Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1666

Iowa State’s New Basketball Coach Plans to Push Christianity Onto His Players

Iowa State University’s new head men’s basketball coach Steve Prohm (below) looks like a legal problem waiting to happen.

The season hasn’t started yet, and one of the only things we know about him is that he’ll be pushing his Christian faith onto his players, says Dick Haws a former journalism professor at the school:

For instance, in basketball practice, he said, he’ll be praying with his players — and asking some designated player to make a prayer request. I know the caveat in all this: That...

The Satanic Temple’s Baphomet Statue Unveiling Marred by Threats

When the Ten Commandments statue was sitting on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds, The Satanic Temple built a monument to counter it. It was a nearly-9-foot-tall, bronze, goat-headed Baphomet, sitting cross-legged and flanked by two smiling kids:

It included this statement on the front:

“The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.”

The back of the statue had a passage from Lord Byron’s Cain along with a quotation by William Blake:

Then who was t...

Little Boy Saves Goat from Religious Slaughter in Nepal

In Nepal, where animals are sacrificed for religious rituals on a regular basis, this video of a child trying to save one goat has gone viral on Facebook:

According to the video description, little Adrian is visiting Nepal for the first time:

When Adrian accidentally spotted a goat being slaughtered, he realized his new animal friend was next in line.

You can see the full video here.

I can’t decide if I like the kid more because he rescued an innocent animal or because he got in the way of a sens...

In Old Video, Christian Evangelist Tells Students Not to Get Blown

Christian evangelist Dr. Jerry R. Johnston would like to remind you not to get blown after the assemblay:

You may recall that Johnston is the same guy who once gave awkward dating advice to his daughter (“Sex may be fun. But now sex can kill.”)

(via Honeydew Wilkins)

A Glimpse inside The Satanic Temple, Courtesy of the New York Times

It’s always nice to see the media pay attention to groups that are causing headaches for the Religious Right. Mark Oppenheimer of the New York Times had a piece over the weekend about The Satanic Temple, offering a few more details about the group know mostly known for its scary name and its ability to parrot religious claims in a way conservatives never intended:

Their religion, or anti-religion, has about 20 chapters and 20,000 Facebook followers, they say. With no full-time staff, the Satan...

Missouri County Officials Will Fly Flags at Half-Staff to Mourn the Marriage Equality Ruling

Usually, when local governments fly flags at half-staff, it’s because someone notable died, like a President or Governor, or because there was some awful tragedy in the community.

None of those explain why the three Christian commissioners in Dent County, Missouri decided to lower the flags at the local Courthouse and Judicial Building for the next twelve months:

The Dent County Commission voted unanimously Monday to observe one year of “mourning” over the Supreme Court’s June 26 decision that...

Friendly Atheist Podcast Episode 63: Ray Comfort’s Audacity: A Review and Discussion with Actor Travis Owens

Our latest podcast is all about evangelist Ray Comfort‘s new film Audacity, a movie with the goal of convincing gay and lesbian viewers to renounce homosexuality.

Jessica and I watched the film (so you don’t have to) and we give you the play-by-play along with commentary. (So there’s your spoiler alert!)

After that, beginning at the 34:44 mark, we have an *exclusive* interview with the film’s star Travis Owens. He plays Peter, a very devout Christian who wants to spread the Good Word, but somet...

Gov. Scott Walker: Running for President is “God’s Plan for Me”

In the email announcing his candidacy for President, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker made it clear his campaign was part of a pact with God (emphasis his):

I love God this much!

My relationship with God drives every major decision in my life. Each day I pray and then take time to read from the Bible and from a devotional named Jesus Calling.

As you can imagine, the months leading up to my announcement that I would run for President of the United States were filled with a lot of prayer and soul s...

Christian Group Begins Training 1,000 Evangelical Pastors to Run for Public Office

It’s one thing to hear those on the Religious Right ranting about the nation dissolving into a hot bed of sin. It’s one thing to hear elected officials spout ignorance backed by dogma. It’s something else entirely to see a concerted effort to overtake government with the goal of annihilating the separation of church and state.

As America Blog reports:

A Christian organization called the American Renewal Project is holding a series of Issachar Trainings across the country in order to train rough...

Boy Scouts Committee Takes Major Step Toward Ending Ban on Gay Leaders

In 2013, the Boy Scouts of America finally said gay scouts would not be kicked out of the organization, but gay scout leaders were still banned. (Not to mention atheists of any age, but that’s a separate issue.)

Last month, the BSA’s own President, Robert Gates, said the homophobia had to stop or the organization wouldn’t be around much longer.

And now the Executive Committee has taken a major step toward fixing that problem, says Chris Geidner at BuzzFeed:

A key leadership panel of the Boy Scou...