Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1704

If My Daughter Learns Evolution, She’ll Get Rejected from Vet School, Says West Virginia Dad in Lawsuit

Earlier this month, West Virginian Kenneth Smith filed a lawsuit against everyone he could think of involved in teaching evolution to his daughter.

That list included the Jefferson County Board of Education, the State Superintendent, the U.S. Secretary of Education, and the Director of the National Institutes of Health. (If he were alive, I’m sure Charles Darwin would have made the list.)

What did they all do wrong?

Smith says that by promoting evolution, they’re ruining his daughter’s ability t...

Lessons from a Spiritual Guru on How to Be a Good Atheist

I believe everything JP Sears says because the flowers on his head are mesmerizing:

I just wish I knew the name of that atheist he keeps cutting to…

An Unusual Message from Pat Robertson

I don’t know what possessed Vic Berger to make this highly-edited video of Pat Robertson talking about anal sex and bestiality… but I just want to point out it would have been equally hilarious without the creepy music:

(via Christian Nightmares)

Why Does Everyone Hate the Atheist Voodoo Doll…?

The American Humanist Association recently uploaded several videos from its recent conference in Denver, and there’s a segment of researcher Will Gervais‘ speech that I really wanted to highlight.

It begins at the 37:20 mark. Gervais wonders what the consequences of anti-atheist prejudice are, so he conducted an experiment in which participants were allowed to put pins in voodoo dolls after some prompting. There was a gay doll, Muslim doll, atheist doll, and religious doll. (I’m obviously simp...

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After “Auditing” the Field Museum, Megan Fox Visits the Creation Museum

When I had a conversation with Megan Fox, the science “skeptic” who audited an evolution exhibit at the Field Museum, one of the most interesting moments to me was when shesaid she planned to visit the Creation Museum.

No kidding, I thought. I would *love* to watch a video of you going through those exhibits.

I wanted to know if she would apply the same sort of “skepticism” over there. It would be a breeze, really, since there’s plenty to criticize. (I would know. I’ve been there twice.)

My hope...

Two Girls Sat Out Part of a Soccer Tournament Because Muslim Players Refused to Compete Against Them

It’s not very often we see Catholics in the news for doing the morally correct thing, but they deserve credit this time.

It has to do with this rule for kids playing sports:

Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations, South Western Ontario Secondary Schools Athletic Association and ROPSSAA all have the same gender rule stating:

“If a sport activity is not available for a female on a girls’ team, she is eligible to participate on a boys’ team following a successful tryout.”

That’s how Robe...

UK Hasidic Leaders Ban Women at the Wheel; Kids Whose Mothers Drive Will Be Expelled From School

All Abrahamic religions have a tendency to treat women asirredeemably damagedandfatally compromised. Here’s the latest example — from the world of conservative Judaism.

The British leaders of a major Hasidic sect have declared that women should not be allowed to drive. In a letter sent out last week, Belz rabbis said that having female drivers goes against “the traditional rules of modesty in our camp” and against the norms of Hasidic institutions.

It added that, from August, children would be...

Another Compilation of Daniel Dennett’s Best Arguments and Retorts

Here’s another excellent compilation of Daniel Dennett‘s best arguments and comebacks:

(via Agatan Fnd)

Seminary President Films Video for Openly Secular Campaign

Following in the footsteps of Rep. Barney Frank, Penn & Teller, Bill Maher, Julia Sweeney, and members of the symphonic metal band Nightwish, President of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Danny Akin has recorded a video explaining why he’s “openly secular”:

It’s not that he’s secular himself, but he support those who want to come out as non-religious:

Though we do disagree on some very important issues, we also agree on some important things as well. For example, we do believe toge...