- Nobody wants to put Faith Healers in jail.One thing about a con game, the people who fall for them get very defensive. They refuse to believe the man outside the bank with the bank examiner's badge stole the money they withdrew from their account, thinking the Feds needed it for evidence against a bank employee. Faith healing is a con game, with the same willing victims. Even honest people think that giving a woman dying of stomach cancer hope is a good thing (because some cancers do reverse themselves when the immune system kicks in, and the immune system is controlled by our beliefs/attitudes in ways that can't be written down in textbooks.) Randi did some personal investigation. He interviewed the woman who stood up from her wheelchair and started to walk, and found she had walked into the crusade on her own. An usher thought she looked unsteady and asked her to sit in the wheelchair. Outside, Randi found a truck full of wheelchairs that the Faith Healer drove to every crusade, pulling the same scam. Whenever people ask us to have an open mind about "miracles," I would simply hand them Randi's book and ask them to learn some facts about how prevalent scams are in society. If you are sick and you have money, at some point you will be offered a miracle, providing you part with some cash. Yes, these guys are slick. They smile, quote the bible, and they seem more honest than average folks. If they didn't, they couldn't make a living as con men, could they?
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- Randi finds fraud, but makes blanket decisionRandi, and a team of debunkers (including a Christian) research a few obvious frauds. He catches one himself, and discusses a few others (historical and modern) that most skeptics and religious would see as frauds (except those who follow them).
However, his experience with the charltans (who exist in everywhere, science, universities. ect) causes him to make blanket assesments beyond his "proof". I noticed, for instance, he writes off one faith healer he visits, but never provides strong information on why (no incidence of fraud). I would have liked to see the evidence for every one he visited. Did he not find any evidence, or did he just assume this one was a fraud because of the others?
With Randi almost making a career out of seeking cases of fraud, is his mind open to HIM being wrong? (I could understand why not). Still, in reading the book (and seeing Randi on TV) I ending wondering if Randi ran across an actual miracle, would he be able to accept it? Would he acknowledge it?
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- What is the point of this book?What is the point of this book exactly? No one, not even the most zealous paranormalist, denies that there are charlatons and scam artists out there who are trying to cheat people out of their money. There's nothing controversial about that. Who would disagree or contest that? So what is this book arguing for exactly?
Is it trying to promote closed minded skepticism in saying that because you can find some scam artists that all psychics and faith healers are scammers? lol If so, then that is laughable because it is like saying if some black people steal then all black people steal, which is ludicrous. This book generalizes too much, and gives the impression that everyone who is a psychic or faith healer is a scam artist. How closed minded, biased, and one sided can you be, sheesh.
Why do people like Randi focus only on the proven scam artists and never on the psychics or faith healers who get real results and have been proven to be genuine? There are those out there, but Randi and people like him never mention them in their books and never even acknowledge their existence. How selective can you be? What he doesn't understand is that there ARE psychics who have been able to successfully predict things in startling detail (not in generalities) and reveal personal things about people that NO ONE, not even those closest to them, could have known about. Randi and others like him would rather ignore this than deal with it, and it's obvious by how selective they are. I hope their generalizing tendencies don't rub onto too many people, and that the wise and discerning can see through this type of naive reasoning.
Winston
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- Randi exposes "faith-healing" fraudsIt is almost impossible to read this book and not be outraged by the callous and reprehensible behavior of the so-called "faith healers." Not only does Randi reveal the methods and tricks used by these charlatans, but he provides example after example, including actual documents, to back up his findings. He demonstrates just how disgracefully these individuals use every underhanded trick they can come up with to wring money out of people who honestly believe that their hard-earned dollars are going to support a good cause; they believe they are doing the right thing, when in actuality their donations are used to purchase sports cars, clothes, and new homes for these supposed "men of God."
It is unfathomable how someone like the previous reviewer can accuse Randi of being jealous of the money earned by the "faith healers." Randi is unfailingly respectful of those whom he sees as honestly pursuing their convictions, even though he feels they are misguided; for example, he bears no ill will towards Earnest Angley, one of the most famous faith healers of all, because he feels that Angley is sincere. But as for the charlatans and deceivers who prey upon the weak, Randi spares none of his wrath, and rightfully so. Why shouldn't he take off the kid gloves when dealing with people so vile that they would exploit the honest religious faith of good people for their own monetary gain?
Does the previous reviewer feel that it is legitimate for a minister to mail out packages of kool aid, call it the "blood of Christ," and ask for donations in excess of $100 from simple, hard-working people? Is it legitimate for them to concoct one so-called "crisis" after another in their ministry, in order to solicit funds which will go not towards any good cause, but rather, to support the extravagant lifestyle of the "minister?"
This book has nothing to do with "the power of faith;" it is about dishonesty and criminal behavior being perpetrated by frauds. And in spite of what the reviewer below has to say, Randi shows very clearly, with exhaustive examples, that such faith healing does NOT work.
Thanks again, Randi, for having the courage to stand up to evil.
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- More Flim-Flam from Positivist HucksterLet's put it this way - it's important to understand the methods of frauds and swindlers, so James Randi's book, which uses misinformation, half-truths, guilt by association, and affected outrage to prosyletize, is a useful example of how a con-man works. All I'm saying is, don't fall for it!
This book describes two revivalists who, if James Randi's assertions are to be believed, do appear to be swindlers. However the other individuals attacked in the book are evangelists who either to all appearances honestly believe in faith-based healing or who, at worst, enhance religious fervor with showmanship! This attempted guilt-by-association, together with ad-hominem attacks and sweeping religious bigotry, should make an open-minded reader skeptical of the honesty of any of Randi's assertions. No actual proof of dishonesty is provided by Randi, only his own claims.
Extensive medical research supports the idea that faith has a powerful role in healing. This is not necessarily religious faith; the placebo effect, a long-established medical principle, demonstrates that faith in medicaments can have a profound effect on alleviating suffering. However there is no honest reason to deny that religious faith can have equally beneficial effects.
The real intent of this book is to ridicule religious believers, not expose con men. Randi reveals his bias explicitly; stating at one point "They [Christians] don't seem to think at all." Randi, as a zealous adherent of the religion of Atheism, is deriding other faiths as deluded by their beliefs. An honest examination of faith-based healing would have to investigate the enterprises of non-sectarian exponents such as Bernie Siegel, Patch Adams, and many other medical figures claiming health benefits from belief and attitude. The failure to do so is characteristic of the whole pseudo-skeptic enterprise, which includes the Skeptical Inquirer and CSICOP; they do not examine pseudo-scientific claims unless they can be associated with theistic religions.
It is the readers of this book who are the targets of a deception. Like any good con man, the author is playing upon the pride of his marks, who are led to believe that while they are wise to the jive, other people are suckers. In reality Randi is using the classic magic trick of misdirection to proselytize on behalf of his own faith.