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.
With all the legal problems city councils are having over their invocation prayers, the Knox County Commission in Tennessee is taking a step today… in the wrong direction: They’re putting their invocation policy in writing so that it’ll be officially approved. Knox County Commission Chairman Mike Hammond said now is a good time to “reaffirm (the county’s) policy” although “this is something we’ve been doing for years.” Commission Vice Chairman Brad Anders agreed. “The only thing this does is set… Read more
Because that seems to be the assumption Greg Zanis was making when he put 12 crosses up on behalf of the victims of the shooting in Colorado: “These crosses are [for] them,” Zanis said of the families. “We love them. We are not going to pretend we know what you are going through, but we wanted to represent your children.” … Zanis used to run an organization called Crosses for Losses, but it was unclear whether that was still in… Read more
Reader Alan can’t figure out why anyone would use Leviticus 20:13 (below) to condemn homosexuality: If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. This is his argument (which may have been made in other places before): In what way does a gay man lie with a woman? He doesn’t. He’s gay… So he’s not committing… Read more
Ever seen people walk across hot coals? They can do it because coal is a poor conductor of heat and, if you walk fast enough, you should be ok. Richard Wiseman offers a brief explanation here: New age-y motivational speaker Tony Robbins uses the demonstration in many of his seminars. On Thursday night, at an event attended by 6,000 people, 21 of them were injured after they tried to walk across coals that were between 1,200-2,000 degrees: Jonathan Correll, 25,… Read more