Surprised, Upset, and Concerned: a response to James Randi's Internet posting of April 29, 1999
[May 4, 1999]

James Randi, professional debunker of numerous frauds, including those related to cults, and head of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) posted a letter entitled "Ignored, Insulted, and Deeply Offended" to the Internet on Thursday, April 29, 1999. In the letter, Mr. Randi expresses concern regarding his treatment by F.A.C.T.Net and CULTinfo following a lecture he was invited to give at the CULTinfo conference February 12-14, 1999 in Stamford, CT. The letter includes several untrue statements and a mischaracterization of F.A.C.T.Net’s actions.

As Randi details in his letter, many in the audience reacted negatively to Randi’s presentation, some strongly so, just as Randi predicted as began his talk. Although I didn’t hear anyone yell "Jesus rules!" or "You're wrong!," it was evident that Randi’s words made people uncomfortable. Especially upset were some who had left cults and joined mainstream religious organizations, for whom being told that their current belief system was as false as the first was upsetting, especially in the forum of a three-day anti-cult conference already bringing past pains to the forefront. For this reason, the CULTinfo conference may not have been a good forum for Randi’s comments.

However, F.A.C.T.Net fully supports James Randi’s ­ and everyone else’s ­ right to freedom of thought and expression, even if that opinion is unpopular. At the CULTinfo conference, Randi disagreed with the distinction FACTNet and other anti-cult organizations make between cults and religions, and referred to the scientific implausibility of events depicted in the Old Testament of the Bible. The distinction between cults and religions we use is based upon cults’ use of deception, fraud, and mind control techniques, to the detriment of their members and wider society. Randi stated in his talk and letter that, "I'm sorry, folks, I still can't see much difference between what they referred to as ‘cults,’ and organized religions." Randi is, of course, welcome to hold that opinion, and F.A.C.T.Net would never try to impede or silence it. Disagreement and debate can only move both parties closer to truth. And in any case, there is a great deal of common ground; both Randi and F.A.C.T.Net agree that at minimum the groups F.A.C.T.Net identifies as cults should be exposed for the destruction they cause. This common ground is evidenced by the numerous e-mails we have received from F.A.C.T.Net readers in response to Randi’s letter expressing concern about F.A.C.T.Net’s treatment of Randi. Apparently, F.A.C.T.Net and James Randi share supporters.

In addition to emphasizing that F.A.C.T.Net has no interest in James Randi withdrawing his words or apologizing for his statements, I would also like to correct several statements in Randi’s letter.

Randi stated in his letter that "I find that these groups, rather than trying to discuss with disaffected cult members on a rational, critical, factual basis, have instead a goal of getting them out of the cults and into a Christian church -- of any sort." This is absolutely untrue. F.A.C.T.Net is a secular organization, and is completely unaffiliated with any religious organization. We provide information on groups we identify as destructive cults and are happy when our information helps people leave cults, but we do not recommend people join any mainstream religion. I have no idea where Randi got the idea our "goal" is to get people into Christianity. This is completely unfounded.

Randi’s letter also stated, "You didn't like what I said, and now you are pretending that I didn't say it. This is a head-in-the-sand attitude that I hardly expected from either group." This is also untrue. As evidence to support his statement, Randi refers to the F.A.C.T.Net newsletter, of which he says, "I find that not only is there no mention of my participation, but even my name does not appear." However, F.A.C.T.Net’s newsletter article on the conference was a short paragraph, and we didn’t mention *anyone* by name, not any of the featured speakers and none of the dozen workshops. Five sentences does not constitute covering the conference "in detail," as Randi wrote. It was in no way a snub of Randi. It was simply conservation of expensive printing costs.

Regarding Randi’s fee for his presentation, which he offered to forgo after to conference, please note that although F.A.C.T.Net was a cosponsor of the conference, we were not involved with *any* of the finances surrounding the conference. We did not pay for any costs associated with hosting the conference, nor receive surplus proceeds from it, if there were any. In fact, F.A.C.T.Net even paid to attend the conference despite our hosting of a workshop. Our co-sponsorship of the conference consisted of our assistance in locating speakers and publicizing the event. Randi’s statement regarding "the very generous donation made by the JREF to both groups" is incorrect. We were not aware that Randi did not receive payment for his presentation until we read his letter. We were not privy to such information because we were uninvolved in any financial arrangements, and F.A.C.T.Net did not benefit financially or otherwise from Randi’s forgoing his fee.

We hope and expect some of the statements made by Randi in his letter last week were based on incomplete information, although we are surprised that Randi of all people did not verify his facts. We are concerned that Randi has given people an inaccurate depiction of F.A.C.T.Net’s mission, intentions, and actions. We hope that he will consider posting a follow-up statement to correct the misstatements, or at least that he and other JREF members will forward this note to those who received his letter. We certainly did not intend nor act to ignore, insult, or offend Randi. F.A.C.T.Net honors James Randi for the work he has done over many years to debunk fraud in general, and cults in particular. We hope that in the future F.A.C.T.Net and JREF can focus on areas of this work that we hold in common.

Justine Janette Executive Director F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. <http://www.factnet.org>