Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1709

Here’s Part Four of a Secretly-Videotaped Jehovah’s Witness Apostasy Trial

For several weeks now, I’ve been posting videos of a Jehovah’s Witness apostasy trial.

Isaac had criticized some of the Church’s teachings and this trial is his last chance to explain himself. If disfellowshipped, Isaac’s friends and family members still in the Church could be prohibited from ever speaking to him again.

Part four — the final part — of his hidden camera video is now online.

Around the 24:00 mark, Isaac drops the bombshell that he’s an atheist (in the form of a pre-written letter)...

Christian Pastor, Once Caught Having Gay Sex in Church Van, Now Arrested for Stealing $60,000

A pastor committing a crime isn’t even newsworthy anymore, but when the church is complicit in the problem, it’s worth mentioning.

Boyd Watson Holder Jr. (below), the pastor of Victory Apostolic Church in Kingsport, Tennessee, was arrested this week after a grand jury found him guilty of swiping $60,000 from the church’s bank account.

It took a while for the church to realize this, though, because there was no transparency in their finances:

Holder was reportedly the only person who could access...

High School Student Exposes Jehovah’s Witnesses: “Within This Religion, Love is Conditional”

I don’t know who this girl is yet. But according to a video going viral on YouTube (200,000 views and counting), she’s giving a presentation about the Jehovah’s Witnesses to a high school class. It’s the religion in which she was raised.

Start watching from the 2:27 mark:

Really powerful presentation — and heartbreaking all around.

The details of this video are unclear. We don’t know who this student is, what the assignment was, what class this is, or where the school is located.

I’m also *very*...

Judge with Ties to Mike Huckabee Orders the Destruction of Josh Duggar’s Police Report

The whole Josh Duggar-as-a-child-molester story really blew up over the past few days because In Touch magazine obtained and released the 2006 police report detailing his crimes (along with the inadequate response by his parents).

That’s why it’s appalling to learn that, on Thursday (when the story went public), Judge Stacey Zimmerman (below) ordered the Springdale Police Department to destroy the original documents:

“The judge ordered us yesterday to expunge that record,” [Springdale Police sp...

Forget Jesus on Toast. There’s a Humanist in a Tomato

Well, I’ll be damned.

I had given up on this whole atheism thing after Christians kept finding Jesus on their toast.

But Redditor Masaharta found the Humanist symbol in a tomato and now the whole world makes sense again!

It’s a sign that Humanists love fruits.

Or vegetables.

Screw it, I can never remember. But I’m sure it means we should all go vegetarian or something.

After all, we can’t forget the sign from the watermelon.

A Dummy Questions Evolution

Well, if this ventriloquist and his dummy don’t convince you to abandon evolution, nothing will.

You know it’s bad when you’d do anything to watch Jeff Dunham‘s act instead.

(via Christian Nightmares and Everything is Terrible)

Penn & Teller Will Headline Apostacon Conference in Texas

I don’t know how organizer Sarah Morehead does it.

Last year, she booked Neil deGrasse Tyson for Apostacon. This year, her team is bringing in Penn & Teller as the headliners.

The event takes place September 18-20 in Irving, Texas. Student tickets for the entire weekend are going for under $50 right now (extra fees included) and include all the speakers plus food.

As someone who’s done a little bit of this sort of organizing, it takes a crazy amount of work to bring in just one big-name speaker...

Neil deGrasse Tyson on Why Science Has Become So Political

Another delightful installment of Esquire‘s video series Mysteries of the Universe with Neil deGrasse Tyson asks Tyson, “Why has science become so political?”

If you now rise to a position of power … and you are basing legislation on your belief system that rejects objective truths that could affect us all, that is the beginning of the end of an informed democracy.

This particular question is alarmingly relevant, living in a country where terms like “climate change” are being banned despite bei...

12 Reasons We Know Astrology Doesn’t Work

The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses 12 reasons we know astrology doesn’t work.

A rough transcript of the video can be found on the YouTube page in the “About” section.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next!

And if you like what you’re seeing, please consider supporting this site on Patreon.

What Ireland’s Gay Marriage Victory Says About Catholic Influence in the Nation

In Ireland, where 84% of the people consider themselves Catholic, the nation has become the first in the world to vote in favor of legalizing gay marriage.

As much as you hate to see marriage equality subject to popular vote, the demographic trends appear to have finally caught up to the ballot box, at least in one country.

Ireland has become the first nation to approve same-sex marriage by a popular vote, sweeping aside the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church in a resounding victory Saturd...