Hemant Mehta's Blog, page 1970

Kickstarter-Backed Indestructible Bible Uses “Space Age Nanotechnology”

You know how your Bible is constantly falling into the ocean, dripping with paint, and getting run over by cars?

I know, I know. Me too. Accidents, I swear.

But don’t worry! There’s now an indestructible Bible on Kickstarter:

Waterproof. Dirt-proof. Tear-proof. Virtually indestructible. It’s the first Bible in history built (and guaranteed) to last FOREVER.

…

For centuries, publishers have printed the Bible with impeccable detail, using the highest quality papers and leather. We are continuing that tradition by printing the Bible with the very best materials that exist today. Using Space Age nanotechnology, we are able to print the Bible on an advanced paper that doesn’t use any trees, is 24X stronger than regular paper, and is completely waterproof, dirt-proof, tear-proof, and otherwise life-proof. The Forever Bible even floats in water, while keeping your notes and highlighted passages pristine.

Huh. I guess the least resilient thing about this Bible is its actual content.

(Also, in a twist that could have only happened with the help of Jesus, they’re already selling the Bibles at a separate site before reaching their Kickstarter goal! It’s a miracle!)

Let’s hope someone doesn’t make a indestructible Koran. Next thing you know, people will put it to the test to find out whether you can rip its pages or set it on fire and then all hell will break loose.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)

Atheist TV Launch is Less Than a Week Away

American Atheists just posted this promotional video for their atheism-themed Roku channel. The premiere is Tuesday night:

There’s no word yet on what the TV schedule will look like but we’ll find that out soon enough.

(via The Telegraph)

Humanists Hold Congressional Briefing on the Need for Non-Religious Military Chaplains

Earlier today, the American Humanist Association held a congressional briefing about the need for Humanist chaplains in the military.

Speakers included Jason Torpy (President of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers), Stephen Boyd (retired colonel and military chaplain), and Major Ryan Jean (current military member):

(from left to right) Maggie Ardiente (moderator), Jason Torpy, Rev. Stephen Boyd, and Major Ryan Jean

Given that Jason Heap was recently rejected from becoming a Navy chaplain despite having impeccable credentials, this briefing couldn’t have come at a better time.

More than 50 congressional staffers came to the event to hear why this issue is so important to so many people:

Stated Major Ryan Jean, “I am living proof that there is an active population of humanists in the service now. The chaplaincy corps’ purpose is to facilitate the free exercise of all military members.”

With over 13,000 active duty personnel identifying as atheists or agnostics, nontheist soldiers outnumber all non-Christian faiths in the military. Over 276,000 service members also identify as having no religious preference. Despite the growing number of nontheists in the military, all applications for humanist chaplains have so far been rejected.

“It is imperative that Congress address the unmet needs of humanist soldiers, who endure the stresses of combat and sacrifice so much for their country,” said Maggie Ardiente, director of communications for the American Humanist Association and moderator for the briefing. “These service members would benefit greatly from the confidential guidance and comfort provided by a chaplain who understands humanism and shares their belief.”

When Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced legislation in the House last year that would approve Humanist chaplains, it was defeated by a vote of 274-150.

The hope from this briefing is that, if similar legislation were introduced again, more members of Congress would vote in favor of it. However, there are no plans right now to re-introduce that legislation.

(Image via the AHA. Portions of this article were posted earlier)

Tony Dungy Says He Wouldn’t Have Drafted Gay NFL Player Michael Sam, and His Apology Doesn’t Help

It was an exciting moment when University of Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, potentially becoming the first openly gay person to play in the NFL. (Well, it was exciting for most of us.)

But in a recent interview with The Tampa Tribune‘s Ira Kaufman, former Indianapolis Colts coach (and Super Bowl winner) Tony Dungy said that he wouldn’t have drafted Sam on his team for reasons that have nothing to do with his abilities:

“I wouldn’t have taken him,” said former Bucs and Colts coach Tony Dungy, now an analyst for NBC. “Not because I don’t believe Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but I wouldn’t want to deal with all of it.

