Jim Bakker is back

[Minoosh]

The last time I was at Costco they were selling these 30 day emergency food boxes with all kinds of canned and sealed food to feed a person for 30 days. I thought that was really odd.

Just sounds like innovative merchandising. There are all kinds of situations where it would be useful to have rations on hand (also flashlights, batteries, TP) - but you could arrange that without a kit, of course. I live in an area with zero to few natural disasters but even so think buying a couple of cases of beans and stashing some water would be prudent.

Toilet paper too.

 

[Ian]

This is why Randi uses the phrase "unsinkable rubber ducks" to refer to the fact that some people insist on being suckered by perpetrators of woo-woo, no matter what evidence is presented. The exposure of fraud by Randi et al. of Peter Popoff a quarter of a century ago would have done the bit if it weren't for the fact that Randi is right about unsinkable rubber ducks. Working to keep large numbers of people from falling into traps set by con artists like Bakker is like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.

 

[PAC]

I find it hard to have anything positive to say about Bakker. However, it seems that his wife Tammy was probably as guilty as he was. If memory serves me well she did not get prosecuted. Bakker seemed to be a stand-up husband who took a hit for her then she abandoned him. There may be something positive in him!

 

[Elizabeth I]

I find it hard to have anything positive to say about Bakker. However, it seems that his wife Tammy was probably as guilty as he was. If memory serves me well she did not get prosecuted. Bakker seemed to be a stand-up husband who took a hit for her then she abandoned him. There may be something positive in him!

No, the fact that someone was a jerk to him doesn't mean he wasn't a jerk to begin with.l

 

[A'isha]

For me, Tammy Faye will always get a lot of slack because, post-Jim, she did and said stuff like this.

Jim Bakker, though, can DIAF.

 

[JJM 777]

I guess market theory says that a product cannot be "overpriced" as long as it sells (and there is no monopoly protecting it). Actually the only way to know what is "overpriced" is to increase the price until people stop buying.

 

[Craig B]

I guess market theory says that a product cannot be "overpriced" as long as it sells (and there is no monopoly protecting it). Actually the only way to know what is "overpriced" is to increase the price until people stop buying.

It can be overpriced if it is purveyed by a religious person or organisation. Devout purchasers approach these entities with more veneration than sense, and many religious bodies exploit this habit. Remember the indulgences sale scam jingle

As soon as coin in the casket rings,
The soul from Purgatory springs.

That "product" sparked off the Reformation!

 

[Puppycow]

I guess market theory says that a product cannot be "overpriced" as long as it sells (and there is no monopoly protecting it). Actually the only way to know what is "overpriced" is to increase the price until people stop buying.

Well market theory assumes that everyone is rational for the sake of simplicity.

If you take it to an absurd extreme, this theory would say that Sylvia Brown is not ripping people off because they willingly pay.

 

[Alareth]

That's okay, all interpretations of the Bible are equally valid.

I once had a coworker that claimed the Bible was subject to one single interpretation and all Christians on the planet unerringly believed the exact same thing based on that single interpretation.

When I pointed out that cannot possibly be true just simply based on the fact there are different versions of the Bible he further stated that only the KJV was correct and that no Christians used any other versions.

 

[Craig4]

The last time I was at Costco they were selling these 30 day emergency food boxes with all kinds of canned and sealed food to feed a person for 30 days. I thought that was really odd.

There a plenty of good reasons to have this sort of thing around none of which involving believing the preposterous. I wouldn't pick this one for a survival situation though. You'd need to use water to rehydrate a lot of the food and that leads to loss through evaporation. You also need to expend energy to heat the water.

I don't get the whole wheat thing. You'd be better off with the wheat already turned into flour and made into a cracker or hardtack type biscuit.

 

[Craig4]

I once had a coworker that claimed the Bible was subject to one single interpretation and all Christians on the planet unerringly believed the exact same thing based on that single interpretation.

