Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1967

What Are These Pastors Doing to the Minds of These Poor Children?

We’ve seen videos of children falling down due to Benny Hinn-style Christian revivals, but you haven’t seen anything as disturbing as this 8-minute compilation of children being brainwashed:

I feel the same way, kid.

Tell me again how the adults aren’t abusing the minds of these kids?

(Thank to Bo for the link)

Noah’s Ark Theme Park Could Receive More Than $18,000,000 in Tax Breaks from Kentucky Tourism Board

We already know that the folks behind the Creation Museum are working on “Ark Encounter,” a Noah’s Ark-based theme park. Three years ago, they received approval for more than $40,000,000 in possible tax rebates from the Kentucky Tourism Development Finance Authority. It was based on the assumption that the park would break ground within three years and cost around $173,000,000 in total.

But none of that ever happened. Despite Ken Ham‘s debate against Bill Nye, they couldn’t raise enough money for the park to break ground. Now, they’re going back to the Tourism board to request tax breaks just on the first phase of building. It’s $100,000,000 less than the previous estimate and could still lead to more than $18,000,000 in tax incentives:

Ark Encounter is applying to participate in a program that allows eligible tourism attractions a rebate of 25 percent of the sales tax they collect on admission tickets, souvenirs, food and other things over 10 years. For this application the rebates would be as much as $18.25 million.

The incentive program’s rules say that if preliminary approval is granted, the authority would then select a consultant — at Ark Encounter’s expense — to study the project to see if it meets the program’s criteria, including that the project get at least 25 percent of its visitors from out of state after four years and having an overall positive impact on the state budget.

After the consultant’s analysis is complete — a process that takes six to eight weeks — the authority would meet to consider final approval.

Answers in Genesis says this is a mere formality since they got the same approval a few years ago, but Americans United for Separation of Church and State is threatening a lawsuit for good reason: They’re saying the government shouldn’t be giving any rebates to a ministry for a theme park that’s all about evangelizing Christianity:

“It’s a religiously themed project with potentially evangelical overtones, and therefore it would erode the separation of church and state for it to receive any money from the taxpayers,” said Sarah Jones, spokeswoman for the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Asked if the group plans to take the matter to court, Jones said, “I can’t comment about the possibility of any potential legal action.”

AiG says all of that is irrelevant. This is about tourism, pure and simple, and if they’re bringing in revenue for the state, they should be eligible for a rebate. Politicians, including Governor Steve Beshear, seem to be in agreement with them. (AU is waiting for the construction to actually get underway before filing any potential lawsuit.)

Even if the Tourism board approves the rebates, I have my doubts that AiG will raise enough money for this project to be completed. They’re already issuing junk bonds and interest from the Christian crowd seems to be tapped out.

All this over an homage to a fictional boat that might bring in money but will also destroy brain cells. Even for the tourism board, it shouldn’t be worth the tradeoff.

Ken Ham Opposes Space Exploration Because Aliens Aren’t “Saved”? Here’s Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Brief Response

The highlight of Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher had to be the cutaway to Neil deGrasse Tyson during a joke about how Ken Ham doesn’t think we should spend so much money looking for life on other planets since they haven’t been “saved”:

Concise and punchy. I like it.

Let me toss out this theory, though: Given the way Tyson looked at Maher right after the joke, and the way Maher said “Beautiful reading” afterwards, I’m almost certain the teleprompter said “That’s fucked up” but Tyson couldn’t bring himself to say it. He went with the milder choice and the joke hit, but not as hard as it could have. But no one was upset, because it’s Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Registration for Skepticon 7 Is Now Open

The free, massive, amazing Skepticon conference in Springfield, Missouri takes place November 21-23, and registration is now open! (You’ll want to sign up before all the seats fill up, even though there’s no cost.)

Check out the speakers’ list on their site. If you like what you see, please consider kicking in a donation to help offset the costs for the organizers.

Against God’s Will? Pious Lifeguard Unsure Whether to Save Drowning Man (Hint: It’s Satire)

The Onion has the harrowing account of an existential dilemma faced by God-believer Blake Dunphy, a lifeguard who

… found himself mentally shackled by the question of whether to save a swimmer currently thrashing for his life or allow destiny to take its course unfettered.

“Though this man sputters and flails before my eyes and the path to his salvation lies readily before me, the broader question remains: Who am I, a mere earthly being of flesh and blood, to determine whether my fellow man lives or dies?” Dunphy mused, wondering if it was not, ultimately, the hand of fate that placed an inexperienced swimmer in the deep end in the first place.

“Surely a decision of such existential import rests solely on the shoulders of an all-knowing, all-seeing god, which I certainly can’t in good conscience pretend to be.”

Dunphy’s shift ended before he had time to settle on an answer. No word on whether the victim had expired by then.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Peeping Tom Pastoral Candidate was Protected by Mars Hill Leadership, Alleges Former Church Member

More stories of abuses of power by church leadership are coming out of Pastor Mark Driscoll‘s church on the We Love Mars Hill blog. This latest one tells of a pastoral candidate who was a known sex offender, yet protected by the staff from the legal consequences of his crime and allowed to remain in leadership.

