Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1703

After Brazilian TV Host’s Anti-Atheist Rant, Court Orders Network to Play Religious Freedom PSA 72 Times

In July of 2010, José Luiz Datena, the host of Brasil Urgente, a primetime show in Brazil, reported on a crime in which a child was murdered… which made him go on an anti-atheist rant, because surely an atheist committed the evil act.

At one point, he even asked his producers to run a call-in poll on whether or not viewers believed in god, presumably hoping the pro-God results would convince atheists to adopt the majority stance. He then made up excuses when atheists crashed the poll.

Make sure...

After Three Atheist Writers Are Killed in Bangladesh, Another Target is Brought to Safety in the U.S.

A few weeks ago, when atheist blogger Ananta Bijoy Das was brutally killed in Bangladesh, fellow activist Taslima Nasrin (below) mourned the loss and lamented how Bangladesh seemed to be worse than Pakistan (which was known for this sort of faith-based carnage).

Someone responded to her on Twitter with this not-so-veiled threat:

That person was referring to a targeted by radical Muslims:

The list was submitted to Bangladesh’s interior ministry in 2013 by a group of radica...

Wealthy Indian Becomes Humble Monk During $15,000,000 Ceremony

Among the many things I remember from my days in the Jain religion was its philosophy of non-possessiveness (Aparigraha). You’re not supposed to be materialistic. As much as possible, you should try to live a frugal life.

So when Bhanwarlal Raghunath Doshi (below), who oversaw a billion-dollar plastics company, said he was going to become a Jain monk, a quiet simple ceremony to mark the occasion should have done the trick.

Instead, he opted for a lavish party costing more than 100 crore (well o...

She Got Rid of Her Purity Ring and Then Tried to Find Her First Partner

Arla Knudsen was a purity-ring-wearing Christian… until she realized she just didn’t feel that way anymore. She told the New York Times about how she shed her faith and subsequently tried to overcome her virginity, too:

When I was a kid, I loved making cheese sandwiches. I made them every day. And then, one day, I was like, no, like, I can’t do this anymore. I’ve eaten too many. I think that’s almost my taste for religion. It’s a food that you don’t want to eat anymore. I made the decision tha...

Here’s a Kind of “New Atheism” We Can All Get Behind

Skepticon — the annual free atheist conference in Springfield, Missouri — is doing something radical for their eighth time around: They’re not inviting any speakers who have been on their stage before.

As someone who’s spoken there multiple times, this is *awesome* news. It means more voices, new opinions, and completely different vibe all around. I can’t wait to see who ends up on their roster.

If you’d like to attend the event (November 15-18), you still need to register, so go do that now be...

Man Who Hosted “Draw Muhammad” Event in Phoenix Wants $10 Million to Provide Security for His Family

Jon Ritzheimer (below) is the man who hosted the Draw Muhammad event in Phoenix a couple of nights ago.

And now he’s trying to capitalize on his notoriety, saying that he’s accepting donations for the safety of his family.

And for a hospital.

And for his future Senate campaign race.

All he needs is $10 million.

I am starting this campaign to humbly ask for donations so that I may provide security for my family.

…

The money will go towards fortifying my house and getting what ever is necessary to mak...

New Biblical Guide to Hell for Small Children is Sick and Depraved

To be honest, I was unaware that people calling themselves Puritans still existed.

A new Christian book for children, The Cage: A Young Children’s Guide to the Biblical Teaching on Hell, by C. Matthew McMahon, Ph.D., Th.D., was published this month by Puritan Publications of Tennessee.McMahon is an American Calvinist Reformed theologian, adjunct professor at Whitefield Theological Seminary, and editor of A Puritan’s Mind, which the publisher’s promo describes as “the largest Reformed website o...

Pittsylvania County Officials Lose Long-Running Fight to Pray to Jesus at Meetings

In 2012, the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors in Virginia began each meeting with a prayer to Jesus Christ.

An anonymous woman had sued the city in response — but a judge ruled that the only way for the lawsuit to proceed was if she revealed her identity.

In a country where atheists can get harassed for simply suggesting, “If people want to pray, they should do it privately, not on the taxpayers’ dime,” it’s no surprise the person wanted to keep her identity hidden.

But the lawsuit was t...

The Unlikely Miracles Used to Justify Sainthood for Recent Popes

Last year, the Catholic Church announced the sainthood of two former popes, John XXIII, who was pope from 1958 to 1963, and John Paul II, pope from 1978 to 2005.The church’s requirement for sainthoodis two miracles worked by them after their death, which are needed to provethey’re in heaven and accepting prayer requests from back home on Earth.

Joe Nickell, paranormal investigator extraordinaire, wrote in the latest Skeptical Inquirer about the Church’slatest (incredibly weak) case for Pope mi...

Unless Your Atheism Inspires You to Make This World a Better Place, What Good Is It?

In an opinion piece for the New York Times, Molly Worthen highlights the Sunday Assembly (a.k.a. the “atheist church”) and what it suggests about the future of atheism:

The average nonbeliever may know even less about his tradition’s intellectual debates than the average Christian does — because its institutions, like Sunday Assembly, tend to be tiny, relatively new and allergic to anything that resembles dogma. But nonbelievers should pay attention. Atheism, like any ideological position, has...