When I pointed out that cannot possibly be true just simply based on the fact there are different versions of the Bible he further stated that only the KJV was correct and that no Christians used any other versions.

What an odd thing for someone to say. Did this person think that everyone who didn't subscribe to her beliefs wasn't a Christian? I'm curious what this person would say to someone who said she wasn't a Christian because she believed in an inerrant KJV.

 

[JJM 777]

Well market theory assumes that everyone is rational for the sake of simplicity.

Does it? Well it shouldn´t.

If you take it to an absurd extreme, this theory would say that Sylvia Brown is not ripping people off because they willingly pay.

I think Sylvia Brown stuff remains legal (forever) exactly because it creates sales in the economy, and economists like everything what creates sales in the economy.

 

[SezMe]

How can the son not know but the father can?

Well, they haven't had that talk yet, ya know what I mean?

 

[SezMe]

Most impressive.
I thought the Rapture pet insurance scams http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/ were the limit, but this fellow out-brazens even them!

I have a bunch of non-perishable food, TP, dog food, etc. stored in the shed. I live in a town with only one main access road and that one was washed out in a storm a few years ago. If we have a significant earthquake, food is going to be in short supply for a while.

 

[dasmiller]

I have a bunch of non-perishable food, TP, dog food, etc. stored in the shed. I live in a town with only one main access road and that one was washed out in a storm a few years ago. If we have a significant earthquake, food is going to be in short supply for a while.

For the same sort of reason, I'm looking for a way to store intelligence. If there were some disaster, and we got cut off from the rest of the world for a while . . . well, I live in L.A.

 

[Puppycow]

I once had a coworker that claimed the Bible was subject to one single interpretation and all Christians on the planet unerringly believed the exact same thing based on that single interpretation.

When I pointed out that cannot possibly be true just simply based on the fact there are different versions of the Bible he further stated that only the KJV was correct and that no Christians used any other versions.

What an odd thing for someone to say. Did this person think that everyone who didn't subscribe to her beliefs wasn't a Christian? I'm curious what this person would say to someone who said she wasn't a Christian because she believed in an inerrant KJV.

No doubt this is the "No True Scotsman" fallacy at play here.

 

[Alareth]

What an odd thing for someone to say. Did this person think that everyone who didn't subscribe to her beliefs wasn't a Christian? I'm curious what this person would say to someone who said she wasn't a Christian because she believed in an inerrant KJV.

Actually it seemed to be the most extreme case of cognitive dissonance I've ever personally encountered in real life.

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

This is why Randi uses the phrase "unsinkable rubber ducks" to refer to the fact that some people insist on being suckered by perpetrators of woo-woo, no matter what evidence is presented. The exposure of fraud by Randi et al. of Peter Popoff a quarter of a century ago would have done the bit if it weren't for the fact that Randi is right about unsinkable rubber ducks. Working to keep large numbers of people from falling into traps set by con artists like Bakker is like a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.

The trick with whack-a-mole is to use a big enough hammer. If you stick with the padded mallet the game gives you, the moles always pop back up. Use an actual sledge hammer, not so much. I think it's applicable...

 

[Aepervius]

That's okay, all interpretations of the Bible are equally valid.

I prefer to say "all interpretations of the Bible are equally invalid." much more spot on.

 

[Aepervius]

I once had a coworker that claimed the Bible was subject to one single interpretation and all Christians on the planet unerringly believed the exact same thing based on that single interpretation.

When I pointed out that cannot possibly be true just simply based on the fact there are different versions of the Bible he further stated that only the KJV was correct and that no Christians used any other versions.

Does he even realize that the KJV version is an early 17th century version, and there were other version even before those, and the KJV is only for English reading folk ?

Is your colleague an American ? just kidding.

BTW I just read the KJV bible is under "perpetual copyright" by the crown of england. Should put that in that "fact you read today" thread. That a bible version can be under perpetual copyright, I can't even wrap my head around that.