“It’s not going to be totally smooth… things will happen.”

Dungy, of course, is as well known for his strong Christian faith as he is for his knowledge of the game.

Think about what his words mean. Dungy said he wouldn’t have drafted Sam because he wouldn’t want to deal with the distractions… “distractions” that would inevitably be caused by other Christians and people documenting a gay professional athlete — not Sam himself. I’m sure Dungy’s star player Peyton Manning faced far more media attention on a regular basis. And we know damn well that Michael Vick faced plenty of media attention when he returned to the NFL in 2009. What did Dungy have to say back then?

He wrote a blog post explaining why bringing Vick back was a terrific decision.

I guess the media attention didn’t matter when it came to someone involved in dog fighting.

But homosexuality? Forget about it.

Laura Turner, a Christian writer, sees Dungy’s words as a lost opportunity:

… Dungy’s hypothetical refusal to draft Sam is motivated entirely by what other people might say. He wouldn’t want to deal with having an openly gay player on his team, and one can only assume that whatever gay men might have played for Dungy in the past would remain closeted in the face of these statements.

As a Christian, this could have been a great time for Dungy to say something different. Something about how the NFL isn’t a church, and whatever you believe about hiring at religious institutions, the football field is the kind of proving ground where your sexual orientation is not one of the things that can get you hired or fired. Dungy could have praised Sam for his courage in being an out player in a hyper-masculine sport, or, if he didn’t believe that, could have, at the very least, chosen to say nothing. If Dungy really believes that Michael Sam should have a chance to play, but is unwilling to take that chance, what does it say about him?

She nailed it. Based on everything we know about Sam, he’s an outstanding role model. We’ll find out if he can make it at the professional level very soon, but his college record was impeccable. He’s exactly the type of player you’d want on your team — a leader, someone willing to learn, and a person who’ll make the most of this chance. The only reason a coach should not draft him or play him is that he doesn’t have what it takes.

Instead, Dungy slammed Sam for the drama he would bring to the team through no fault of his own.

Dungy released a statement this afternoon in response to the backlash. I would call it an apology, except he doesn’t take back anything he said:

I was not asked whether or not Michael Sam deserves an opportunity to play in the NFL. He absolutely does.

I was not asked whether his sexual orientation should play a part in the evaluation process. It should not.

I was not asked whether I would have a problem having Michael Sam on my team. I would not.

…

What I was asked about was my philosophy of drafting, a philosophy that was developed over the years, which was to minimize distractions for my teams.

I do not believe Michael’s sexual orientation will be a distraction to his teammates or his organization.

I do, however, believe that the media attention that comes with it will be a distraction. Unfortunately we are all seeing this play out now, and I feel badly that my remarks played a role in the distraction.

Umm… That’s what you said the first time. And the effect is still the same. Dungy believes Sam should be punished, in a sense, for how the media is reacting to him.

A better coach would just temper the media attention by saying repeatedly that Sam’s sexual orientation is a non-issue for everyone on the team… and then getting back to work. At some point, “no one cares” stops being an interesting sound bite.

The fact that Dungy was speaking hypothetically is irrelevant. His “philosophy of drafting” is the problem. He says he wants players to be judged on the field while simultaneously saying a gay player should be judged by the kind of attention he brings to that field.

I respect a coach who wants to minimize distractions on the team. But that should only matter when the players themselves are causing the distractions. Sam is doing no such thing. He’s focused on playing the game as best he can and making the final roster.

For a potential Hall of Fame coach to not recognize that is completely irresponsible and it tarnishes his legacy as a great leader.

By the way, Dungy’s reaction may very well be the same reason Sam wasn’t drafted until near the end of the seventh round. But at least the coaches who passed him up knew better than to explain their decision by pointing to his orientation or the attention it would draw. Dungy’s explanation, on the other hand, is just plain embarrassing, and his statement doesn’t fix anything.

