This report is about a skeptic, Sanal Edamaruku who debunked the bullshit belief in a weeping Jesus statue and was charged under India’s blasphemy laws:

Ignorant and superstitious people, encouraged by Catholic priests who should know better, were lapping up this trickling water, which was found to be not some miracle, but sewer water bubbling up from a broken pipe and dripping down onto the statue.

The guy (Joseph Dias, General Secretary, Catholic Christian Secular Forum) in the video says the skeptic’s right to free speech should not encroach on his right to believe.  BULLSHIT.  Your right to believe is not in any way encroached upon by someone else proving that what you are believing is false.

If it hurts your feelings to be disillusioned (i.e., having the illusion removed), don’t blame the guy who opened your eyes; blame the people who insisted on keeping you blinded to reality.

When charges were filed against Edamaruku, he went to Finland where he remains in exile.  The superstitious people in Mumbai said they would drop the charges if Edamaruku would apologize.   Apologize for what?  He’s done nothing wrong.

It is morally wrong to allow people to believe a lie in the face of evidence to the contrary.   If people are deliberately ingesting sewer water, in the mistaken belief it is somehow holy or blessed, they should be informed what it actually is. If they wish to keep on believing it is something special, that is their right. But it is wrong to see a health hazard and keep silent when you know you can do something about it.

How can all these “blasphemy laws” stand in an increasingly secular world?  It’s bullshit.  And what sort of person would prefer to remain ignorant and superstitious when actual knowledge is available?  Knowledge is superior to faith.