Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1893

Suspect in Ten Commandments Monument Vandalism Case Taken to Mental Health Facility

Yesterday, less than 24 hours after someone drove a car into the Ten Commandments monument on the Oklahoma Capitol lawn, police had a suspect in hand.

Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma (via James Nimmo)

The suspect has been identified as Michael Tate Reed Jr., 29. He is from Roland and was taken to Oklahoma County mental facility for an emergency order of detention and a mental evaluation.

The suspect said Satan told him to do it, Secret Service officials said. He also reportedly said he would kill President Obama and spit on a photo of Obama. The suspect also allegedly admitted that he urinated on the Ten Commandments monument before running it over.

I’m (selfishly) grateful that it wasn’t an atheist hell-bent on getting some weird sort of revenge, though in the eyes of the ignorant public, someone who believes in Satan is pretty much the same as an atheist, anyway…

There’s also reason to believe he’s not a Satanist at all, but a churchgoer. Take this with a huge grain of salt, but one of the commenters at News9.com claims to know him well and says:

He’s not [a Satanist]. There has been a lot more things going on than what this story tells… Until anyone knows him personally like my family and I do then anything can be said and misinterpreted. He was very active in his church. Just because a reporter, who is basically taking what someone else said about him, puts it in a story….doesn’t mean he is. Until you can speak to him, live in his shoes, and see and know what his family and friends do… You wouldn’t call him a satanist.

Reed’s own mother echoed those comments, saying he “loves his God” and “takes the Ten Commandments very seriously.”

In any case, there are clearly more serious issues at play here and I hope Reed gets the help he needs.

It’s not like we were going to be able to avoid the “we’re oppressed” claims from a certain group of Christians, anyway. To quote something posted on JT Eberhart‘s site:

If [the suspect's an] Atheist then it’s an attack on Christianity. If he’s Satanist then it’s an attack on Christianity. If he’s Christian then he’s not a “real Christian”. There’s no way this would be spun where it wouldn’t feed into the persecution complex.

That’s why the best thing we can do right now — maybe the only thing — is denounce this action unequivocally.

The Satanic Temple — still fighting to get their own statue on the Capitol grounds — did just that yesterday, issuing a statement decrying the vandalism, distancing themselves from Reed, and declaring that their own fight would only continue if the Ten Commandments monument went back up:

… As of this writing all that seems to be known of the culprit, now in custody, is that he is bi-polar, claims to have been motivated by voices in his head, and he allegedly identifies himself as a Satanist. Expressing concern for the individual’s apparent mental illness, TST spokesperson, Lucien Greaves, also wasted no time in assuring the public that such rogue, destructive actions enjoy no support whatsoever from the Temple.

Greaves states, “The Satanic Temple was appalled to learn of the act of destructive vandalism laid upon the 10 Commandments monument in Oklahoma today. As many are aware, we are seeking to have a Satanic monument erected alongside the 10 Commandments — and only alongside the 10 Commandments. We do not want our monument to stand alone. If our monument stands at the state Capitol, we want it to compliment and contrast the 10 Commandments, with both standing unmolested as a testament to American religious freedom and tolerance. We hope that by respecting religious liberty in allowing our monument to be displayed, Oklahoma will help ameliorate any animosity between differing perspectives, not cultivate them.”

“Ever since we began construction on our statue of Baphomet, we have received many angry letters from self-identified Christians who have sworn to destroy our monument immediately following its erection. We have also received no small amount of letters of support from self-identified Christians who approve of our efforts to assert our American Constitutional values of religious liberty. Zealots, acting under the label of any religion, are zealots just the same, and we hope everyone realizes how crass and deplorable even the suggestion of actions, such as that witnessed today, are. Reports currently maintain that the culprit was acting at the behest of voices in his head, and his actions seem to be a product of personal disturbance. Vandalism finds no support within the Satanic community.”

