Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1801

On BBC TV, Christian Says Humanists Are Debauched and Their Weddings Are “Demonic,” Then Throws in… Pol Pot

U.K. Christian and founder of the group Discuss Jesus Taiwo Adewuyiis radically opposed toHumanists, he

Adewuyi is disturbed that Humanist officiants have been asking the government for the right to performmarri...

Atheist Billboard in Australia Reads: “Have You Escaped Religion? We Have!”

They know how to ruffle some feathers Down Under.

A new billboard in Sydney (Australia) put up by the Sydney Atheists and the Atheist Foundation of Australia holds little back in its portrayal of religion as something you may need to “escape” from:

Most of the members of Sydney Atheists once belonged to a religion. With the benefit of a comprehensive and usually critical education, particularly in the areas of science, history, geography, philosophy and religion we have discovered the fallacies...

It’s Alive! Buddhists Insist That 19th-Century Mummified Monk Is Only Meditating

Let’s call this archeological find in Mongolia the Norwegian Blue mummy. Beautiful plumage, innit?

Scientists in Mongolia are examining a 200-year mummified monk who some Buddhists believe is still alive because he is in a deep meditative trance.

Possibly he’s just… resting. Or stunned. Or pining for the fjords. See for yourself:

The preserved body of the monk, sitting in the cross-legged lotus position, was discovered last week, covered in cattle skin, in the Songino Khairkhan district of the c...

A Rebuttal to the Fine-Tuning Argument

The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, offers a rebuttal to the fine-tuning argument. (Note: We had a couple of microphone glitches, so the sound is strange in a couple of sections.)

A rough transcript of the video can be found on the YouTube page in the “About” section.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the project — more videos will be posted soon — and we’d also appreciate your suggestions as to which questions we ought to tackle next!

And if you like what you’re seeing, please c...

Conservative Writer Predicts Hellfire for Big Bang Theory Star Set to Play God on Broadway

Last week, Hemant wrote that Jim Parsons (below), best known for his role as Dr. Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, was going to play God in a Broadway adaptation of The Last Testament. He had noted at the time that it probably wouldn’t sit well with Christian conservatives.

Michael Cantrell, writer for the website Young Conservatives, seems to be eager to illustrate the truth of that prediction. In a piece entitled “Big Bang Theory Star Just Made A TON Of Christians Very Angry” — that act...

Texas Elementary School Suspends Student for “Terroristic Threat” Involving Lord of the Rings Magic

A student from Kermit Elementary school (in Texas) discovered last Friday what we Tolkien nerds have long known: the One Ring to Rule them All is no laughing matter. Unfortunately, nine-year-old Aiden Steward learned it in rather an absurd fashion, after he was suspended for making a “terroristic threat” to make a classmate disappear with his magic ring.

Steward’s father, Jason, notes that the family had recently watched the final movie from Peter Jackson‘s The Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of Fi...

Dennis Markuze, Who Threatened Atheists Online for Years, Will Be Sentenced Tomorrow

In 2011, the notorious death-threat-spewing, non-sensical-phrasing, email/Twitter spammer Dennis Markuze (a.k.a. David Mabus) was finally arrested. (Skeptic Tim Farley brilliantly documented all the drama.)

Dennis Markuze (image via Tessa Brown)

Markuze pled guilty to making the threats, spent months in drug/alcohol rehab, and received a suspended sentence of 18 months, during which he had to refrain from “participating in a social network, blog and discussion forum.”

And then, in November of 20...

Pornographer Turned Speechifying Christian Is Jailed for Repeated Sexual Assaults On Minors

No demographicin America seems to love porn more than conservative Christians do. But theyalso love it when a pornographer turns tail, so to speak, abandoning the commercialization of sex for a life of piety and preaching. Such was the career path of Donny Pauling Jr., a pastor’s son who made dirty movies from1997 until 2006, when hebecame a Christian. Not only that; Pauling also began speaking outagainst the ruination that he said befalls porn workers; those people need prayers, he implored,...

If Republicans Pass This Bill, There Will Soon Be State-Sponsored Religious Discrimination in Indiana

Indiana’s Senate just passed legislation that would allow state funding to go to organizations that discriminate in hiring on the basis of religion.

Senate Bill 127, sponsored by State Sen. Travis Holdman (below), comes in response to money being rescinded from a state university because of its employment standards:

… Indiana Wesleyan University — which insists its employees only be Christian and follow a lifestyle mandate barring smoking, drinking, homosexuality, adultery, gossip, pornography,...

China Announces It Will Crack Down on “Religious Addicts” Trying To Enter the Party

It’s just not a real party until you throw out the religious addicts, amirite?

But seriously: For all its political and economic progress ofthe last 20 years, China is still dishearteninglyuncomfortable with freedom of conscience and freedom of speech.Every once in a while, Beijing’s bureaucracyexperiences a revolutionary spasm that seems like a throwback to the Mao days. Take this:

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has barred religious believers from joining the Party, declaring that it will s...