GODLESS WEDNESDAY: "Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" Admits He Made It All Up

The author of "The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven" has recanted his story, and the publisher is pulling the best-selling book from book shelves in response.

The Washington Post covers the story:

Referring to the injuries that continue to make it difficult for him to express himself, Alex writes, “Please forgive the brevity, but because of my limitations I have to keep this short. … I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.”[...]
There is considerable disagreement about when Alex first recanted his testimony and objected to the book, which has reportedly sold more than 1 million copies.
Maggie Rowe, senior publicist of Tyndale, released an updated statement Friday evening, saying: “Earlier this week Tyndale learned that Alex Malarkey, co-author of ‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven,’ was retracting the story he had told his father and that he recounted in the book they co-authored for publication in 2010. It is because of this new information that we are taking the book out of print. For the past couple of years we have known that Beth Malarkey, Kevin’s wife and Alex’s mother, was unhappy with the book and believed it contained inaccuracies. On more than one occasion we asked for a meeting with Kevin, Beth, Alex and their agent to discuss and correct any inaccuracies, but Beth would not agree to such a meeting.”

Why didn't they just put the book in the fiction section where it belonged all along? How could people be so gullible? Oh, yeah, these are the same people who believe in all-seeing, all-knowing, entity who lives in the sky and follows human events continuously. Srsly.

Hat/tip to Joe Jervis

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Creationist Says "Aliens Going To Hell (So We Should Stop LookIng)"

*sigh* Creationist Ken Ham is the religious fundamentalist nut behind The Creation Museum (where humans and dinosaurs are shown frolicking together!). He debated Bill Nye on the topic of "creation versus evolution" this spring and issued numerous cringeworthy logic-free lines.

Recently Ham made headlines responding to NASA head Charles Bolden saying "It's highly improbable in the limitless vastness of the universe that we humans stand alone" by declaring:

"You see, the Bible makes it clear that Adam’s sin affected the whole universe. This means that any aliens would also be affected by Adam’s sin, but because they are not Adam’s descendants, they can’t have salvation."

So basically Ham is saying the search for extraterrestrial life should cease "because Bible." Umm, no. What if taxpayers don't agree with what you say your religious text says? Why should we make public policy reflective of what religious fundamentalists think about anything? Especially since they are willing to make statements that countermand demonstrable scientific fact.

Hat/tip to Huffington Post.

GODLESS WEDNESDAY: Bill Maher calls God "Psychotic Mass Murderer"

Bill Maher lambasted the new movie Noah on his show last Friday, in the process ridiculing the people who believe in the literal truth of the biblical story of Noah.

Here's a transcript of an excerpt from his closing show rant (via Daily Kos):

Now, I don't know about the elephants on Noah's Ark, but the elephant in the room in 2014 is that we are now a full four centuries removed from the scientific revolution.  Four centuries after Copernicus, after the time humans realized that through science, we could actually get a real answer to almost every question about our world, like where does the sun go at night?  And why does disease spread so quickly on a cruise ship?  (audience laughter)

And speaking of cruise ships, you know I don't mind that the Noah story is impossibly childish.  OK, I do mind.  What am I saying?  I mind very much.  I mean, seriously people?  You believe a man Noah lived to be 900 years old — that's what the Bible says — and when he was 500, he decided to have three kids, just like Clint Eastwood.  (audience laughter)

And when he was 600, he and his three 100-year-old sons built a boat onto which in one day, they loaded over 3 million animals, all of which were apparently indigenous to within 5 miles of the boat.  (audience laughter)

But get this.  What the Christians who are now protesting this movie are upset about is that it doesn't take the Biblical story literally enough.  They're mad because this made up story doesn't stay true to their made up story.

But the thing that's really disturbing about Noah isn't the silly.  It's that's it's immoral.  It's about a psychotic mass murderer who gets away with it, and his name is God. 

I think it is very useful to confront people who believe that every word in the Bible is true with the implications of that belief and to point out how at odds it is with everything science tells us. It literally does not make any sense and much of the stuff in the Bible is really a collection of "old Jewish fairy tales."

GODLESSS WEDNESDAY: The Bible Put In Costco's Fiction Section; Controversy Ensues

Just in time for Godless Wednesday, this story is hitting the news today:

A California pastor says he found the Bible filed under “fiction” at a Costco store near his home. 

Pastor Caleb Kaltenbach said he made the discovery Friday while shopping for a present for his wife in Simi Valley. 

“All the Bibles were labeled as fiction,” said Kaltenbach, pastor at the nondenominational Discovery Church. 

“It seemed bizarre to me.” 

The pastor said he checked the shelf for other Bibles, and he told Fox News’ Todd Starnes that each copy had a sticker that said: “$14.99 Fiction.” 

Kaltenbach said none of the Costco employees he found would answer his question about the Bibles, so he took a photo of one and posted it on Twitter.

“People are pretty shocked and upset,” Kaltenbach said. “We are supposed to be living in an era of tolerance, but what Costco did doesn’t seem too tolerant.” 

The pastor said he doubted the Washington-based company would have labeled a Koran as fiction and took the label personally. 

“If they don’t believe in the Bible, that’s fine – but at least label it as ‘religion’ as some bookstores do, or ‘inspiration,’” he said. “On the one hand Christians should not yell out.’ We aren’t living in Iraq or Iran. But on the other hand, I believe that we do need to stand up for our faith and we need to be vocal about our concerns.” 

A spokeswoman for Costco told Starnes the Bible was mislabeled as the result of human error at a warehouse,” and that the issue had been resolved.

It doesn't seem surprising to me that the Bible should be labeled as fiction. Where did he want it to be put, Biography? Of course, Costco should have just labeled it as "religion" but I wanted to blog about the story, which of course is now being picked up by Faux News and the conservative blogosphere, as an example of how controversy is manufactured in this country.

And, yeah, it's sorta funny, too.