“To be clear, The Satanic Temple will not seek to erect its monument unless the 10 Commandments is restored. Oklahoma City has the option to wait until the ACLU’s case regarding the legal status of the 10 Commandments is resolved before it permits its replacement. However, if the 10 Commandments is immediately reconstructed, our monument will be ready for unveiling quite soon.”

Again, none of this will stop politicians and Christian conservatives from playing the victim card, but it shouldn’t stop us from taking the moral high ground.

UC Berkeley Students Are Protesting Bill Maher’s Upcoming Commencement Speech, Claiming He’s a “Bigot and Racist”

It’s the Ayaan Hirsi Ali controversy all over again…

This time, comedian Bill Maher was invited to deliver the commencement address at University of California, Berkeley’s winter graduation ceremony.

And students have already started a petition to stop him from speaking there:

Bill Maher is a blatant bigot and racist who has no respect for the values UC Berkeley students and administration stand for. In a time where climate is a priority for all on campus, we cannot invite an individual who himself perpetuates a dangerous learning environment. Bill Maher’s public statements on various religions and cultures are offensive and his dangerous rhetoric has found its way into our campus communities. Too many students are marginalized by his remarks and if the University were to bring this individual as a commencement speaker they would not be supporting these historically marginalized communities.

More than 1,000 signers and counting… because Maher’s jokes and commentaries about religion hit them a little too hard. And because they don’t know what “racist” means.

To be clear, just like Hirsi Ali and Sam Harris, Maher criticizes Islam as an ideology and not Muslims as people. He opposes violence in the name of religion and faith as a virtue. He has invited moderate Muslim reformers on his show before because he wants to see them cause change from the inside. But, you know, he dares to suggest that there’s a link between Islam and the terrorists who claim to follow Islam… and these Berkeley students can’t deal with that.

There’s just no way Maher has created a “dangerous learning environment” by pointing out the problems with religion and those who follow it a little too devoutly. (Hell, he’s made fun of atheists, too.) If you see Maher as a threat, it’s only because you can’t defend your beliefs in a public forum.

I would be far more sympathetic if they were protesting Maher because of his opposition to flu shots, not his criticism of religion.

So far, Berkeley officials haven’t said anything about the petition and there’s no indication they plan to rescind the invitation.

I reached out to the Berkeley Atheists and Skeptics Society to see where they, as a group, stand on the issue. Let’s hope they don’t walk down the same irresponsible path as the Yale Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics who joined religious groups in their opposition to Hirsi Ali.

(Image via s_bukley / Shutterstock.com)

Watch Matt Dillahunty Explain Appeals to Faith

In the next video for his Atheist Debates project, Matt Dillahunty explains appeals to faith — specifically, how do you respond to someone who says, “You just have to have faith”?

I haven’t had a chance to watch the whole thing yet, but if any moments stand out, please leave the timestamp/summary in the comments!

Now That’s a Letter-to-the-Editor!

It’s been a while since I’ve seen a letter-to-the-editor that I had to read multiple times just to take it all in… but this one in the Idaho Press-Tribune is just a classic in the making:

My opinion is on everything in general these days. This has promoted me to say how I think things will be in the long run.

An old man who has an opinion on everything?! I like where this is going…

My first opinion is, until we get together and vote all of our congressmen who have been in office more than two terms, be limited to only two terms, like our president is.

A little weirdly-worded… but okay. That’s fine. Moving on.

My next opinion is about this same-sex marriage thing. To me there is nothing to really worry about, because years ago there was a book called the Bible that takes care of their problem once and for all. It tells me how great it will be in heaven, where we won’t have these blank people to be bothered with.

That’s some good old-fashioned Christian bigotry right there… How does the Bible take care of “their problem”? And did he really write “blank people”? And are celibate gay people prohibited from going to Heaven, too?

Help me understand!

My last comment is those who claim to be atheist. Those people don’t even know which side of bread to put butter on.

