Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1747

Bill to Make the Holy Bible Tennessee’s Official State Book Passes Through Committee on 2-1 Vote

Following the lead of Republicans in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama, Tennessee State Rep. Jerry Sexton (below) filed a bill earlier this year to make the Holy Bible the official state book:

House Bill 615 has now advanced through the State Government Subcommittee on a 2-1 vote on Wednesday:

Rep. Bill Sanderson, the subcommittee’s chairman, said a formal legal opinion has been requested from Attorney General Herbert Slatery. But Sanderson said preliminary word is that the state’s top attorn...

Penn Jillette Discusses Religious Freedom Bills on CNN Panel, Much to the Chagrin of a Christian Guest

On Wednesday, CNN Host Don Lemon hosted a panel to discuss the Indiana and Arkansas “religious freedom” laws that have sparked so much national outrage. His guests were the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Kristen Waggoner, the ACLU’s Rita Sklar and magician (slash-atheist) Penn Jillette.

The entire discussion was interesting, but some of the most insightful commentary came from Jillette.

I don’t want to misrepresent myself as an expert, but there is more to gay sex than cake and flowers. These peo...

Lutheran Minister Resigns After Allegedly Sending Rape Threat to Blogger

Spending as much time online as I do, I hear a lot of stories about people — usually women — talking about death threats or rape threats they’ve received online. And every time, there’s this mindset among some people that the senders are always trolls, always anonymous, always joking. That the threats are not to be taken seriously. Serious or not, it still makes me wonder what the hell people are thinking when they send a message like that.

Recently, blogger Claire Van Fossen received an email...

Ted Cruz’s First Presidential Campaign Ad Is All About the “Transformative Love of Jesus Christ”

Continuing where he left off at Liberty University, Sen. Ted Cruz has released his first presidential campaign ad set to air this weekend during the “Killing Jesus” special on Fox News Channel.

As expected (and just in time for Easter), it’s all about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Were it not for the transformative love of Jesus Christ, I would have been raised by a single mom without a father in the household.

God’s blessing has been on America from the very beginning of this nation.

Over and over again,...

Texas High School Baseball Coach Allegedly Makes Players Attend Bible Study or Run an Extra 20 Minutes

We’re so used to hearing about high school football coaches illegally leading their teams in prayer, completely overstepping their bounds and putting students in the awkward position of joining in to avoid any consequences. But this story coming out of Texas is unique in just how far the district is going to push faith on the students.

Pittsburg High School baseball coach Tommy Stewart not only conducts a Bible study with his players after practice once a week, he punishes those who don’t atte...

Before You Celebrate Easter, Check Out This Infographic Showing How the Gospels Got It All Wrong

Matt Barsotti created an updated version of his popular infographic from last year, reminding everyone celebrating Easter that they might want to do a little more research regarding the Gospels…

All the references/citations used can be found on his blog Jericho Brisance.

14-Year-Old Secular Humanist Charged with Criminal Homicide in Her Mother’s Death

Earlier this year, Craig Stephen Hicks killed three Muslim students near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus. One of the storylines that developed in the case was that Hicks was an atheist — his Facebook page featured a constant stream of atheist memes — even though there’s no evidence (then or now) that his religious beliefs had anything to do with his crime.

That’s why I’m bracing myself for what people are going to say about 14-year-old Jamie Silvonek.

Like other teenagers...

New York Boy Scouts Call BS on the BSA, Hiring a Gay Man Despite Ban on LGBT Adults

When the Boy Scouts of America lifted its ban on gay scouts in 2013, nobody busted out the rainbow flags and declared a cultural victory. That’s because in the same breath, the organization upheld its ban on LGBT adult scout leaders, essentially saying that a gay Boy Scout was “trustworthy, loyal and helpful” only until his 18th birthday.

TheGreater New York Councils, the BSA’s New York affiliate, have officially called BS. This week, they loudly and proudly announced the hiring ofPascal Tessi...

According to the Theory of Evolution, Is Every Offspring a Slightly New Species?

For Darwin Day, Richard Dawkins answered questions about evolution for his viewers. The latest one discusses whether every offspring is a slightly new species:

(via RDFRS)

A Filmmaker Documents His Time Among British Atheists

Polish filmmaker Zenon Kalafaticz has been featured on this site before, and his latest film documents time he spent among British atheists:

I haven’t had a chance to watch the whole thing, but if you moments stand out, please leave a timestamp and summary in the comments!