Good? Who is good?

Today I spent a considerable amount of time viewing the tragedy unfolding in the aftermath of the 7 magnitude earthquake that leveled swaths of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

It's not easy to watch the suffering without feeling enormous compassion for the victims. I certainly had some welling of tears in my eyes.

So then, how do other people react when confronted by such human misery. Surely men of God, react with compassion, love, and an earnest desire to do what Jesus would have wanted them to do.

Most of us react, I have to believe, in the same way even if we don't believe in the divinity or even existence of Jesus. We are wired, by evolution or design (whatever floats your boat), to care for those around us. This is entirely normal, we see these people and recognise ourselves in them. We feel compassion because they are like us and we understand that on a visceral level.

What then of Pat Robertson?

In case you don't know, Pat Robertson is a U.S. televangelist who with Jerry Falwell claimed in 2001 that the events of 9-11 were the direct result of God's anger at homosexuals and Feminists and Abortionists. http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/f/falwell-robertson-wtc.htm

He now claims that the Earthquake in Haiti is the consequence of some pact with the devil that Haitians made way back in the early 1800's when they were slaves to the French. How he know this, he doesn't say. I suppose it might have come to him in a vision-or something.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5TE99sAbwM

He's not all indifferent to the suffering though. As if we needed to be reminded of his deep compassion for his fellow human being, he also concluded his interview on the Christian Broadcasting Network by asking viewers to send donations for his Haitian relief effort. That at least is good, right?

Well, maybe not so good if history is any indication, and I quote:

"Robertson was investigated by the Commonwealth of Virginia's Office of Consumer Affairs, which determined that he had "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements and other implications" when he asked for support for Rwandan refugees, but used the money to airlift mining equipment from the diamond mines he had started with Zaire dictator Mobuto Sese Seko."

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Robertson+blames+Haitian+earthquake+pact+with+devil+asks+donations/2438448/story.html

http://www.skeptictank.org/robem2.htm,

and http://www.sullivan-county.com/news/pat_quotes/diamonds.html

So Pat Robertson does smell a little rancid. Surely he is alone among religious leaders. The Pope surely, as the leader of some 2 billion Catholics must be a man of exceptional goodness ...

Let's deal with him in another post.

Arrrgh! Mary $@*&#^%$!' MacKillop

Is it possible to hear and read the simple-minded blatherings of the "faithful" about the impending canonisation of "Blessed Mary" without feeling the strong urge to void one's stomach?

For me it is not.

Is it tolerable that mainstream news outlets, prattle on about so-called miracles that this dead nun allegedly performed?

Is it appropriate that reporters treat the stories of miraculous cure as fact?

Is it appropriate that reasoned and sceptical challenges to these stories are not being publicised or promoted by the media at large?

No. No. No.

Then how is it that Mary MacKillop has been given the credit for a fortunate woman's remission from cancer. Remission from end-stage cancer is relatively rare, sure, but it does happen. In fact, it is because there are so many cases of intractable cancer in the world, that it happens all the time.

Is there any justification offered for these claims? Well, if you count close-ups of the person in question's magic Mary MacKillop charm, yes.

However, if you rely on science, reason, analysis and evidence, the answer has to be no. This is an anecdote and as Dr. Mark Crislip is fond of repeating, "The plural of anecdote is not evidence, it's anecdotes." The Catholic hierarchy has two, count 'em, two anecdotes that it regards as evidence that dead Mary is a saint.

How did this woman know that she had cancer? How did she know that her cancer was dangerously close to killing her? I expect that she might have been seeing, you know, doctors about her condition. Sure she prayed to her magic dead nun for succour, but did she stop her medication? I don't think she did. Not that I know she didn't, but one would have to be crazy to stop taking the medicine.

There is a site believers can go to to test their faith in these miracles; it is called Why won't God heal amputees?

So, next time I read about a miracle that the Catholic church has verified, it'd better be some ex-amputee dancing.

I'll not hold my breath.