hindu center in Troy. “Religion gives answers to the questions we face in our lives.”
• “[Prayer] has stabilized me and my family during these trying times,” Lodge said. “Faith in Christ will bring you through all trials and tribulations.”
• “I definitely think there’s a plan at work,” he said. “I don’t think you can explain it any other way. God provides — we truly believe that. I believe that God provides, no matter what the situation is. No matter how bleak things look.”
• “I haven’t prayed in a long time. I’m not a churchgoing person,” Mott said. “But it was nice to talk to God and have Him watch over us.”
• “We learned that God is our source,” said Beth Henninger, 58, of Taylor, with her husband, Steve, 58, outside Connection. “His mother always used to say, ‘What this country needs is a good depression.’ While there are a lot of negative things about it, I really think that it is drawing us closer to God.”
• “We always thought this was going to go on forever,” he said. “Now, it looks like it may not. … It makes me realize I can’t count on Ford Motor Co. or the United States government. I have to count on God to get me through.”
• “I have faith that the Lord will lead me in the right direction.”

Even more inexcusable is the headline: “Faith sustains us in difficult times.”

No it doesn’t.

Faith may sustain these people — and even then, only in their minds — but it’s certainly not a blanket statement.

It’s supposed to be a feel-good story; instead, it has the opposite effect. You just feel sorry for these people who have not only lost their jobs but also the ability to reasonably think through the causes.

(Thanks to Daniel for the link!)

The headlines I read a couple days ago said that county officials in San Diego were trying to prevent Pastor David Jones and his wife Mary from holding a Bible study in their home.

But that couldn’t be right. That sounds like the Christian Right’s distorted “I’m the victim! I’m the victim!” version of what happened. What was the real story?

You definitely don’t get it all from the KGTV news station:

Attorney Dean Broyles of The Western Center For Law & Policy was shocked with what happened to the pastor and his wife.

Broyles said, “The county asked, ‘Do you have a regular meeting in your home?’ She said, ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you say amen?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you pray?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you say praise the Lord?’ ‘Yes.’”

The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of County regulations, according to Broyles.

…

Broyles also said this case has broader implications.

“If the county thinks they can shut down groups of 10 or 15 Christians meeting in a home, what about people who meet regularly at home for poker night? What about people who meet for Tupperware parties? What about people who are meeting to watch baseball games on a regular basis and support the Chargers?” Broyles asked.

I’ll add: How is this different from a weekly book club meeting?

Again, that can’t be the whole story. If it is, I’m on this couple’s side. They have a right to Bible study. Hell, the ACLU would be on their side.

Then, I found out why the county was telling them to stop.

It had nothing to do with religion.

“This is a land issue,” [county Chief Administrative Officer Walt] Ekard stated, and not an issue of religious expression.

“I deeply regret that a routine code enforcement issue has transformed into a debate over religious freedom in San Diego County,” he said.

The county had received complaints from a neighbor about traffic and parking issues resulting from the weekly Bible studies, Ekard noted.

Pastor Jones believes the complaint was prompted when a Bible study member hit the car belonging to a neighbor’s visitor. Jones paid for the car damage.

I’d be pissed off if my car was damaged in my own neighborhood… but still, to complain about the Bible study as a cause for this? That seems unnecessary.

As do the questions asked of the couple. Why would the officer ask if the group was praying? Saying “Amen”? Praising the Lord?

Ekard is reviewing the officer’s actions and re-examining the policies and procedures the county uses “to deal with such complaints.”

If the officer is found to have acted inappropriately, Ekard said he will take action immediately.

It seems that the Joneses can continue holding the Bible study for the time being, until these issues are resolved.

Good. This is exactly what atheists should support: Private expression of religion, no tax exemptions, no proselytizing (at least no mention of it). Without more information, I’m not sure why some atheists are so adamant about this Bible study needing to be shut down.

I wonder, though: At what point should a house church be considered a full-blown church? Is it a matter of people or money or something else entirely?

(Thanks to Lexi for the link!)

Most people plan in advance what will happen to their life-savings after they die — pass it on to the family, spend it before they die, donate it, etc.

If they take the latter option, the group receiving is is usually the deceased’s favorite charity or a church. You rarely read about anyone giving all their money to an atheistic organization.

That has happened now. The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) has received a gift of $2,500,000, courtesy of the late Victor Kay, a Humanist from California.

The bequest, to be known as the “Victor Kay Humanitarian Fund”, is a trust fund to be treated as the IHEU’s other endowment funds. Income from the Fund will be available to support IHEU in all of its mission and general operations, starting in 2010.

“Ultimately, endowments are more enduring than even bricks and mortar,” said [IHEU president Sonja] Eggerickx. “This is an exciting gift for the IHEU, which touches the lives of all of our members. Gifts from Mr. Kay and other generous donors help us to pilot programmes, provide more activities and take advantage of important opportunities that otherwise couldn’t be realized. We hope others will be inspired to contribute to the IHEU’s continuing efforts to build a more humane and rational world.”

I’m thrilled. I just hope IHEU can do some real good with this money. Anything that helps combat superstitious beliefs around the world and brings about a more rational society would be wonderful — a lasting legacy for Mr. Kay.

(Thanks to August for the link!)

Courtesy of Dante Shepherd at Surviving the World:

And if you pulled off a miracle now?

We’d find you in food products and sell you on eBay.

(Thanks to James for the link!)