From the testimony of “Phillip C”:

After the blow-up with Mr. X I told my wife about his voyeurism. She was alarmed and looked it up. It was a Class C Sexual Felony and if convicted can be sent to prison for up to five years and required to report as a sex offender for ten years after that. This was concerning because he was studying to be a youth pastor and if convicted that goal would likely disappear. We brought the issue up with Pastor R. He told me that they reported it right away. A few weeks later he told me that, actually, it fell through the cracks and they hadn’t reported it yet. Eight months after the crime was revealed to our pastors the victim of the crime had not been notified about what had taken place and the pastors still had not reported it to the authorities.

The story continues:

R then suggested that my wife is very fearful and that’s why she’s having such a strong reaction to the situation. Now, I know my wife and she definitely doesn’t lean towards fearfulness. She was the director for an at-risk youth program in White Center near West Seattle and is trained in de-escalating stressful situations in a professional manner. She is also trained to look for sexual predators and warning signs of abuse and was a mandatory reporter. She refuted R and said that if the church takes the Bible lightly, then she should be alarmed. And that hiding someone who confessed to a sexual felony in a community group should bring forth such a reaction, especially since he was actively seeking out the high school girls from our [community group] to talk with him about starting a youth group.

R thought we were being judgemental and blowing things out of proportion. He suggested that perhaps we were listening to demons. I told him that I believe in demons and angels but we aren’t listening to demons.

The story concludes with Phillip C and his wife leaving Mars Hill over the issue, after the pastors suggested he and his wife were in sin and had issues with authority.

… I mean, yeah, seems like they did. With abusive authority.

As usual, Mars Hill had nothing to say on the matter.

(Image via Shutterstock)

Always Bring a Smartphone to a Church Service

Bob Smietana recently went to church and did what so many atheists I know have done while sitting in the pews: He doubted something the pastor said and decided to look up the truth right then and there:

During the sermon, I stopped listening to the pastor and instead turned my eyes on my cell phone. Something about the story just didn’t sit right — it was too good to be true. So whatever spiritual lesson I was supposed to learn in the sermon was soon overshadowed by the wisdom of a Google search.

…

For me, however, the worst part about bad facts in church — or in religious publications — is that they are so distracting. I come to church to pray, to listen, and to set aside the worries of everyday life and focus on things eternal. Tell me a bad fact and I’m gone, off on a rabbit trail, trying to sort out whether a fact or anecdote is true or not — and missing everything else that the preacher has to say.

He’s a believer, but his experience is exactly how a lot of atheists start getting those seeds of doubt. You hear the pastor say something that’s so obviously untrue — it’s like they didn’t even bother to check Snopes — and then you begin to wonder what other lies he’s inadvertently telling from the pulpit. And then you wonder how everyone nodding in the pews can be so damn gullible. And then you begin doubting, not just the anecdotes, but the Bible stories, too. And then you turn the steering wheel and starting driving toward Hell. (Or something like that.)

Smietana’s solution is one I find really disappointing:

… this Sunday, I’m going to resist temptation. I’ll leave my cell phone at home and pray that the Lord will have a bit of mercy on my fact-checking soul.

*sigh*

I know there’s a reason he’s saying that: It’s not that the truth doesn’t matter to him — just the opposite. It’s that he’s going to church for community and spiritual reasons, not to sort fact from fiction. He’s a journalist. Fact-checking for him means doing work, and he wants to get away from that for an hour or two each week. I get why leaving his phone at home seems like a good idea.

But I hope others resist that temptation. I want people to fact-check the pastors. I want them to understand the pastor doesn’t always care about what’s true or what’s real; he’s just interested in telling a good story. It might make you feel good, but it’s still bullshit. And I want them to realize it’s not just the anecdotes that they make up; it’s the Bible stories, too. (No one ever turns into a pillar of salt. No one comes back from the dead. No one ever ruined everything by eating a piece of fruit. And no one created the world in six days.)

If you have to go to church, bring that phone with you. Look up the facts during the sermon. And then confront your pastor about them afterwards. Let them know you’re actually paying attention and that’s why you can’t take them seriously.

(Image via Shutterstock)

I Made a Big Life Decision the Other Day…

I posted a version of this on my Facebook page yesterday and wanted to share it with readers here, especially those who have been with me since the eBay days.

…

For the past seven years, I’ve taught at a fantastic high school and coached the most talented students you’ll ever meet on our Speech Team. During that time, my other interests also took off. My website, with the help of Patheos, got much bigger than I ever expected. I helped launch a non-profit that is doing incredible work. I wrote my second book and want to explore that world even more. I began filming videos for what has become a popular YouTube channel. And while I’ve said no to several other projects for the sake of time, it’s come to the point where I can’t juggle everything anymore. Something has to give.

So a couple of days ago, I submitted my resignation to the school.

As much as I love being in the classroom, the opportunities online are just a lot greater right now, and I don’t want to have any regrets down the road about not taking this chance while I have it. My wife and family support what I’m doing, and I’m very excited — maybe a little nervous — about what lies ahead. (If the school allows me, I’ll still be coaching Speech in some capacity, but I won’t know if that’s a possibility for a few more weeks.)

