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.
At least one Hamilton County (Tennessee) public elementary school is giving away Bibles to students. But it’s okay, you know, because their parents have to sign a permission slip first: It all started with a permission slip. The one Mitzi Yates found among the papers in her fifth-grader’s backpack. If she signed it, it would allow him to bring home a copy of the Gideon New Testament from McConnell Elementary. [Click headline for more…] Read more
Much like groups can adopt-a-highway in different states, promising to clean it every few months in exchange for a sign with their name on it, some cities allow you to adopt pieces of land. That’s what Antonio Liquori, the owner of Liquori’s Pizza, did when he took control of a local traffic island in West Springfield, Massachusetts: But instead of just keeping it clean, Liquori decided to stick a giant statue of the Virgin Mary on the island: [Click headline for more…] Read more
What if our modern day superheroes solved problems like the God of the bible? Would they still be considered good? Why don’t we need to be told that Superman, Batman, The Avengers, etc, are good, but we do need to be told that God is good? Because actions speak for themselves. If you were never told that the God of the bible is good – if those verses were omitted – would you come to that conclusion on your own? The destroyer of cities and worlds who fail to worship Him…Good?! OR is it more likely that this God is a product of a culture seeking to justify its methods and actions against other cultures? (via DarkMatters2525) Read more
After seeing the extent to which the National Day of Prayer has turned into the National Day of evangelical-Christianity-or-else, Sally Quinn of The Washington Post says she no longer sees a need for the celebration: This country was founded on the idea of religious freedom. But shoving one’s beliefs down the throat of all Americans is just the opposite. [Rev. Greg] Laurie and [Pseudohistorian David] Barton are so far from the mainstream that they are representative of only a very few Christians in this country, not to mention those of other faiths and no faith. Whatever happened to inclusiveness and pluralism? Well, they seem to disappear whenever the Religious Right gets involved… [Click headline for more…] Read more