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.
Julie Anne Smith used to attend Beaverton Grace Bible Church in Oregon. After her family left, other church members began to shun her — it was as if the pastor told them all to avoid the Smiths at all costs. So Smith wrote up some 1-star reviews of the church online… and began a blog called “Beaverton Grace Bible Church Survivors.” How did Pastor Charles (Chuck) O’Neal respond? With forgiveness? With an apology for her bad experience? Nah. He’s suing… Read more
We’re at a point when even a notable Republican pollster is warning the party that it’s to their own detriment to fight equal rights for gay people. You would think Christian groups would come around to that way of thinking eventually, too, but that may take another generation or two. Most Christian leaders refuse to accept the fact that gay people just aren’t a problem for most people, including younger Christians. The Illinois Family Institute, a SPLC-certified hate group, offers… Read more
***Update***: The group’s founders have responded to a couple of my questions below. … Biola University, an evangelical Christian school in southern California, is one of those schools that will expel you if they find out you’re gay. (Because, you know, they love everyone.) In fact, they just put out a Statement on Human Sexuality (PDF). Biola University affirms that sexual intimacy is designed by God to be expressed solely within a marriage between one man and one woman. This… Read more
The Secular Student Alliance just released the schedule for their 2012 national conference (July 6th-8th) and it looks great: Besides the huge collection of speakers, they end late on Friday and Saturday night — which makes sense since most of the attendees are still wide awake – and begin relatively late on Saturday morning (because, you know, why not?) That means no speaker will get an unenviable time slot on Sunday morning… it also means there’s plenty of time to… Read more