Umm… the bottom side. (Do I win?)

I’ve been around over 90-plus years and have never seen an atheist in a foxhole.

That’s probably the glaucoma talking.

Gene Rutan, Nampa

Keep writing those letters, Gene.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Speaking in Tongues: It’s Now a Cure for Ebola

Kenneth Copeland knows exactly how to cure the “murderous demon virus” Ebola.

And it involves speaking Dothraki in tongues (at the 13:45 mark):

The spirit life in Ebola must bow its knee to the name of Jesus! [Gibberish]

I’m sure the demon-infested Ebola is shaking in its boots.

By the way, these people vote.

(via Right Wing Watch)

This Porn Star Became a Christian Evangelist After Reaching Real Ecstasy With Jesus

She had sex on-camera with a hundred women (not all at once, I think) and appeared with barely a shred of clothing in Hustler and Penthouse.

These days, using the title “Porn Again Christian,” Teresa Carey sells wet dreams of a different kind, preaching religious surrender and salvation to audiences that include church groups and student gatherings.

Mysterious ways!

“I’m Not a Scientist” Is Not an Excuse to Believe in Nonsense

David Shiffman, a University of Miami Ph.D. Student, has an article up on Slate about the “I’m not a scientist” line, and it’s very much worth reading.

As you’re most likely aware, “I’m not a scientist” is something politicians often say when they’re asked for their positions on topics like climate change, evolution, etc. They use the line so frequently, it’s practically become a punchline:

Calling it a “dangerous cop-out,” Shiffman makes the case that it is simply a “cowardly” and “exasperating evasion” from the very people who devote their lives to attaining positions that enable them to address such pressing matters.

In practice, it’s an excuse that only ever seems to be applied when a politician either holds a demonstrably false belief and fears ridicule or the loss of votes for expressing it, or is afraid that espousing a factually accurate belief would hurt them. (For instance, see Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal‘s refusal to comment on whether or not he accepts evolution, despite being a biology major who wants his kids to learn evolution.)

The politicians who try to sidestep difficult topics with this line are almost never suggesting that we actually listen to the experts — the scientists who overwhelmingly tell us that evolution happened, climate change is real, etc. They’re simply avoiding the question or prefacing some denial of fact with an “I’m not a scientist, but…”

And this absurdity is not, Shiffman points out, found in other areas in which politicians are equally ignorant. For example, he asks,

Do [these politicians] have opinions on how to best maintain our nation’s highways, bridges, and tunnels — or do they not because they’re not civil engineers? Do they refuse to talk about agriculture policy on the grounds that they’re not farmers? How do they think we should be addressing the threat of ISIS? They wouldn’t know, of course; they’re not military generals.

The same people who can’t admit to the scientific consensus on life’s origins because they’re not scientists have no problem commenting on (and limiting) women’s healthcare despite not being physicians.

Unfortunately, this seems to now be the go-to line for every politician who wants to open the door to “alternatives” to evolution or get around climate data. Shiffman suggests this stems from anti-intellectualism:

… the belief that the common sense of the average man on the street is equal to or greater than the expert knowledge of people who spend years studying a particular question…

I think he’s on the right track with this. Even among those Creationists, for instance, who attempt a façade of sciencey-ness, this is painfully obvious. It doesn’t matter what facts you might have to contradict Creationist wishful thinking; it just doesn’t “make sense.” How could men come from monkeys if there are still monkeys around? And if life evolved from the ocean, did mankind have gills before we came out of the sea? If the banana happened by chance, how come it has a convenient pull tab and is perfectly suited to the human hand? And if a tree falls in the woods, but no one’s there to hear it, did dinosaurs really turn into birds?

Okay, the last one’s not real. But the others are all questions or types of questions that Creationists pose with disturbing regularity. To Shiffman’s point, these appeals to “common sense” as being more informative and reliable than in-depth study and research are the fuel that feeds the “I’m not a scientist” fire. Because the answer is never about the individual’s lack of knowledge — otherwise, they would simply cede the argument to the experts). It’s nothing more than a cover to embrace scientifically unsound belief.

