Disclaimers and Caveats

I am amazed at the number of advertisements on television for prescription drugs.  Early in the ad there is always announcement of hope and positive change.  Near the end the ad always lists the possible negative side-effects, most of which sound like you may fall apart and die.  I assume the pharmaceutical companies are required by law to list these possible side-effects as disclaimers and caveats to avoid being sued.  In other words, after the positive promotion, the truth of the matter must be revealed.  (And I am not even going into the question of why pharmaceutical companies promote drugs that can only be attained by prescription.  Save the ad money and reduce the prices!)

What if churches had to do the same?  Suppose before the end of every sermon disclaimers and caveats were required to be announced.  What if it was made clear that believing something to be true does not make it true?  If so, a preacher might have to say the following:

After hundreds of studies there is no evidence that prayer makes a difference for sick or dying people. They will get well or die at the same rate whether they are prayed for or not.

There is no historical evidence that Jesus actually existed.

There is no historical, factual, scientific evidence that Jesus was a deity.

There is no historical evidence that the gospels were written near the time of Jesus’ reported death.

The creation story in Genesis is blatantly false.

Abraham was a fictional character.

Moses was a fictional character.

There is no historical evidence that the Jews were ever slaves in Egypt.

There was no required Roman census prior to Jesus birth, if he was born at all.

Herod died 4 years before Jesus birth, if Jesus was born at all.

There is no empirical evidence that heaven exists, that hell exists, or that there is life after death.

(There are many more fallacies and contradictions that could be listed, but the above is likely sufficient.)

Now, let us pray and pass the offering plate.

Seems to me if I am misled by any organization for any reason there should be consequences, especially if they seek my money.  If a scam artist steals my money I have legal recourse.  What if I give my money to a church then discover that it is a scam?  Should I have legal recourse?

I wonder how long organized religion would survive if every congregation had to listen to these factual disclaimers and caveats.  Seems to me that church membership would decline greatly leaving only those people who prefer false belief over fact.  Such groups already exist in the KKK, American Nazi Party, Fox News, and some wings of the Republican Party. 

More interesting would be if a political candidate announced he or she was a Christian how long that claim would be made if people started laughing. 

Yes, churches should begin every worship service and every Sunday School Class announcing these disclaimers.  Elsewise they can be sued for false advertising and people could get all their tithe money back.