The Fall of the House of Graham? Not So Fast

The faith heritage in the descendants of Billy Graham is starkly divided, most noticeably between his son Franklin Graham and his daughter’s son Rev. Tullian Tchividjian.

Fred Clark at Slacktivist is calling feud in part by pointing out how the elder Graham’s legacy has taken a very hard rightward turn under the leadership of Franklin, who leads the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association:

The BGEA’s flagship magazine has changed a bit since Franklin took over…

Ever since he was a child, Tchividjian has been steeped in his grandfather’s outlook — in Billy Graham’s long career as a “good news specialist” and in his deep remorse over his many missteps when, Billy Graham has often said, he became too “closely aligned with political ideologies.” Tchividjian’s language in his comments in The Blaze are as identical to the language of his grandfather Billy as they are antithetical to the language of his uncle Franklin.

My guess is that this is a warning shot. This time, Tchividjian is keeping his comments general and generic. And I’m sure he means what he says in a general, generic way — I’m sure he’s not solely thinking of his uncle Franklin. But it’s inconceivable that Franklin Graham and his misappropriation of the BGEA wasn’t among the foremost examples Tchividjian had in mind in this critique of the “big-time damage” being done to evangelical Christianity by partisan politics and culture warriors.

And I think that if Franklin Graham continues full-steam ahead in the [direction] he’s going — “Cowards Destined for the Lake of Fire” — then we may soon hear his nephew voicing this critique more specifically, naming names.

I personally doubt that we’ll have a live-streamed Sunday morning Jerry Springer-style showdown, or even a private burning of the heritage a la We Were Liars, but I do think they’ll gradually distance themselves quietly unless someone has a dramatic public meltdown and a renunciation of affiliation is required.

Here’s the rundown. You had Billy Graham, faith crusader and comrade of kings. His son Franklin (world-class bigot) then inherited the franchise and is closely aligned with the conservative sects in the far evangelical right of American Christianity. His grandson Tullian is a pastor in Florida and a visiting professor of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando; he’s also an outspoken advocate of what we used to know as traditional evangelicalism. But his uncle Franklin has devoted his life (so it seems) to shifting his father’s heritage to push the mainstream church further to the right (see Slacktivist’s piece for more details on how he’s doing this).

But here’s why I doubt that the Grahams will devolve into a feud: When Tullian got kicked out of The Gospel Coalition (unless you believe the official statements which say he left voluntarily), he recanted his initial ire at TCG and urged for unity. His statements went from this (quoted in the Christianity Today article)…

I have long admired the original mission of [TGC] to be a hallway where Christians from all denominational backgrounds who may disagree on non-essentials could gather and rally around the Good News (hence, the name “Gospel Coalition”). But, in my opinion, the messaging of [TGC] has morphed over the last seven years and I find myself much more aligned with the very specific message of Liberate. So, now is the right time to pull the trigger. In fact, it’s probably over due.

… to this:

… I said some things in haste, both publicly and privately, that I regret. I never want anything I say to be a distraction from the mind-blowing good news of the gospel and last week I did. I got in the way. When you feel the need to respond to criticism, it reveals how much you’ve built your identity on being right. I’m an idolater and that came out last week. Because Jesus won for you, you’re free to lose… and last week I fought to win. I’m sorry you had to see that. Lord have mercy…

Given this attitude, I doubt that Tullian is interested in feuding with Uncle Franklin and will probably just focus on his own career. However, chances are that if there is sexual abuse coverup going on anywhere in the BGEA, Tullian’s brother Boz will be on it — he’s the founder of G.R.A.C.E., the organization investigating Christian universities for mishandling sexual assault and church groups for their protection of sexual predators.

Secular Invocation Delivered in Eustis, Florida

Last night, David Williamson delivered a secular invocation at a meeting of the Eustis City Commission (in Florida):

As the community gathers this evening, let us briefly reflect on the things you, as a Commission, bring with you to do the business of improving the City of Eustis for residents, the many businesses, and its cherished visitors.

