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.
Bob Scott was elected mayor of Franklin, North Carolina last year and made it a point to take his oath on a Constitution instead of a Bible. He even told the American Humanist Association that he made the decision because “there is so much controversy surrounding separation of church and state. I am a firm believer in keeping religion and government separate.” And while that shouldn’t be newsworthy, Scott’s recent comments should be. The Charleston (SC) Post and Courier just… Read more
As you know by now, Donald Trump told a crowd yesterday that, according to some of his followers, he’s so invincible right now that he “could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and [he] wouldn’t lose any voters, OK?… It’s, like, incredible.” It makes you wonder how devoid of morals his supporters are that they wouldn’t flinch in their support of him even if Trump turned out to be a murderer. Some Christians they are. The only thing that would have made the speech better is if Trump followed up his shooting comment with one about how much he loves the Bible. Read more
It doesn’t matter how meaningful or meaningless the debate is, Neil deGrasse Tyson will put an end to it. He appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to settle those Friday Night Fights. But not before talking about the newly discovered “ninth planet.” (That alone was worth the price of admission.) Read more
Would evangelical Christians say that black lives matter? Of course they would. Would evangelical Christians support the #BlackLivesMatter movement? Now things get more complicated. Because the movement is more closely tied to liberal politics, because it involves supporting LGBT black lives, because it’s critical of law enforcement, conservative evangelicals are having a tough time getting on board with an idea that supporters would say is simply about civil rights and fighting against institutional racism. Mark Oppenheimer writes in today’s New York Times about the struggle facing these Christians and the reactions from both sides after a supporter of the movement spoke at a major Christian conference. Read more
