John Safran Vs. God is imported Aussie show currently running on the Sundance Channel.  The season was originally filmed in 2004, but its very funny and cutting insights into religion are no less relevant today.  It is not, however, a show for either the easily offended or the squeamish: in the process of traipsing around the world exploring new religions for his own possible conversion, Mr. Safran takes potshots at many different faiths and experiences more than one bloody animal sacrifice in the process.

In one recent episode, John took a look at the premise presented in the book The Bible Code that predictions for humanity’s future are embedded in code within the text of The Bible.  In this very funny segment, John notes that the book, first published in 1998, failed to predict the 9/11 attacks, though the sequel, published after the attacks, shows that the prediction was there all along.  Mr. Safran then demonstrates that similarly vague predictions can be found when the catalogue of lyrics to faded rapper Vanilla Ice’s songs are fed into the same computer program used to decode The Bible.  It’s a fantastic example of how humans are very, very good at finding supposed evidence to support their beliefs no matter how irrational those beliefs may actually be.

FACTnet recently posted a link to an article about Washington University anthropologist Pascal Boyer, who is researching religious belief across cultures in the quest to discover why it is such a universal phenomenon.  Boyer discusses cognitive processes important to human survival that also make us more open to believing in the supernatural.  He also relates research findings that indicate religious belief may be adaptive, in that it can reduce stress and create greater community cohesion. 

 
I am very curious about this research, as I can certainly remember times in my own life when subscribing to clearly outlined belief system reduced my stress.  But that stress reduction was temporary in that the beliefs I held were often in conflict with the greater world and thus were both difficult to maintain and caused strife with those around me.  As the world shrinks and more and more people are exposed to belief systems that contradict their own, I wonder if any actual adaptive edge will be eclipsed by the stress that comes from trying to reconcile an irrational belief system with contradictory evidence. 

 
Boyer Research

This book is a collection of the author’s columns written for both Skeptical Inquirer and several other publications.  Though published nearly 20 years ago, many of the topics Gardner discusses are still highly relevant in current times. His essays range over subjects including televangelism to UFOlogy. I found his discussion on the widespread fraud perpetuated by famous psychics and the persistent gullibility of paranormal researchers to be particularly informative.  Though not specifically just about the New Age, his insightful commentary on spiritual con artists of all stripes would be educational for anyone interested in the ease with which human belief can be manipulated.

I’ve been a fan of the Guruphiliac blog for some time now as I think Jody does a fine job of keeping us all current on the latest guru scandals.  I particularly liked a recent discussion he hosted on how receiving darshan from someone like Ammachi can actually be disempowering to devotees because it perpetuates the ideas that, one, the love they seek is outside of themselves and two, self-realization comes with magical powers. 

Check it out: Guruphiliac  

Having spent a fair amount of time on my spiritual path believing things that at best had no evidence and at times were quite outrageous, I’ve become very interested in the question that forms the title of this book.  A former born-again Christian who is now head of the Skeptic society, Michael Shermer has written a very readable and compelling exploration of the cognitive thinking errors humans regularly make that support belief in ideas that can often be very detrimental to our overall well-being.  Shermer is a good storyteller and his discussions of subjects including the alien abduction phenomenon, the personality cult of Ayn Rand, and the tactics “creation scientists” use to try to discredit the theory of evolution make for compelling reading.

 
Perhaps most importantly, Shermer eloquently argues that being a skeptic is not the same thing as being a cynic.  In his description of the scientific process, it becomes clear that maintaining a sense of awe and wonder at the universe is not only compatible with science, it can actually be enhanced by the willingness to remain in the unknown as evidence is being gathered and examined.   In addition, a maintaining a healthy skepticism can go a long way towards preserving both one’s sanity and one’s cash in the alternative spiritual realm.

Why People Believe Weird Things