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.
In a NYT article of her own in today’s paper, Susan Jacoby cites our withdrawal from the public eye in the wake of tragedies like Sandy Hook as part of the problem with atheism today — and part of why we don’t command influence despite our ever-growing numbers. She urges us to make our presence known: … the most powerful force holding us back is our own reluctance to speak, particularly at moments of high national drama and emotion, with the combination of reason and passion needed to erase the image of the atheist as a bloodless intellectual robot. The secular community is fearful of seeming to proselytize… Spoken like someone who rarely goes online… Read more
Fr. Alfonse Nazzaro of the St. Monica Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas is a Catholic priest with a blog, and he has a post up about how atheists don’t believe in God because we had bad childhoods or really want to sin… He’s wrong, but I don’t even care about any of that. It’s this part that infuriates me (italics his): … Even [atheists] still buy a lottery ticket, while at the same time denying any chance in heaven that God exists. What chance is there of winning the Powerball or Mega millions lottery? One in a billion. What chance is there of God existing? Fifty-fifty. After all, either God exists or He doesn’t. But if he does and I believe, then I just won the jackpot! Read more