Rick Warren blocked me on twitter and, for the life of my supposedly eternal soul, I can't figure out why. He didn't follow me on twitter so the block simply removed me from his list of followers and he no longer sees my comments on his timeline. Aaaah ... that must be it. He must not have liked the last question I posed to him (which curiously remains unanswered):
@RickWarren: How would you discern between the second coming of Christ and a mental patient skilled at the art of illusion?
I encourage you all to RT this question to Rick on twitter.
This is very typical of someone like Rick Warren. Suddenly, the virtues of understanding and acceptance do not apply to you because you challenge his beliefs (of course, Rick didn't personally remove you - one of his handlers that oversees the messages decided that your badgering was too embarassing).
ReplyDeleteTake it as a badge of honour. Send him a copy of his book asking for an autograph with a note on TAM letterhead asking why you were blocked.
Are you familiar with Derren Brown, TAM?
ReplyDeleteHe is a british showman who is exceptionally skilled in illusion, manipulation, exploitation of ignorance and many other things.
To be quite frank, some of the things he pulls off appear to be quite simply impossible.
The catch? He openly admits that hocus pocus has nothing to do with it.
In his book Tricks of the Mind, he writes, "I am often dishonest in my techniques, but always honest about my dishonesty. As I say in each show, 'I mix magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection and showmanship'. I happily admit cheating, as it's all part of the game.
My point is that someone like him could easily claim to be supernaturally gifted. He could make a living by praying on the ignorant, like Jonathan Edwards for example. Yet as already stated, he is an open fraudster.
Still, he's incredibly entertaining and provides great examples of how easily people can be exploited in a way almost identical to how religion does.
Oh, you should be able to find some video clips of him on the web.
ReplyDeleteHe's also an atheist, just incase you are curious. He used to be a christian, but he sat down one day and had a read of a few things before coming to his senses and how ridiculously stupid he had been.
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/derren-brown/4od
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if this will work in Canada or not, but you can try, as this has an extensive catalogue of his television shows, including a live performance to a sell out crowd.
I know i keep bashing on, forgive me, but i strongly recommend you watch 'An Evening Of Wonders'. This will demonstrate his abilities to the maximum, and remember, he is a showman with exceptional skills, nothing more.
ReplyDeleteIt is one of his live audience performances and should be top of the list on the link i provided.
Rab, thanks for those comments. If you have an iPod, go into iTunes and download the recent Point of Inquiry episode entitled "Ray Hyman - The Elusive Quarry" (it's free). It's right on point and you will find it very interesting.
ReplyDeleteDoes Richard Dawkins twitter?
ReplyDeleteJD, the twitter identity for Dawkins's website is "Richard_Dawkins". His foundation is "RichardDawkins". I don't believe that he personally twitters directly from a PDA but I could be wrong.
ReplyDelete