Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1749

The Religious Ritual That Takes Place Before Astronauts Head Into Space

Internet points to anyone who can explain what’s happening in this picture:

Apparently, it’s customary for astronauts to be “blessed” by a Russian Orthodox priest before heading to space. The Verge notes that this ritual has been taking place for years now:

Some patriotic Americans might object to the practice but for the US, there’s not much choice. Ever since the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA has relied upon Russia’s Soyuz rockets and its Baikonur Cosmodrome to transport men and wom...

Ken Ham’s Publisher Offers $3,000 College Scholarship to Person Who Best Explains the Purpose of the Bill Nye Debate

Q: Why did Ken Ham debate Bill Nye last year?

A: Free publicity for the Creation Museum. Obviously.

I don’t think Ham’s publishers are going to give me a $3,000 college scholarship for that response, though. They’re looking for a much more substantial defense of a debate that never should have happened in the first place:

THE TOPIC: What was your perception of the debate, and its purpose and necessity in a world dominated by secular philosophies?

…

The essay will be judged on creativity, clarity o...

Kentucky Governor Says Gay Marriage Ban Isn’t Discriminatory Because Straight People Can’t Get Gay-Married Either

The state of Kentucky wants to prevent same-sex marriage. But it’s totally not a discriminatory move, because, you see, they absolutely want to stop gay weddings for straight people as much as they want to stop gay weddings for gay people.

And this is the argument Democratic Governor Steve Beshear‘s administration sent to the Supreme Court last Friday:

“Kentucky’s marriage laws treat homosexuals and heterosexuals the same and are facially neutral. Men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexu...

If Our Laws Really Are “God-Given,” We Should All Be Freaked Out

Writing for The Week last Friday, Matt K. Lewis discussed what he considers the “troubling implications of believing our rights don’t come from God.” He says he’s “astounded” that people don’t believe our rights come from God or that people are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” as indicated in the Declaration of Independence.

But, it is not just astounding, in Lewis’ view; it’s worrying.

Rejection of this foundational principle of God-given law would inexorably lead som...

Maine High School Adopts New Pledge of Allegiance Policy After Student Leaders Remind Everyone It’s Optional

For more than a month now, there’s been controversy at South Portland High School in Maine over how they announce the Pledge of Allegiance. Three student body leaders, while reading the morning announcements, were reminding their classmates that they didn’t have to participate by asking students to recite the Pledge “if you’d like to”:

At the time, the principal put a stop to it because, he said, it was going against protocol, but the students (with the principal’s support) went to the school...

Cancer Survivors in Texas Warn That “Pro-Life” Efforts to Defund Planned Parenthood Could Threaten Lives

Anti-abortion legislators across the country have been very busy these past few years targeting abortion by limiting the procedure’s legality as well as availability. But since abortion is a legal procedure, they’ve cooked up a number of strategies to impose de facto bans on it, by regulating providers to the point where they go out of business, banning coverage even through privately purchased health insurance plans, etc. Planned Parenthood is, of course, one of the most frequent targets of...

Kevin Sorbo, the Atheist Professor in God’s Not Dead, Did a Reddit AMA… What Did We Learn From It?

In order to promote his latest project, Kevin Sorbo went on Reddit yesterday to do an “Ask Me Anything” Q&A session.

That’s the same Kevin Sorbo known for playing a straw man atheist professor in God’s Not Dead.

That guy went on Reddit. Take a wild guess how that played out…

I’ll save you the time and despair of reading through all of his answers, but here’s what we learned about Sorbo:

He has atheist and Agnostic friends. (Just once, I would love for someone saying, “I have ____ friends” to tell...

Watch Matt Dillahunty Explain Why Atheists Don’t “Just Want to Sin”

In the latest video for his Atheist Debates project, Matt Dillahunty responds to the argument that atheists “just want to sin”:

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

Arizona Senate Resolution Cites Old Testament Land Grant from God to Israel

According to a Gallup poll from February, seven-in-ten Americans have an overall favorable opinion of Israel. The numbers seem to be influenced by party lines and susceptible to variation due to diplomatic tensions, but the consensus is largely pro-Israel. Obviously, as I fall into that grouping, I think there are some pretty strong arguments to be made for American-Israeli friendship (as well as a peaceful, fair and equitable end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict).

That said, I realize that...

Your Child’s Going to Hear About Hell Anyway, So Should You Be the First to Bring It Up?

Wendy Thomas Russell, who joined us on the podcast recently, is the author of a new book called Relax, It’s Just God: How and Why to Talk to Your Kids About Religion When You’re Not Religious (Brown Paper Press, 2015):

In the excerpt below, Russell discusses whether you should discuss Hell with your child:

It’s frustrating to know that while we [nonreligious parents] may do our damnedest to teach tolerance and compassion to our kids, not all parents do. In fact, many religious parents — includi...