Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1730
April 23, 2015
Muslim Student Wonders if His Faith Can Get Him Out of Paying Interest on His Loans
Student loans suck. We know that. And they suck in large part because the interest keeps accruing.
If only God could help you out…
That’s the question “Amir” sent to Steve Rhode, Huffington Post‘s “Get Out of Debt Guy.”
Amir took out $32,000 in loans… but he owes $64,000 due to deferment and interest.
… Since 2012 I have been learning more about my faith and it is strictly forbidden in my faith to have dealings with interest.
I am offering to pay off the original amount I owe however due to religi...
April 22, 2015
Black Skeptics LA Sponsors “First in the Family” Scholarships with Help of $10,000 Grant from Atheist Group
Once again, the group Black Skeptics Los Angeles is giving out “First in the Family” scholarships. And to help them out, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is giving the group a $10,000 grant to expand the program:
In 2013, BSLA spearheaded its First in the Family Humanist Scholarship initiative which focuses on undocumented, foster care, homeless and LGBTQ youth who will be the first in their families to go to college. The organization was created to provide resources for non-believers of c...
It’s Openly Secular Day Tomorrow!
The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses Openly Secular Day.
A rough transcript of the video can be found on the YouTube page in the “About” section.
More information about Openly Secular Day is right here.
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.
Colorado School Will End Support of Evangelical Charity, According to Settlement
Last June, the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter to the Douglas County School District in Colorado detailing extensive evidence that officials at Highlands Ranch High School and Cougar Run Elementary School, in their capacities as district employees, were promoting Christianity and raising money for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ mission trip.
The FCA made it clear why they were going to Guatemala: “… our group’s primary goal is to share the lov...
Judge Rules That Opening Prayers Can Continue at Hamilton County (Tennessee) Commission Meetings
For years now, the Hamilton County Commissioners (in Tennessee) have been praying at their meetings. These were often sectarian Christian prayers, and in 2012, Tommy Coleman and Brandon Jones — both college students — filed a lawsuit against the county saying they were violating the Establishment Clause.
Brandon Jones (left) and Tommy Coleman
Since then, as we know, the Supreme Court has made this issue moot. Sectarian prayers are allowed… but they must be open to everybody, not just Christians...
How to Survive the Holidays: A Guide for Secular Families
This is a guest post by Maria Polonchek
…
When I let go of my childhood religion as a young adult — the religion held by much of my family — I knew it was a game-changer. Not long after that, I experienced another milestone: having kids. Twin boys, to be exact, and then a little girl. What wasn’t so obvious to me back then was that those two things, losing religion and having kids, would intersect in ways I can rarely anticipate. It wasn’t difficult to keep my evolving belief system private bef...
Apparently, True Christians Should Attend Gay Weddings Only to Object and Remind the Couple They’ll Burn in Hell
I’m not sure why any gay couple would invite anti-gay Christians to their wedding, but caller “Ricky” told Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on his radio show that there’s only one reason True Christians should ever accept the invite:
The only reason that any Christian would ever attend a homosexual wedding is, when the preacher says, “Is there any objection to the wedding,” you stand up and say, “Yes, according to the Bible, sodomy. You will burn in Hell for this.” That is the on...
Report Claims Evangelical Church Leaders in Wisconsin Exhibited “Cultlike” and “Abusive” Behavior
Valleybrook Church, based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, is under fire for what a former leader is calling “abusive practices [that] were inappropriate and pushing the church away from God.”
After a pastor blew the whistle by way of an open letter, a team of investigators (sent in by the church’s parent organization) spoke with current and former church members, eventually issuing a report that :
Four Valleybrook Church pastors...
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