Hemant Mehta is the founder and editor of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, and podcast co-host. He is a former National Board Certified math teacher in the suburbs of Chicago. He has appeared on CNN and FOX News and served on the board of directors for Foundation Beyond Belief and the Secular Student Alliance. He has written multiple books, including I Sold My Soul on eBay and The Young Atheist's Survival Guide. He also edited the book Queer Disbelief.
I normally don’t post Change.org petitions on this site because, frankly, I don’t think they accomplish anything. (“In God We Trust” will not be taken off the currency because you clicked a few buttons. Sorry.) But a petition posted last night by Stephanie Drury is worth talking about. The focus is Pastor Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church — which he founded and lated resigned from in disgrace. The church has since dissolved. Drury’s question is simple: What did they do with all the money they took in? Read more
If you’re one of the 32984932423 people who bought an adult coloring book over the past year, it’s probably because you thought it was fun, relaxing, and a pleasant distraction from the stresses of the world. That particular kind of pattern is called a “mandala.” It has a loose connection to the cosmos in some Indian religions, but most people don’t know or care about that. They just see it and think, “Ooh, pretty.” Leave it to a Christian to ruin all the fun. According to the blogger at The Last Hiker, Christians ought to “stay away from mandalas.” Read more
Donald Trump is doing damage control after last night’s Republican primary debate, during which the other candidates treated him like fool he is, used him as the butt of their jokes, and responded to his insults with clever one-liners of their own. The biggest controversy of his own creation may have been his remark that the IRS is auditing him, and that’s preventing him from releasing his tax returns. (Even Mitt Romney says that’s not a legitimate excuse and that Trump can indeed release his tax returns.) But why is Trump getting audited? It’s not because of any potentially shady business dealings, he says. He told CNN it’s because he’s Christian (5:10 mark): Read more
Arizona seems to be the state where atheist politicians come out to play. This month, we’ve already seen candidacy announcements from atheists Cara Prior (State House) and Scott Prior (State Senate). We can now add Athena Salman to that list. She’s running for the seat currently held by another atheist politician Juan Mendez, who will be running for State Senate himself. Speaking to the Secular Student Alliance at Arizona State University this week, Salman went public with her own atheism as she told the group that she would be running for the State House in District 26. Mendez sat next to her as she gave her speech. Read more