Compassion is essential for effective public service and it is cultivated through a lifetime of learning about the needs of everyone in the community and the harm that follows when those needs are neglected.

Your integrity and honesty are earned through life lessons you take from family, friends, and your own personal experiences of these principles in everyone around you.

Wisdom is often called for during an invocation, however all the knowledge needed is already right here in this chamber. Your fellow commissioners, the hard-working city staff, as well as citizens and business owners come to serve along with you and to be a resource to call upon.

As we unite with the common goal of improving the lives of all stakeholders and even those who will be affected by this evening’s decisions for generations to come, take solace in the fact that on our own we can do this, because of who we are, because we have one another, and simply because it must be done.

We are all in this together. We will make it happen.

If you watch the video of the invocation, you can see the mayor introduce him — out of habit, no doubt — as “Pastor David Williamson of the Central Florida Freethought Community Church.” He politely corrected her before beginning his speech.

Williamson is the founder of the Central Florida Freethought Community, a group that’s organizing several more secular invocations all over the state. You can see their running list — along with a compilation of transcripts of secular invocations around the country — right here.

Fundamentalist Christian Pastor Bashes “We Can Do It” Mentality Among Women Because It’s Unbiblical

Here are the rules for a new game I recently invented: Whenever Pastor Steven Anderson releases a video, I click on a random part of it and listen for a minute. If I hear him say something crazy, I post about it. If he doesn’t, I skip it.

Looks like we have a winner with his latest sermon. (Though, with a title like “Attributes of a Godly Woman,” you knew it’d be hard to *not* find gold.)

It’s possible I missed some ridiculous stuff, but here’s what I found at the 23:08 mark:

We need the house of God to be a place of godly feminine role models for young ladies to follow! And not to be sucked into the world’s mentality of just a loud, clamorous… “We can do it!” type of a mentality amongst women. It’s not biblical. It’s not what the Bible teaches. If you say it is what the Bible teaches, you’re a liar.

If you say that the Bible teaches equality for women in the sense that they have all the same roles in society as men, and they should be speaking in church, you’re a liar. That’s not what the Bible says. The Bible is crystal clear on this subject. You know it and I know it. So don’t play games with me. This is what the Bible says.

And, honestly, we need some hair-legged preachers to stand up and preach this from the housetops.

Why don’t you ever criticize men, Pastor Anderson?

… I have whole sermons where I’m getting on the men for being a bunch of queer little feminine sissies and being a twinkie. But that’s a different sermon. Okay? I can’t preach the whole Bible in one sermon…

… if you’re a woman today, under the sound of my voice, don’t you get angry at what I’m preaching because, remember, [don't get angry] was point one about what you’re not supposed to be!

I guess it’s not a real sermon without anti-gay slurs…

So that’s your Moment of Independent Fundamental Baptist preaching for the day. I’m sure if you click on a different part of the video, you’ll find even more nuggets of “wisdom.”

Who wants to take bets that Anderson is close friends with Tony Rapu, the guy who offered horrible advice to married women?

LGBT Equality House Across from Westboro Baptist Church Gets an Amazing Discount on New Air Conditioning Unit

You know the Rainbow House across the street from Westboro Baptist Church?

Turns out their air conditioner was broken and it would cost them upwards of $3,000 to replace the system. Thankfully, they got a second opinion from A-Way Heating-Cooling-Electric. Not only did the company fix the problem, all they asked for in return were some homemade cookies:

Awesome

Planting Peace, the group that runs Equality House, is running a fundraiser right now in response. For every $10 raised, volunteers will bake half a dozen cookies for A-Way and the rest will go toward support LGBT equality.

(Thanks to Richard for the link)

Christian Student Wants You to Pay for Her Law Degree Because God Said So

I’m hardly in a position to criticize someone else for publicity stunt-like moneymaking schemes… but screw it. Julianna Battenfield is trying to raise money to pay for law school.