Last Night, Someone Drove a Car Into Oklahoma’s Controversial Ten Commandments Monument

For a couple of years now, there’s been a Ten Commandments monument outside the Oklahoma Capitol building:

Ten Commandments monument in Oklahoma (via James Nimmo)

We’ve been talking about it quite a bit on this site for a couple of reasons. 1) It was the subject of a lawsuit by the ACLU of Oklahoma, which said it was unconstitutional and 2) The Satanic Temple made nationwide headlines when they said they wanted to donate a monument of their own to be placed in the same area.

Last we heard, a judge had dismissed the ACLU’s lawsuit (and the Satanist group’s monument was never erected due to a moratorium on additional displays).

Now, the story gets worse. Last night, someone drove a car onto the Capitol lawn and took down the Christian monument:

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. George Brown says the person drove into the monument on the statehouse steps Thursday night, abandoned the vehicle and fled. Brown says the vehicle was impounded and authorities are searching it for evidence.

Goddammit. Christians don’t need more reasons to feel persecuted. I hope atheists had nothing to do with this, but I fear the worst. So far, there are no suspects or motives. (***Edit***: There was a typo in this paragraph earlier. Sorry!)

The ACLU issued this statement earlier today:

To see the Ten Commandments desecrated by vandals is highly offensive to them as people of faith. Our Oklahoma and Federal Constitutions seek to create a society in which people of all faiths and those of no faith at all can coexist as equals without fear of repressions from the government or their neighbors. Whether it is politicians using religion as a political tool or vandals desecrating religious symbols, neither are living up to the full promise of our founding documents.

I hope they catch whoever did this. I want that monument gone from the Capitol, but this isn’t the way I wanted to see it go. If anything, it’ll just give state officials more of a motivation to erect another, bigger Christian display.

More updates as they come.

(Thanks to Brian for the link. Portions of this article were published earlier)

Alabama High School Football Team Performs Baptisms on the Field After Practice

I’ll never understand why some Christians, clearly breaking the law, choose to do so publicly. When you break the rules, you shouldn’t be bragging about it on social media or the Internet.

Yet that’s what the Freedom From Religion Foundation claims is happening in the Russellville City Schools (in Alabama).

Like the football team’s (alleged) chaplain Tanner Hall who baptized players after practice earlier this month, a ritual that was documented on Twitter (by the school’s athletic director) and Facebook:

And like the teachers whose school-approved websites feature plenty of religious references.

I will say that the teachers’ websites don’t bother me very much. They’re not proselytizing so much as telling people what inspires them. (Saying that you “pray that [Jesus'] love is shown to my students through me” doesn’t suggest to me there’s anything illegal happening in the classroom.) More troubling is one teacher’s promotion of the Christian club she sponsors, but even that seems pretty mild.

The baptisms, on the other hand, are a huge problem:

First, it is illegal for a public school to organize, sponsor, or lead religious activity at public high school athletic events. It is also inappropriate for a public school to offer religious leaders unique access to befriend and proselytize students. Accordingly, public high school football teams cannot appoint or employ a chaplain, seek out a spiritual leader for the team, or agree to have a volunteer team chaplain, because public schools may not advance or promote religion.

…

… Such sponsorship of religion is especially problematic in the context of athletics given the pressure players feel to conform to what coaches expect of them so as not to affect their playing time or lose favor with the coaches.

The school’s athletic director Mark Heaton attempted to explain why the baptisms were perfectly fine:

Heaton confirmed there were three baptisms after practice on Oct. 2, two of them being players and one of which was Heaton’s 37-year-old brother.

“This was something that the students came to me and told me they wanted to do,” Heaton said.