I’ve seen a lot of people I admire step away from wonderful traditional jobs in recent years in order to try something new online. After spending years building my own platform, I feel confident that I can do the same thing.

So What if Atheist TV Doesn’t Have Original Programming?

Salon‘s Mary Elizabeth Williams throws some cold water on Atheist TV:

… Atheist TV so far looks a little, well, dry. Writing in the Telegraph, Peter Foster calls the nearly three-minute trailer for the network “bombastic,” and I think he’s being far too kind. There is no mention of what the content itself will be, just clips of prominent atheists and quotes about secularism. And if you want to feature a woman saying, “A lot of people, when they talk about atheism, they see it as such a negative thing, but I view it as very positive,” it doesn’t really sell that idea when there’s super-scary music playing underneath. The melody swells as fireworks explode. Atheism! Now it’s going to be in your house! DUN DUN DUN!

The network is also clearly aiming to take a page from the LGBT community, liberally using the terminology of “coming out” being “fully who we are.” Yes, but LogoTV is fun. Even the Christian Broadcasting has cartoons, and Christian Television Network has a music show. Where’s the atheist game show, “Name That Free Thinker”? Where’s the buddy cop show about two secularists solving crimes using rigorously non-abstract concepts? Where’s the travel show, “America’s Best Godless Sodoms”? Atheist TV so far just promises a “righteous fight” and what I imagine will be every clip of Richard Dawkins in existence. That sounds ominous. Worse — it sounds boring. There’s a difference between ideology and entertainment, and you can’t build a brand only on what you stand in opposition to…

I don’t fault her for seeing it that way. A bunch of atheists talking about God? That’s gonna get old real fast…

Except I’m sure people said that about atheism-themed books, too, and they’re *still* publishing those babies. It’s all about what angle you take and who the mouthpieces are.

Hell, if you told me Christian television was just a bunch of people talking about Jesus, that would sound pretty dull, too. But there are multiple religious channels that manage to find viewers by pitching Christianity in different ways. They all seem to be doing just fine.

Williams is right, though, that Atheist TV’s programming isn’t very original. That’s because it’s not. The content basically consists of American Atheists’ archives and donated YouTube videos (including my own). They’re not spending any money developing game shows, cartoons, or buddy cop comedies. (Though when they do, may I suggest Starsky and Hitch?) The only money spent is whatever Roku requires to manage the content.

Maybe original shows will come eventually. But the point of this channel is to use a different medium to share the same atheist perspective as always. That’s what I like about it. It’s not like our arguments have changed in a really long time. What’s changed are the people talking about it. It’s not just the grey-haired male academics anymore. And you can’t escape the new voices in a visual medium. I want people to see that — and if they’re not already using books, YouTube, or blogs, maybe there’s a chance they’ll hear something interesting via Roku.

The channel launches Tuesday night.

Christian Ministry Suspends Youth Boot Camp Due to Dwindling Numbers, Abuse Allegations, and Financial Mismanagement

Teen Mania’s Honor Academy is suspending operations for this year, based on dwindling attendance and funding. The Christian youth bootcamp, which has been accused of being a hotbed of abuse and financial scandal, has been struggling since the headquarters in Texas was foreclosed on earlier this year.

Founded in 1986, the group’s purpose is as follows:

Today the mission of Teen Mania’s youth ministry is still to provoke a young generation to passionately pursue Jesus Christ and to take his life-giving message to the ends of the earth, and hundreds of thousands of parents, teenagers, church leaders, and ministries from all over North America and around the world have joined Ron and Katie [Luce] in this mission along the way.

According to WORLD Magazine:

The Honor Academy, a year-long program combining work and biblical studies, was once one of Teen Mania’s largest revenue sources, bringing in seven-figure profits in the mid-2000s. During that time, the program approached 1,000 participants per year, but barely more than 100 are currently enrolled, and fewer than 100 enrolled for the coming year.

That might have something to do with the fact that the group is currently on Charity Navigator’s list of top 10 most financially insolvent charities in the U.S. So Teen Mania has suspended the program.

With all the financial issues involved in the death of this ministry group, the obvious next question is: will enrollees get refunded? WORLD reports yes:

Current students each paid $8,400 to participate in the Honor Academy, but that price was scheduled to increase sharply in 2015. Teen Mania employees have told members of an Honor Academy Facebook group that incoming interns who have paid down payments on the coming year will receive full refunds.

One parent confirmed that to WORLD. Scott Green, pastor of First Assembly of God in Natchez, Miss., told me his 18-year-old daughter had been planning to attend the Honor Academy since November 2013 but pulled out last month due to Teen Mania’s instability. His daughter’s account contained more than $6,000 — much of it from donations — and he said Teen Mania refunded “every penny” less than two weeks ago.

Green said his daughter had a backup plan and will begin college next month, but other parents are complaining their students are left without viable education options.

I can only hope that founder Ron Luce will be held not only accountable for the financial ruin of the organization, but also for the abuses that occurred at the academy in God’s name. But perhaps that’s asking too much.