Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1685

Following Deadly Heat Wave in India, Christian Ministry Sends Radios So Hindus Can Hear All About Jesus

There was a massive heat wave in India over the past couple of months, killing over 2,000 people. But you’ll be pleased to know that The Tide global radio ministry has found a way to help the suffering people: They’re giving them radios so they can hear all about Jesus:

A screenshot from The Tide’s website

Don Shenk, director of The Tide global radio ministry, reports that temperatures in southern India rose to 116 degrees Fahrenheit during the heat wave, and the people hit hardest were were li...

Brazil’s Senate Will Consider Bill to Revoke Tax Exemptions from Churches Due to Atheist-Led Petition

You may be aware that the White House has a website where you can create a petition on a particular issue. If you can gather enough support — 100,000 e-signatures within 30 days as of this writing — someone in the administration will respond to your petition. Earlier this year, for example, a petition calling for the legalization of marijuana surpassed the threshold and received this response. It wasn’t a newsworthy response, but you get the idea.

In Brazil, the Senate has something similar. S...

Music Video Features Pastafarian Church Service

I think I just witnessed the first ever Pastafarian church service.

It’s part of a music video for the band The Iron Boot Scrapers, whose album Costermonger was recently released. The song is called “Going Down“:

Who knew the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was an offshoot of Catholicism?

Missouri Sheriff Argues That God and Government Go Together, Just as the Founding Fathers Intended

Jason Mosher (below), the Sheriff of Vernon County, Missouri, wants atheists everywhere to know that he doesn’t give a damn about them. If you have a problem with church/state separation, he wants nothing to do with you.

In a piece for the Nevada Daily Mail, Mosher showcases his ignorance about our nation’s own history and how it informs him:

After reading the book, I started thinking about the past of our nation. We are who we are today because of our past. There is a reason why the men and wo...

Catholic Reporter Discovers That Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett Aren’t As Awful As She Expected

Margery Eagan recently covered an event featuring Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett for Crux (a Catholic publication affiliated with the Boston Globe).

She was hoping they’d conform to the nasty stereotypes she had of atheists… but that wasn’t the case at all:

I’d hoped both men would be humorless, strident, militant, even obnoxious. Then I could go home feeling confident in my faith. Instead they were funny, charming, and quite likable. I went home deflated. I looked up everyone who’s debated...

Bill Donohue: If Politicians Listen to the Pope on Climate Change, They’re Violating Church/State Separation

Does the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue understand what church/state separation means?

Of course not. You knew the answer to that as soon as I wrote “understand.”

In this case, the Donohue thinks the urging of politicians to embrace Pope Francis‘ call for concern about climate change is somehow a violation of the law:

It is striking how many traditional proponents of separation of church and state are now screaming at Republican Catholics to get in line and start taking their marching orders fro...

Proposed Michigan Laws Intended to Prevent Gay Unions Could Also Block Atheist Marriages

In anticipation of the Supreme Court making gay marriage legal throughout the country, one Michigan lawmaker is attempting to circumvent the decision in advance by banning government officials (like courthouse clerks) from signing any marriage licenses at all, leaving that duty only in the hands of religious leaders. (Michigan is one of the 13 states left currently banning same-sex marriages.)

State Rep. Todd Courser (Republican, obviously)

This week, state Rep. Todd Courser, R-Lapeer, introduc...

Principal Fired After Giving Prayer Books to Staff; She May File Discrimination Lawsuit Against School Board

Last week, DeKalb Community Unit School District 428 in Illinois voted 5-2 to fire elementary school principal Shahran Spears. Among the reasons for her dismissal were repeatedly examples of her using her position to push Christianity on the staff and students:

Those charges addressed a variety of alleged actions by Spears including using her district procurement card to buy copies of prayer and proverbs books titled “Inspire for Teachers: Prayers, Promises and Proverbs for those who change li...

On Conservative Christians Blaming the Charleston Massacre on Atheism, Secularism, and an Angry God

As Hemant reported the other day,many conservative leadersare scrambling to attribute the horrific Charleston massacre of nine African-Americans by a white racist to… anything but racism.

First, a reminder of what we actually know of Dylann Roof‘s motives:His Facebook page shows him in white supremacist emblems, a friend said he spoke of starting a race war, and shooting witnesses quoted him as saying, “I have to do it. You rape our women, and you are taking over our country. And you have to g...

Dutch Politician’s TV Broadcast of Muhammad Cartoons Postponed After “Misunderstanding”

Geert Wilders is a Dutch politician perhaps best known for his criticisms of Islam. He made a short film called Fitna in 2008, has equated the Qur’an to Mein Kampf, suggested banning the Qur’an, and called for a tax on Muslim women who wanted to wear a hijab, and wants a halt on Muslim immigrants into his country. Unlike many critics of Islam who focus solely on bad ideas, Wilders wants to enact policies to make life worse for peaceful Muslims, since they’re perpetuating a faith he thinks mus...