“Neither of these kids had a home church, and they had accepted Christ and wanted to be baptized in front of their teammates who also shared their faith and wanted to be there to support them.

“This wasn’t school-sanctioned. This was something these students wanted to do, and I believe it was important to let them do this because these kids are going through a very important part of their lives. They are searching for something to believe in, and as adults we are put here to guide these children. When these kids came to me with this request to be baptized with their teammates, I felt like it was important to support them.

“We are going to be here for our kids regardless of the decisions they make, good or bad, but there are so many bad decisions made today by young people that it’s important to support the good decisions they make.”

Heaton says the event wasn’t school-sanctioned, but it took place on the field, right after practice, and the players were all in their uniforms. Heaton even tweeted the pictures. Given his additional comments about how this was a “good decision,” it’s completely reasonable to think this school promotes Christianity.

The district superintendent says Tanner Hall isn’t even the “team chaplain”… which, to me, is even more disturbing than if he was, since that just makes him a random adult (who probably hasn’t had a district-required background check) joining the team after practice:

Russellville City School Superintendent Rex Mayfield said on Thursday that the team doesn’t have a chaplain and that the school has never authorized an official position for a chaplain for the team.

“There may have been people who referred to Tanner Hall as the team’s chaplain, but that isn’t an official position, paid or volunteer, and never has been,” Mayfield said.

This isn’t the worst case I’ve ever seen of religion-promotion in public schools, but the district is showing a serious lack of oversight on the issue. Administrators are letting teachers write whatever they want on their websites and allowing random strangers to baptize players after football practice while the team watches. I suspect there won’t be a lawsuit, but it’ll be interesting to see how the district responds to the allegations.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)

Would Any Augusta (GA) Readers Like to Go to a Faith-Healing Show… and Tell Us What It Was Like?

It’s free, and it’s a spectacle you won’t soon forget.

Many have testified and been healed from incurable diseases Cancer, HIV, and many have walked out of wheelchairs and crutches, canes after Apostle Ssali has prayed for them.

October 24th & 25th 2014 7pm nightly.

That’s tonight and tomorrow night. I’m dying to be there, but Hemant and I, being dwellers of the North, will have to let an Augusta-area reader do the honors.

How could you not want to be a witness to this?

The flyer reads, in part:

“Apostle Ssali prayed for people who had flat feet to receive an arch. A few seconds later, God supernaturally formed an arch in my feet!”

“God canceled 208,000.00 of debt on my mortgage after foreclosure on my home.”

“God healed me from stage four brain cancer. After the doctor gave me 6 months to live.

“After prayer, God changed my old gray hairs into a beautiful golden brown color. Moreover, I lost 42 pounds supernaturally.”

My favorite:

“God restored my uterus to its original place.”

The announcement at EventBrite is less grammatically sound but just as fascinating.

A City on the move and loves to have a good time and see new things, then what better place to come to experience the Power of God and see firsthand, healings taking place. If you are sick or know anyone sick in their body and needs a Miracle or you want to come and be in a heavenly atmosphere then this is the place for you … , don’t miss your Miracle! Power Evangelism Ministries and its Founder Apostle Ronald Ssali have been to the Augusta area each of the last 12 years coming each year to demonstrate the Power of God and set the captives free. Many have been healed, delivered and set free from incurable diseases, drugs, depression, and much more in Jesus name. This is a life changing event that will set your heart of fire for God!

Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center Address: 2 Tenth Street Augusta Georgia 30901 USA Date: October 24th & 25th 2014 Friday & Saturday Time: 7:00PM Admission: Free Speaker: Apostle Ronald Ssali

The power of Apostle Ssali is not to be underestimated; he can even raise the dead.

If you’d like to be Friendly Atheist’s eyes and ears tonight and/or tomorrow night, we’d be honored. Indicate in the comments if you intend to go. Then, while in the presence of the Mighty Ssali, take copious notes, keep your camera rolling, and let us know what you experienced.