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.
The White House announced yesterday that Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in the United States, would be renamed “Denali.” It’s what native Alaskans have long called the mountain and makes plenty of sense when you consider that President McKinley never even stepped foot in the state. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski applauded the change, saying “I’d like to thank the president for working with us to achieve this significant change to show honor, respect and gratitude to the Athabascan people of Alaska.” But the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer knows the real reason President Obama wants to change the name. Read more
Earlier today, researcher Miguel Antonio Fiol announced a discovery. And why go through the hassle of getting published in a peer-reviewed journal when you can just purchase a press release? Fiol says that you can see the crucifixion of Jesus in the planetary alignment from 33 A.D., the year Jesus supposedly died. Read more
If you were to go skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana, a resort on land owned by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), you might come across a statue known as “Big Mountain Jesus”: The reason that statue is allowed to be on the property is because the USFS gave the Knights of Columbus a “Special Use Permit” in 1953 to build and maintain a memorial to honor WWII veterans. However, the Knights decided to build Big Mountain Jesus because “veterans from the 10th Mountain Division… wanted to commemorate their fallen comrades with a statue that evoked memories of the many religious shrines and statues they had seen in the mountain communities of Europe.” That’s convenient, isn’t it?… We didn’t intend to build a statue to Jesus. The veterans requested it! Read more
The Houston Chronicle published a slideshow the other day of Fort Bend Kempner High School’s football team (in Sugar Land, Texas) getting ready for their first game of the season. This is Texas high school football. It’s a big deal. While most of the pictures are what you’d expect — warm-ups, a huddle, the band — there was one picture featuring the players coming together in prayer… with head coach Darrin Andrus leading the way. (I can’t repost the image on this site, but you can see it here.) Read more
