Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1727

Christian Pastor: The Passengers on Germanwings Flight 9525 Deserved to Die Because They’re Sinners

About a month ago, Germanwings flight 9525 crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board. As we’ve since learned, co-pilot Andreas Lubitz locked the other pilot out of the cockpit when he went on a bathroom break, and then purposely drove the plane into the mountains on a suicide mission (taking everyone else along with him). Just an awful, awful tragedy.

German televangelist Wolfgang Wegert apparently spoke about the crash last week during a sermon — just two days after the publ...

Fox News Priest: Atheists Shouldn’t Be President Because They Don’t Fear “Eternal Consequences”

Over the weekend, in response to the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition summit attended by several Republican presidential candidates, Fox News Channel’s Father Jonathan Morris made clear that faith was a prerequisite for public office:

… It’s a belief in God, it’s a belief that there are eternal consequences for your actions. And I think that a leader that doesn’t have that — a set of core beliefs that help him to make justice an important part of his life and his decisions because he knows that...

Several Writers Withdraw from Event Because Charlie Hebdo Will Receive Freedom of Expression Courage Award

One of the programs run by the PEN American Center aims to “defend writers and protect free expression in the United States and around the world.” So it makes sense that this year’s Freedom of Expression Courage Award will be given to the staff (or what remains of it) of Charlie Hebdo.

That decision has caused several authors to withdraw from the group’s upcoming gala:

In an email to PEN’s leadership on Friday, [Rachel] Kushner said she was withdrawing out of discomfort with what she called the...

Where’s the Camera You Promised to Buy?

Loud, obnoxious Christian evangelist Josh Feuerstein (he of the vertical videos on YouTube) ran a successful fundraiser last August asking for $20,000 to buy a professional video camera… and it was successful. He actually raised more than that. And then the problems began.

He bragged about his other expensive purchases online. He took down the fundraising page so there’s no record of it. And the vertical videos continued…

Seth Andrews summarized the situation in this video:

The most damning part...

Another Compilation of Sam Harris’ Best Arguments and Comebacks

Here’s another compilation of Sam Harris‘ best arguments and comebacks.

(via Agatan Fnd)

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

For a couple of 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 was 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 three of his hidden camera video is now online.

It’s an emotional video, with the conversation getting very personal and very heated at times. And the elders just continue...

My Talk at Valparaiso is Sponsored by a Closeted Atheist Physician

Next Wednesday night, I’ll be giving a talk at Valparaiso University, and Jerry Davitch of the Post-Tribune did a nice write-up in anticipation of that event. The most interesting part, to me, is the bit about the person sponsoring the talk:

The lecture, free and open to the public, is hosted by the Valparaiso University Secular Student Alliance and the Northern Indiana Atheist Community. However, it’s underwritten by a well-known physician in this area who’s an atheist but still not comfortab...

Rep. Jared Polis New Bill Would Block Rep. Steve King From Introducing More Bills

Sure, it’s just a statement more than anything, but I could get behind this new bill proposed by Rep. Jared Polis (below). It would block Rep. Steve King, one of the most anti-gay-rightsmembers of Congress, from introducing any more awful legislation and is appropriately called the “Restrain Steve King from Legislating Act.”

It comes in response to King’s recent proposal to strip federal courts from hearing cases related to marriage. Because, you know, the happiness of gay people ruins the liv...

Atheists Are Raising Money to Help Victims of the Nepal Earthquake

Last night, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal and every article seems to report more tragedy than the last. What we do know is that more than 1,000 people are dead and many more are injured and homeless.

Foundation Beyond Belief’s Humanist Disaster Recovery team is now raising funds to help the victims and their families.

We are still in the process of vetting a beneficiary that is secular in nature, efficient, and local. We should have that figured out by tomorrow. In the meantime, if you’d...

Following “Traditional Healing” Death, Judge Says Well-Being of Child Must Be Considered in Health Care Decisions

By now, you’re familiar with Makayla Sault (below), an 11-year-old with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The disease was treatable with two years of tough chemotherapy and had a nearly 90% survival rate… but Makayla no longer wanted to continue the chemo and her Ojibwe/First Nations parents were more than happy to oblige, seeking out useless faith-based treatments instead.

Makayla was allowed to quit the chemo only to see her conditions worsen.

Then it got worse.

Justice Gethin Edward of the Ontari...