Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1737

Christian Pastor Condemns Colleague for Not Wanting Gay People Put to Death

Apparently, some guy requested that his website be removed from anti-gay Pastor Steven Anderson‘s church directory — I guess he didn’t want to be associated with Anderson’s brand of hate speech — and that pissed off Anderson’s doppelgänger, Pastor David Berzins of Word of Truth Baptist Church.

Berzins went on a rant about how that guy did the whole Christian world a disservice with his request. Because, really, what’s the big deal about stoning homosexuals?

I like the guy [who wanted to be remo...

Thanks to Attorney General Supporting Bible Distributions in Oklahoma Schools, Satanists May Get in on the Action

A couple of weeks ago, in Duncan, Oklahoma, Woodrow Wilson Elementary School teacher Erica Mackey announced she had a surprise for her third-grade students:

The student reports that Mrs. Mackey announced that she had “the holy Bible” and asked if anyone would like one. Nearly all the students walked up to her desk and she handed them out. After seeing his classmates take Bibles from the teacher, the child felt peer-pressured and coerced to do the same.

Thankfully, that child told his mother, an...

Why Are Atheists Protesting Outside a Wells Fargo Bank in Las Vegas Later Today?

Last year, John Whiteside (below) was discriminated against at a Wells Fargo branch due to his atheism. At least that’s the way he sees it.

He’s the President of the United Church of Bacon — a group whose purpose is, in large part, highlighting the perks of being a church in order to promote church/state separation — and he was in need of a notary (meaning a state-sanctioned witness to attest to him signing a document). So he went to the bank, showed his ID, and everything was fine until the w...

Finally, a Horoscope That Makes Sense!

Capricorns have all the fun conception stories…

(via XKCD)

Upcoming Talks

For anyone interested, here’s where I’m heading over the next couple of months. If you’re in the area, I’d love to see you there!

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Who: Openly Secular Day at University of Central Florida
Where: Orlando, Florida
When: Thursday, April 23

Who: Mythinformation conference (registration required)
Where: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
When: Saturday, April 25

Who: Valparaiso University Secular Student Alliance
Where: Valparaiso, Indiana
When: Wedn...

University of Florida’s New Building Includes Bible Verse Urging Students to “Walk Humbly with Your God”

In Gainesville, the University of Florida’s new building for business education greets students with a Bible verse.

Heavener Hall, which is named after a local business leader who made a generous contribution toward its construction, features this inscription on one of the archways leading into the building:

He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god. Micah 6:8

Why anyone thinks that belongs on th...

Even the Devil’s “Spiritual Warfare” Could Not Derail My Family’s Third Adoption

I’ve written almost nothing for Friendly Atheist for the better part of three weeks. It wasn’t entirely by choice: Where I had traveled, in China, Internet access was spotty, and when connections were stable and speeds were decent, sites that Hemant and I frequently rely on for our coverage were blocked or hamstrung by the Chinese authorities — from Google to YouTube, and from the New York Times to Facebook.

Why was I in China? Because in late December of 2013,my wife and I became aware of a C...

Ted Cruz’s Father Campaigns for Son, Christian Rule, and War on the Faithless

Sen. Ted Cruz leaves no doubt that his father, evangelical minister and wildly popular conservative Christian speaker Rafael Cruz, is his most important professional and personal mentor. Throughout his 2012 Senate campaign, the Texas Republican relied heavily on his father as both chief advisor and veritable stand-in for himself whenever needed.The senator opened both his March 23rd speech declaring his presidential candidacy and his first campaign ad with tales of his father’s inspiration an...

Christian Right Leader Argues for Religious Liberty While Denouncing Wiccan Invocation Since That Mocks God

A few days ago, at the invitation of Iowa State Rep. Liz Bennett, Wiccan priestess Deborah Maynard delivered the opening invocation in the State House.

It was an excellent invocation, as far as those go, even though it was met with a silent protest by at least one lawmaker and complete dismissal of it by many others who instead attended an alternative prayer service arranged by Family Leader’s Bob Vander Plaats.

Later that evening, Vander Plaats hosted a forum on religious liberty featuring sev...

Georgia Lawmaker Rewrites Bill to Offer $350,000 in Tax Breaks to Christian School Where He’s a Trustee

Just hours before the Georgia legislative session ended last week, State Sen. Bruce Thompson (below) made an alteration to HB 202, a bill dealing with taxes, in order to give a massive break to a private Christian college:

Georgia lawmakers carved out a tax break to a private college… exempting a school focused on preparing students as Baptist faith evangelists from paying up to $350,000 in sales taxes on construction materials for a new recreation center.

…

Truett-McConnell College’s students a...