Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1670

Anti-Vaccination Class at University of Toronto Finally Canceled

For some reason, the University of Toronto at Scarborough was offering a class called “Alternative Health: Practice and Theory” that promoted non-scientific medicine as legitimate ways to help people. It was taught by homeopath Beth Landau-Halpern.

Dr. Jen Gunter explained the major concerns in the National Post:

Earlier this year, two groups of academics at the University of Toronto wrote letters of concern to the President of the University to protest an Alternative health course that fostere...

Just Released: The Trailer for 90 Minutes in Heaven

The story of someone who “dies,” goes to Heaven for a while, and then “comes back to life” to tell us all about it is nothing new at this point. While one author has had the honesty to say he made it all up, others have had no problem profiting off all the gullible Christians who’ll believe any story that sounds hopeful and reiterates their beliefs.

It was 2007 when I first posted that Don Piper‘s book 90 Minutes in Heaven was sold to a production studio. That movie’s trailer has just been rel...

After Tax Fraud Conviction, Creationist Kent Hovind Has Finally Been Released from Prison

After a stint in prison for tax fraud, Creationist Kent Hovind was finally out from behind bars yesterday (though he’ll be under house arrest for a month and then spend another three years on “supervised released”).

And his first act after being released was to upload this picture onto Facebook showing the people picking him up — son Eric Hovind is in the back seat with Jim Bob Duggar (?!?) riding shotgun:

It’s a Who’s Who of wannabe Christian martyrs.

You know, you could make a strong case that...

Pennsylvania Catholic School May Be Punished After Firing of Gay Teacher

Another Catholic school. Another devoted Catholic school employee fired for the crime of being in a same-sex relationship. Another group of parents and students calling out the hypocrisy and heartlessness of Church officials.

The latest version of this story takes place at Waldron Mercy Academy in Pennsylvania, where director of religious education Margie Winters was fired after eight years, despite keeping her relationship as quiet as possible:

Winters said she and her wife “kept a really low...

Hindus, Vegans, Satanists, and Pastafarians Could Get Space Next to Ten Commandments Monument in Arkansas

Now that Arkansas will install a Ten Commandments monument on the grounds of the State Capitol — similar to the Oklahoma one below that was recently declared unconstitutional — it seems like everyone wants to take advantage of the opportunity.

Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma (via James Nimmo)

We already knew The Satanic Temple wanted a piece of the action. But they’re not alone:

The Satanic Temple has said it may erect a bronze Baphomet, and on Tuesday two more groups stepped forward to sa...

Netflix Will Air Movie Based on Life of American Atheists Founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair

Netflix has announced they they will be airing an original movie next year based on the life of murdered American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair:

… Also new to Netflix’s slate is The Most Hated Woman In America starring Melissa Leo (The Fighter) in the true story of the controversial rise and untimely demise of Madalyn Murray O’Hair — iconoclast, opportunist, and America’s most outspoken atheist for the separation of church and state. Tommy O’Haver (An American Crime) wrote and will di...

Man Ordering Metal Band’s CDs Receives Note to “Find Jesus Before It Is Too Late”

A man who ordered some CDs by the metal band Venom received a surprise note inside the package:

Find Jesus before it is too late.

openyoureyespeople.com

That website belongs to The Evangelistic Ministries of Anita Fuentes.

So… weird Christian third-party seller, right?

Nope. According to the buyer, it was bought from Amazon directly.

Someone at the warehouse was just looking out for him, I guess…

(via Reddit. Thanks to Andrew for the link)

This Animation Shows How the Major Religions Spread Throughout World History

How did the major religions spread over the course of history?

Alex Kuzoian of Business Insider shows us in this neat animation:

That’s some powerful evidence for how religion is less about discovering the truth and more about how various parts of the world were conquered.

(Thanks to Andy for the link)

Saudi Newspaper Publishes Essay Trashing Arab Atheists

Usually, a good op-ed piece offers an interesting opinion backed up with facts.

The Saudi Gazette — an English-language paper — has given up on the latter part of that equation. They just published an essay by Mohammad Al-Buraidi that’s just a long tirade against Arab atheists. Not all atheists. Just Arab ones. Because they suck. And they suck, Al-Buraidi argues, because he said so:

An Arab atheist is usually a drunk, certainly a degenerate and has definitely nothing to offer. Though some peopl...

Zoroastrians Are Suing Snoop Dogg After Music Video Shows Him Smoking Under Religious Symbol

The Faravahar is an important symbol of Zoroastrianism, depicting a guardian angel of sorts.

So when Snoop Dogg is sitting on a throne, smoking a joint, with the symbol right above him, you can understand why some religious types might get all offended…

It all happens in the music video for “King” by Iranian pop singer Amitis:

And it’s pissed off one community to the point where they’ve filed a completely unnecessary lawsuit:

A public interest lawsuit has been issued by the Calcutta Zoroastrian c...