Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1811

What Can Religious People Do to Help Atheists?

The video below, part of The Atheist Voice series, discusses what religious people can do to help atheists.

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 consider supporting this site on Patreon.

If You Can Create a Likable Atheist Character, You Could Win Up to $25,000

Last year, I posted an image created by reader Nick Pisca all about how fictional atheists on television seemed to always be so damn unlikeable:

To be fair, there are some atheists on TV who are genuinely likable, but you could probably count them all on one hand.

Now, the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Center For Inquiry are trying to alleviate that problem. They’re sponsoring a contest in which someone who creates a fictional, likable atheist could win a *lot* of money:

The No God Bu...

Giving God a Pink Slip

Dennis Augustine, a former Pentecostal minister, penned this fantastic termination letter to God:

So this is the end of the road for you as far as I’m concerned. You offer me no value, take credit for work you don’t do and cost too much. I am therefore terminating your position effective immediately and cancelling all contractual obligations between us.

…

If you’re thinking of using me as a reference in the future, don’t bother; I wouldn’t give you a good one. In fact, I’ll tell everyone who ask...

Chicago Just Got Three More Atheist Billboards

Last month, the Chicago chapter of the Freedom From Religion Foundation put up 11 billboards throughout the city featuring local atheists (including myself).

They just added three more billboards to that roster this week. I don’t have hi-res versions of them yet, but here’s a glimpse:

All three will be up for the next four weeks! Their locations, in order, are:

Southwest corner of Pulaski St. and Southwest Hwy. in ChicagoDundee Rd. west of Quentin Rd. in PalatineMannheim St., north of Lake St.,...

Why Won’t Anyone Think About the Rights of Anti-Vaxxers?

The Onion offers some fair and balanced reporting:

The decision to cause a full-blown, multi-state pandemic of a virus that was effectively eliminated from the national population generations ago is my choice alone, and regardless of your personal convictions, that right should never be taken away from a child’s parent. Never.

I prefer this doctor’s approach.

Maybe Jesus Shouldn’t Return After All

Turns out if Jesus actually came back to Earth, people may not be as happy to see him as they think they are…

(via DarkMatter2525)

Religious Bickering Between Loving Parents

Deepak Singh (below) grew up with a Hindu mom and an atheist dad and their conversations — in jest more than in argument — are very entertaining:

“What god are you worshipping today?” he asks my mother every morning.

“What does it matter you?” she responds.

“Make sure you don’t feed all the sweets to Shiva,” he says. “He might get diabetic.”

“You should worry about your own diabetes,” she tells him.

…

Growing up with a pious mother and a nonbeliever father, I didn’t know how to feel about religion....

Conservative Catholic Rick Santorum Sometimes Finds It “Very Difficult to Listen to the Pope”

During an interview earlier this week, Pope Francis reiterated the Church’s opposition to contraception, but noted that people should not feel that they have to reproduce “like rabbits.”

Former Senator Rick Santorum, it turns out, was not at all pleased to hear that comment.

Santorum was on conservative host Hugh Hewitt‘s radio program when asked what his thoughts were on the topic, and his response was not one you might expect from a devout Catholic:

Well, I mean, it’s sometimes very difficult...

I Love How This Hospital Thanked a Group of Atheists for Donating Gifts to Patients

Last month, as part of their “War on Christmas” campaign, the Minnesota Atheists donated two carloads worth of toys and gifts to patients at the Children’s Hospital of Minnesota.

Group President Eric Jayne just got a thank you note from the hospital. It reads like a typical form letter until you get to the second paragraph…

… Your philanthropic gift, in support of the Child Life Program, makes a significant difference in the lives of our patients and their families.

Please accept our heartfelt a...

Why the French Embrace “Freedom From Religion” and Distrust “Community” — And Why That’s a Problem

In France, laicité, or secularism, is a big deal. Public Radio International’s Daniel Estrin, an American who has relatives in France and likes to spend time there, observes

… that we [come]from starkly different societies. If the U.S. enshrinedfreedom of religion, France seemed to be embracing freedomfromreligion. People’s religious affiliations should not be present at all in the public sphere,my cousins said.

When Estrin (pictured below) joined his cousins for thehistoricmarch in Paris on Ja...