Julianna taking the obligatory I-went-on-a-mission-trip-to-Africa picture

I don’t mind her trying to raise the money (seriously, good luck), but what bothers me is where she wants to go — Pat Robertson‘s Regents University School of Law — and why she wants to go there (emphases hers):

God asked me to go to Law School for the good of the Kingdom of God.

Help me raise $28,500 by 5/1/15!

…

I do not believe in taking out student loans

because the Word of God says not to,

and He asked me specifically not to,

so I have permanently declined my loans in faith,

trusting that He will provide the full amount.



If He asks you to help, please help.

If not, sit back and watch Him work a miracle.

I’ll wait for the miracle, thank you very much… (and why would “He” get the credit for our donations?)

She even made a movie trailer:

I have to hand it to her; guilt-tripping other Christians into paying her tuition by telling them it’s what God wants is pretty damn clever.

Going to Law School at Regents costs about $55,000 a year, though it’s well over $200,000 in realistic terms. (That’s several potato salads on Kickstarter.) And only 55% of Regents graduates have jobs that require passing the Bar! Even with a donation match, it’s just not worth it.

Anyway, after reading through Battenfield’s site, I have a few questions:

Why isn’t anyone else who wants to go to Regents doing this? Does God not want them to go to law school? What makes Battenfield so special?
Even on her page explaining why she wants to go to law school, how come it’s unclear why Battenfield wants to go to law school? What are her post-law-school plans? That really seems to be the least of her concerns. (She briefly outlines her plans on a different page, but even there it’s not explicit.)
If she doesn’t raise the money, Battenfield says she won’t attend Regents. But what will she do with the donations? She doesn’t tell us.
How much has she raised so far? When will we know when she’s hit her mark? It’s either pre-planned genius or a grossly irresponsible omission.

Joe Patrice at Above the Law has a much larger problem with the cost of Battenfield’s choice of a mediocre-at-best law school:

Debt is big business in this country, and Julianna’s questionable interpretation of scripture has hit on the just how predatory a society based on usury can be. When you marry usury and a school willing to run up tuition while promising meager results, you can see the con game.

In a sense, the narcissists (or religious people) who refuse to play by the same rules as the rest of us expose that the rules are rigged. Still, it’s probably better to spend your money fighting the system than helping a single student skirt it.

And it’s definitely better to keep your money away from sub-par law schools trying to convince their students to pay top dollar no matter how much you like the trailer.

In all seriousness, Battenfield hasn’t convinced me she genuinely wants to go to law school. All I know is that she wants to help people and everyone around her tells her to be a lawyer. That’s all well and good — but those are not good reasons to go to law school. There are plenty of jobs that let you help others and plenty of ways to use your advocacy skills. It’s not like Regents (or any other law school) is going to tell you that, though. They just want your money.

Or, in Battenfield’s case, “God’s” money.

(Thanks to Brian for the link)

Vandals Strike in Response to a Play Depicting the Virgin Mary as Secretly Promiscuous

Lies of a Promiscuous Woman is a play that retells the story of Jesus’ mother. Far from being a Virgin, this Mary enjoys sex and swears left and right:

Theresa Thompson plays Mary in the show, which is currently running at the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. While you’d expect it to be controversial, the reaction has been over-the-top:

Before the first performance, Thompson discovered that posters for the show have been vandalized with words like “slut” and “blasphemer.”

She’s also had similar words yelled at her on the street, and on Sunday, the word “slut” was written in permanent marker on her car.

There’s also been requests to have the show shut down.

Thompson, who plans to file a police report on Monday, now has a fellow actor walk her to and from her performances in order to feel safe.

I guess the vandals don’t understand the concept of acting… (and who wants to bet they never bothered to see the show in the first place?)

No word yet on who wrote the words or tried to get the show canceled, but performances will continue through the week.

(Thanks to Mike for the link)