Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1798
February 8, 2015
There’s a Religious Message in This Magic Trick… I Think
David Hira found a way to make unimpressive magic even worse: he turned it into a strange demonstration of God’s love.
Well, I definitely nodded along when he said “let’s pretend” and “imagine that with me.” It’s not like we have a better option…
(via Christian Nightmares)
So That’s What Happened To God’s Plentiful Blessings
Science for the win, courtesy of the Onion:
[A]study released Thursday by the University of Texas Department of Astronomy found that the majority of blessings from God burn up while passing through Earth’s atmosphere. “We discovered that due to the thickness and density of the gases surrounding our planet, 80 percent of God’s graces will completely disintegrate by the time they are about 75 to 100 kilometers away from the surface,” said professor Donald Northcote, adding that his team’s observ...
Pope Francis OKs Parents Smacking Children, Provided “Dignity” Is Maintained
Parenting wisdom from aformer nightclub bouncer with no sex life, no kids, and no child-rearing experience.
Pope Francis says it is OK to smack your children to discipline them — as long as their dignity is maintained. Francis made the remarks this week during his weekly general audience, which was devoted to the role of fathers in the family. He outlined the traits of a good father — one who forgives but is able to “correct with firmness” while not discouraging the child.
The pope said: “One t...
Muslim Leader Is Pissed Over Interfaith Campaign That Shows a Muslim Woman Saying “I Love Hindus”
Expressing loveis dangerous, subversive stuffto some believers.
An “I’m Muslim, I love Hindus” campaign by the Young Interfaith Peacemaker Community of Indonesia (YIPCI) is a veiled attempt at pushing for religious equality in Muslim-majority Malaysia,Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (ISMA) has alleged.
‘Causefuck religious equality, right?
ISMA information chief Mohd Hazizi Ab Rahman took issue with a photograph of a YIPCI representative, who appears to be a Muslim female clad in a headscarf, holding u...
February 7, 2015
Parenting Without God Isn’t Just a Good Option It’s Increasingly Looking Like the Better One
Last month, an op-ed about secular parenting by Phil Zuckerman, author and Pitzer College professor of Sociology and Secular Studies, was published in the LA Times. In the piece, Zuckerman discusses his own and other researchers’ work, in measuring the success, or lack thereof, of raising kids to be “good without God.”
And the results seem to indicate the secular community is doing as good a job, and in some measures possibly a better job, than their peers.
The results of such secular child-rea...
This Jesus Impersonator Gets Voluntarily Crucified, With Real Nails, Year After Year
All hail Rolando Ocampo. He’s a carpenter,which isperfect for a Jesus imitator. Every year at Easter, Rolando gets tied to a cross, then has actual nails driven through the palms of his hands. He’s been doing it since 1990, which means thatthis year is Rolando’s silver crucifixion anniversary.
Of course, the comparisonsonly go so far. Rolando is only up on the cross for minutes, not days. Thenails, disinfected in alcohol,are placed so they damage no nerves, muscles, or bones, and theydon’t act...
Christian Writer Advises Women to Leave Porn-Viewing “Addict” Boyfriends
Kevin Kukla at prolife365.com has a very important message for women: if your boyfriend watches porn, he’s “addicted” and you should dump him as soon as possible.
Now this might seem like just another odious facet of fundamentalist Christianity’s repressive views on sexuality, but Kukla’s reasons are so compelling that he’s bound to sway people.
Under his first point — that a porn-viewing man is “self-consumed” — he begins:
Face it. A man who views porn likely displays traits you would find unde...
From Good Samaritan To Accused Liar: Virginia Pastor Made Up Robbery By Black Man, Investigators Say
On Thursday, Virginia pastor George Hunley told policehe’d been shot and robbed after he pulled over to help another motorist. The local news was calling him a Good Samaritan. Within a day, police were calling him something else: a liar.
Nothing about Hunley’s story adds up, the investigating officers in Louisa, Virginia say. His wallet and other valuables he was supposedly robbed of were found in the car he says he drove himself home in, butthe vehicle didn’t yield a single drop of fresh bloo...
Atheist Who Spent a Decade Behind Bars Talks About the Flourishing of Fringe Religions in Jail
Last year, we learned that Daniel Genis, who had been sent to jail for committing a series of armed robberies, was bartering with his fellow prisoners. If they wanted money from him, all he asked for in return was… their souls.
It was all in good fun — until he was charged with “unauthorized exchange” and sentenced to 90 days in solitary confinement.
Now, in a piece for the Washington Post, Genis reflects on the flourishing of religion, especially fringe versions of it, in prison:
The incarcerat...
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