Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1794

Tennessee Legislator Wants to Make the Holy Bible the Official State Book

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

House Bill 615 has just been introduced so it’s too early to tell if it’s going anywhere.

However, Louisiana Rep. Thomas Carmody pulled his own bill before it could go up for a vote because it “had become a distraction.” And Mississippi’s bill died in committee last week.

Hopefully, this bill will be handed the same f...

David Harsanyi, Discussing the Chapel Hill Murders, Rejects the Equivalence Between Atheist and Muslim Violence

I’ve been following David Harsanyi‘s always thought-provokingwritings for fiveor sixyears now. A formerstaff columnist atthe Denver Post, Harsanyi is currentlya senior editoratthe Federalist. In his latest piece, he giveshis take on the Chapel Hill shooting by an atheist gunman that left three young Muslims dead. His central point is that, as he says in the headline, “Atheists have nothing to apologize for.”

There is no excuse for any hate-motivatedviolence, but there is an enormous difference...

Atheism is Spreading, Even in Massively Catholic South America

An article at Worldcrunch, under the chipperheadline “Nothing Can Stop The Spread Of Latin American Atheism,”points out that

There are currently 60 million Latin Americans who identify as atheist or agnostic, according to a November 2014 Pew Research Center poll. That’s 8% of all Latin Americans, though non-believers are more numerous in some countriesin percentage terms: 11% in Argentina, 16% in Chile, 18% in the Dominican Republic, and 37% in the continent’s most secular country, Uruguay.

Oth...

In Ongoing Religious War in the Central African Republic, Christians Are Slaying Muslims by the Thousands

Some Christiansthink thatthey, and all Jesus lovers, can literally do no harm in this day and age (I’m looking at you, of FOX News).

But of course, every day brings newevidence to the contrary.

Take the ongoing bloodbath in the Central African Republic, which I previously wrote about here. The Washington Post has the latest.

Tens of thousands of Muslims are fleeing to neighboring countries by plane and truck as Christian militias stage brutal attacks, shattering the social fabric of...

A Random Collection of Shootings Over Parking Spaces, and What They Tell Us About Violence and Beliefs

I stopped searching after 10 minutes. In other words, this is hardly an exhaustive list.

April 2010:Police Investigate Shooting and Stabbing Over Mall Parking SpaceOctober 2010: Murder Charges Filed After Detective Is Killed In Parking Lot DisputeJanuary 2012: Man Charged With Killing Neighbors Over Parking Space

If you’ve clicked through and skimmed the articles, didyou notice anything?

May 2013:Police: Man Shot In Face During Dispute Over Parking SpaceNovember 2013: Parking Dispute Sparks Shoo...

If You’re Looking for a Positive Way to Respond to the Chapel Hill Shootings, Here’s One Way to Help

One of the victims of last night’s shootings in North Carolina was 23-year-old Deah Shaddy Barakat (below, left):

Baraket, a dental student whose family came from Syria, planned to visit Turkey this summer to provide aid to refugees. It was part of a program called “Refugee Smiles.” You can see Barakat promote the project in the video below:

If you’re looking for a way to show support for the victims, Foundation Beyond Belief has set up a donation page with all proceeds benefitting the Syrian A...

Prominent Moroccan Atheist Imad Iddine Habib Says He Feels Betrayed By the West’s Political Left

Imad Iddine Habibis only 24 years old, which might seem too young to be a pessimist. But Habib, who founded the Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco and got hounded, harassed, and threatened because of it (he now lives in hiding), has a somber assessment of the future of secularism in Muslim-dominated parts of the world.

“I have lost hope for the Arab and Muslim world. Look at what the region was like in the 1970s. How much progress have we made in 45 years?”

He spokeat the Secularism Conference in...

How the First Crusade Was Fought, What Obama Didn’t Say, and How the Crusades Helped Spawn Modern-Day Jihad

Since last week, Christian critics have been pounding President Obama for his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he had the temerity toreference religious violence with a passing mention of the Crusades.

Angryreactions included that Obama’s words were “a blunder in thought,” “the most offensive comments I’ve ever heard a president make in my lifetime,” and“verbal rape.”

How about we listen to some facts, rather than partisan bluster?

What set off the First Crusade, and what the Chri...

A Couple of Problems with FFRF’s Statement About the North Carolina Shooting

The Freedom From Religion Foundation released a statement this afternoon in response to last night’s tragic shooting of three Muslims by an atheist — which was over a parking dispute, as far as the news reports say, and not over their theological differences, though you wouldn’t know that based on how it’s being reported.

But there are a couple of aspects of FFRF’s press release that bother me and I wanted to explain them here.

First, this line:

We are very sorry to see someone identified as non...

Resistance to “In God We Trust” Display Leads Clark County (Washington) Officials to Reject It

Just days after city council members in Oregon shot down a proposal to put up an “In God We Trust” sign, their neighbors up north have done the same.

In Clark County, Washington, the crowd was overwhelmingly against the religious gesture and the elected officials followed suit:

After hearing about two hours of public testimony — during which about two-thirds of the speakers opposed the controversial proposal — [Councilor Tom] Mielke moved to display the national motto in the meeting room.

Counci...