Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1805
January 31, 2015
This is What a Protest Looks Like Outside a Psychic Demonstration
The other day, I posted about a protest some skeptics held outside an event featuring television “psychic” John Edward — better known as the Crossing Over guy.
Susan Gerbic
John Gaffney
There’s now video of that protest which gives you a much better sense of what happened. Definitely worth checking out:
(Images courtesy of the Investigation Network)
Canadian City Council Replaces Lord’s Prayer with Generic Invocation and Christians Freak Out
The city of Brampton (near Toronto, Ontario) opens its meetings with this invocation:
We gather today to reaffirm our commitment of service to our City and the people who live here. Give to each member of this council a strong and abiding sense of the great responsibilities laid upon us. Guide us here in our deliberations. Give us a deep and thorough understanding of the needs of the people we serve. Help us to use power wisely and well. Inspire us to decisions which establish and maintain a c...
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Says Christian Law Students Can’t Be Punished for Attending Anti-Gay School
For more than a year now, I’ve been writing about a proposed new law school in British Columbia affiliated with (Christian) Trinity Western University where gay students who acted on their sexual orientation would not be allowed through the doors:
Several law societies have said graduates of that school would not be allowed to practice law in their respective provinces. Personally, that argument never made sense to me. I believe that, like private Christian schools in the United States, Trinit...
This Christian Radio Station Airs Public School Children Saying the Pledge and No One’s Complained… Until Now
We know it’s hard for students, especially young ones, to remain seated during the Pledge of Allegiance. They’re pressured to stand up and say it. And that’s an ethical problem even if it’s not a legal one.
But surely this is undeniably coercive: A Christian radio station (89.3 KSBJ in Houston, Texas) is going to local public schools “to record classrooms and groups saying the Pledge of Allegiance.” They feature the kids on air and give each one a “KSBJ certificate for showing their patriotism...
A Christian Right Group Wants to Undo a Bedrock of Church/State Separation
For more than 40 years, courts have decided whether a certain action violates the principle of church/state separation by applying the Lemon Test. There are three parts to it:
1) The statute must not result in an “excessive government entanglement” with religious affairs.
2) The statute must not advance or inhibit religious practice
3) The statute must have a secular legislative purpose.
That’s it. It’s that simple. If any of those three prongs are violated, the statute is considered unconstituti...
Suspected Serial Killer of 20 Victims, Now in Custody, Says God Instructed Him To “Cut Off Children’s Heads”
A suspected serial killer of children, apprehended in Ivory Coast, said he killedon God’s instructions. DrissaCoulibaly is thought to have been responsible for the hacking deaths of possibly dozens of children over a span of just months. He has confessed to three of the murders so far (though some reports say he laterwithdrewhis formal confession).
From AFP:
“The man came out with a machete. I fell down. He started to hack at me.” Little Souleymane was in shock, but he survived, unlike many vic...
“The Belief Book” Teaches Children About Religion from an Atheist Perspective
Any atheist parents out there may want to check out this new children’s book about religion written by David G McAfee and illustrated by Chuck Harrison. It’s called The Belief Book (with the emphasis on “lie”) and it walks children through what religion is and why people believe in it:
I had a chance to look through the book and I think a lot of you will enjoy it. It’s very blunt — which will certainly annoy any religious reader — but that’s also what’s so refreshing about it. We’re not used t...
South Carolina Legislator Asks Potential Judges for Their Views on Gays, Guns, and God Before He Can Vote for Them
Newly-elected South Carolina state Rep. Jonathon Hill (below) has a few questions he’d like potential judges to answer before he can vote to confirm them.
Simple questions, really.
He just wants to make sure they’re conservative and Christian. Otherwise, I’m not sure what he’s doing asking them any of these things:
2. What religious or community organizations are you actively involved in, if any?
…
10. Will you make prayer and religious displays (such as the Ten Commandments) a part of your court?...
Atheist Groups Around the World Have Formed a Coalition To Eliminate Blasphemy Laws Everywhere
It is always heartening to see secular groups working together and this is a perfect cause. A new coalition announced yesterday, called the End Blasphemy Laws Campaign, will aim to (you guessed it) eliminate blasphemy laws everywhere. And, as you can see in the map below, those laws are in effect in much of the world:
Spearheaded by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) and the European Humanist Federation, the End Blasphemy Laws Campaign will represent 200 humanist and secular o...
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