Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1754

A New Documentary Looks at Declining Church Attendance

You know, for the first 1:30 of the trailer below, this looked like a pretty amazing documentary!

The film is called When God Left The Building and it’s all about dwindling church attendance. (Apparently, that’s a bad thing.)

The trailer doesn’t address it, but there are plenty of reasons young people are getting the hell out of church even if they believe in God. Churches are frequently thought of as anti-gay, anti-science, anti-women, anti-doubt, etc. — and that’s by other Christians. I hope...

A Free Glass of Water at Chick-fil-A Cost Him a Million Dollars… and You Probably Think He Deserved It

Remember the Chick-fil-A controversy of 2012? COO Dan Cathy had made disparaging comments about same-sex marriages, and it became widely known that the company’s owners, through a trust, donated money to anti-gay organizations.

In response, YouTuber Jackson Pearce suggested one way to fight back: Go to Chick-fil-A and ask for a glass of water, which they would give you for free. In essence, you’d be taking money away from the company.

Arizona native Adam M. Smith decided to do just that. But he...

Self-Described U.S. Patriot Tries To Stir Up Animosity Against Muslims With Homemade Bombs Left In Park

Eighteenyears after Christian terroristEric Rudolph exploded a fatal homemade bombin a park in Atlanta, Georgia, Michael Conrade Sibley, a Marietta resident, decided it was time to try it again.

A man who described himself as a “patriot” confessed to placing homemade bombs in a Georgia park to help people realize “that this type of activity could happen anywhere,” according to court documents obtained by TPM on Tuesday.

Michael Conrade Sibley, a resident of Marietta, Ga. was charged last week i...

What Did We Learn from CNN’s Special Report on Atheism?

Last night, CNN aired an hour-long special called “Atheists: Inside the World of Non-believers“:

Since the documentary was clearly targeting an audience that knew nothing about atheism, let’s ask the only question that matters: What did those viewers learn when they stepped into our “world”?

In many places, it’s really hard to be an atheist: The story of David Gormley, an atheist living in Georgia with very religious parents, was both heartbreaking and inspiring. He talked about being the “blac...

When Phil Robertson Fantasized About the Rape and Murder of an Atheist Family, What Part Did He Leave Out?

Because atheists apparently have no basis for separatingright from wrong, Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson told a gleeful little tale about themat the Vero Beach PrayerBreakfast lastFriday.

Hemant wrote about it here.

To refresh your memory:

“Two guys break into an atheist’s home. He has a little atheist wife and two little atheist daughters. Two guys break into his home and tie him up in a chair and gag him. And then they take his two daughters in front of him and rape both of them and then shoot...

We Will Never Again Bow Our Heads

(via The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn)

Awkward Sex Advice from a Christian Motivational Speaker

You have to appreciate sex advice from anyone who seriously calls it “the sex.” Welcome to the creepy (and highly-edited) world of Dawson McAllister:

The lesson just gets stranger from there:

Animals, as you know, have sex differently than humans. I’m into horses and I know these things.

Premarital sex is a sin against your own body because it robs you of the dignity that God Himself has given you. It takes your incredibly valuable body and trashes it. Like a beautiful painting that has been spl...

San Francisco Cops Avoid Ticketing Double-Parked Offenders Near Dolores Park When Churches Are in Session

If you live in the Dolores Park area of San Francisco, you’ll be happy to know that church-goers get a special perk on Sundays: No parking tickets!

Other people, recognizing that privilege, have also started parking in illegal spaces, creating an environment where everyone’s breaking the law and no one gets fined.

Parking would be at a premium if the city wasn’t looking the other way, letting worshipers double-park at the medians on several streets, turning two lane streets into one lane street...

New Mother Chooses Death Over Life-Saving Blood Transfusion; Fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses Praise Her Faith

We know that Jehovah’s Witnesses are forbidden from receiving blood transfusions, even if it’s necessary to save their lives. While I think that’s ridiculous, I generally don’t care if people refuse those transfusions, focusing my rage instead on people who allow their children to die because of their religious beliefs.

But this story makes me reconsider all that.

A JW mother named Michelle recently gave birth to a girl, Emma Marie, but she lost a lot of blood in the process. Normally, blood tr...

This is the American Atheists Commercial CNN Refused to Air

I posted earlier today about how American Atheists would be airing its first-ever national TV commercial before and after tonight’s CNN special: “Atheists: Inside the World of Non-believers.”

Turns out that’s not the original version of the commercial.

This is:

Did you catch the difference?

CNN said they couldn’t air the costumed nun because it mocked religion. I don’t really see how a still image like that constitutes mockery… but the final version had the nun cropped out.

What do you think? A ne...