Man Faces Death Threats and Jail for Pointing Out That Weeping Jesus “Miracle” Is Just Faulty Plumbing
Posted by Breshvic on November 28, 2012

Science and skepticism are under constant attack around the world; climate denial here in the United States, magic bracelets in Australia, and geologists in Italy being punished for not magically predicting earthquakes. Despite the strides of rationalists like Sanal Edamaruku in India (famous for disproving a tantric guru’s ridiculous claims), the law of the land still often sides with the religious zealots.

via AlterNet by Henry McDonald

When water started trickling down a statue of Jesus Christ at a Catholic church in Mumbai earlier this year, locals were quick to declare a miracle. Some began collecting the holy water and the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni began to promote it as a site of pilgrimage.

So when Sanal Edamaruku arrived and established that this was not holy water so much as holey plumbing, the backlash was severe. The renowned rationalist was accused of blasphemy, charged with offences that carry a three-year prison sentence and eventually, after receiving death threats, had to seek exile in Finland.

Now he is calling for European governments to press Delhi into dropping the case. And on the first leg of a tour around EU capitals on Friday, he warned that India was sacrificing freedom of expression for outdated, colonial-era rules about blasphemy.

“There is a huge contradiction in the content of the Indian constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and the blasphemy law from 1860 under then colonial rule,” Edamaruku told the Guardian in an interview in Dublin.

“This blasphemy law can affect anyone in India – even a girl recently who wrote on Facebook against closing down a city because of the death of a famous local politician. She was prosecuted under the blasphemy law and another girl who ‘liked’ her comment on Facebook was also arrested and then charged with blasphemy.”

Edamaruku, who has the support of rationalists and atheists such asRichard Dawkins, is well known in India for debunking religious myths, and was already unpopular among Indian Catholics for publicly criticising Mother Teresa’s legacy in Kolkata.

Read more at The Guardian

The battle against stupidity and superstition is difficult, for the enemy is everywhere and the rational are vastly outnumbered.

The educational system is no help. Right up through high school, kids are not taught critical thinking. criticism isn't only dead in the schools, it's been buried. I think George carlin put it best in this routine about education (WARNING: graphic language):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jQT7_rVxAE

No one is going to listen to George. He was a potty mouthed, pot smoking atheist.

...who thought and spoke freely and told the truth.

Indeed.

But, he also went too far a few times. Like when he said Christians out to be rounded up and killed (I'm paraphrasing). This kind of thing blew his creditability with a lot of folks.

Probably...After years of watching the human race failing to live up to its potential, he lost all faith in it and just wanted to watch the show as it drove itself to extinction. He really didn't care anymore. As he said, he had no investment in it.

That said, comedians say a lot of outlandish things. The stuff carlin said was about the same as Lenny Bruce, who said that a guy who would blow up an airliner with his mother on it couldn't be all bad.

He stopped being funny about four decades ago.
His routines were actually DEPRESSING.

And they call him a comedian? He stopped being that and just became a potty mouthed old cynic.

Like all of us he was a lot of things. Comedian being just one.

George Carlin is all over Netflix. I watch comedians all the time but I don't watch him because he is too cynical. I used to love him when I was about ten years old. Geeze he must be 80 something...

As for the so-called "holy water" I have to ask:

What is "holy water" and what makes it holy?

Blessed by the Pope? Declared so by a worshiping public?

It is the belief that makes it so.

Water is water. A smart "scientist" couldn't tell real holy water from faulty plumbing anyway because what is "holy" is all in the mind.

He should have kept his mouth shut. OR--He could have just declared that there is no such thing as "holy water."

Some "scientists" are just not very smart.

Water is water.

Today I was told, by a theist, that the statement "There is no god" is a personal insult to theists.




I'll second that.

To state that "there is no God" as a fact is irresponsible and rude. If someone takes it personal and decides to be insulted it is their own fault.

It's like when I state, "Scientists are ignorant."

Some people get angry when someone rains on the parade. Personally, I'd rather be shown I'm wrong than be a fool believing in nonsense.

Which gave him an insight, and depth of character that is non-existent in the sweet talking, Bible beating preachers that condemn anything that takes a brain to understand. And understanding does not = agreement!