Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1720

Humanist Groups Call for End to Injustice in the Wake of Freddie Gray’s Death

Several Humanist groups have spoken up in response to what happened to Freddie Gray in Baltimore. Considering how often pastors’ voices were heard in the wake of everything that’s happened, it’s good to see some secular voices in the mix. Because if God doesn’t exist, we have to rely on ourselves to heal any injustices and prevent them from happening again.

The American Humanist Association and the Frederick Douglass Humanist Society of Baltimore issued this statement:

“The black humanist commu...

What I Learned from Fighting Back Against Public School Bible Distributions

This is a guest post written by Andrew Seidel. He is a staff attorney at the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

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When bibles were distributed in Orange County Public Schools in January of 2013, I wrote a letter to the school district on behalf of FFRF asking them to “halt all distributions” (See Exhibit D). Earlier this year the district finally banned all such distributions, but only after we sued.

Yesterday, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals handed down the final word on the case, which ha...

Catholic Priest Who Molested Three Boys Finally Apologizes… to His Church Colleagues

In 2007, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid out $660 million in a settlement to 508 people who had been victims of sexual abuse by Church leaders.

That settlement is back in the news this week since lawyers for the victims just released a huge batch of personnel files related to the case. Brother Gregory Atherton is one of the priests we’re now discovering molested three boys while serving as a Servite friar in Portland.

I could tell you all about how, after the allegations were proven, the Ch...

Christian Shoe Promoter Creates Game Where You Shoot Gay People (Transgender Victims Earn You Bonus Points)

For a couple of hours yesterday, Steam (a website where you can upload games you create or pay to play them) allowed a game called “Kill The Faggot” on its site with the sole objective of killing LGBT people:

The game makes very clear that its goal is to shoot and kill gay people (with liberal use of the pejorative F-word in the game’s title, at that). Players get points for killing gay people — more points if the person killed is transgender — and they lose points for any straight people they...

Nebraska Woman Sues All Homosexuals

Because Jesus:

An Auburn woman calling herself an ambassador for God and his son, Jesus Christ, filed a federal lawsuit Friday against all homosexuals.

Sylvia Driskell, 66, said in the suit that she is petitioning the U.S. District Court of Omaha to be heard “in the matter of homosexuality. Is homosexuality a sin, or not a sin?”

Driskell will be representing herself in the case of (I’m not making this up) Driskell v. Homosexuals.

Because no attorney’s touching this one with a ten-foot pole.

No wor...

Empathy Cards for Atheists

Okay, they’re not specifically for atheists, but they might as well be.

Emily McDowell created a series of cards you might give to someone going through a struggle… without any of the religious platitudes or appeals to the unknown we’re used to seeing:

McDowell writes:

I created this collection of empathy cards for serious illness because I believe we need some better, more authentic ways to communicate about sickness and suffering. “Get well soon” cards don’t make sense when someone might not....

Creationists Think They Can Prove Dinosaur Bones Are Only a Few Thousand Years Old

Dinosaurs lived approximately 65 million years old… according to people who know what they’re talking about. But that fact flies in the face of Creationists, who believe the Earth only came into existence a few thousand years ago.

So what happens when Ken Ham‘s Answers in Genesis acquires legitimate dinosaur bones? His team will do anything it can to “prove” those bones are only a few thousand years old.

A couple of ranchers from South Dakota recently donated fossils from an Edmontosaurus (belo...

The Intentions of the Charlie Hebdo Cartoonists and Pamela Geller Are Worth Discussing

A couple of nights ago, the American Freedom Defense Initiative and its director Pamela Geller hosted a “Muhammad Cartoon Exhibit.” As you know by now, two extremists began shooting their guns in the parking lot and were soon killed by police (who deserve a lot of credit for saving countless lives inside the building).

As Terry suggested the other day, you can find Geller odious while still defending her group’s right to host this contest.

But I want to bring up another question: Is there a dif...

Missouri Middle School Will Reward Students for Their Hard Work by Tricking Them Into Going to a Christian Ministry

In order to celebrate their hard work preparing for and taking the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) tests, the eighth-graders at North Middle School in Joplin will be going to a sports complex with a climbing wall and video games this Thursday.

Good times!

That form is a little misleading, though, because the name of the place they’re going to isn’t “Victory Sports Complex.”

It’s Victory Ministry & Sports Complex. Which, believe it or not, is a ministry.

But maybe that’s okay. As long as the sta...

Atheist Pens Open Letter to the Mothers of the Garland Shooters

Godless Mom wrote a lovely open letter to the mothers of the now-dead shooters in Garland, Texas who were driven to kill others for drawing cartoons of Muhammad.

If that sounds like a strange setup for an open letter, just read it:

I’m sorry your sons died over cartoons. Cartoons are supposed to be sources of humour and smiles and laughter. They are supposed to trigger thought, not violence. They are entertainment, commentary and art… not a reason to die.

I’m sorry that in the wake of Charlie He...