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.
Foundation Beyond Belief usually grows a little larger every quarter, but we had a *huge* jump in donations at the end of 2011 (and that doesn’t even include a fundraising drive we held). Giving grew by 21% over the previous quarter and we were able to give a total of $38,450 to our selected charities! Seriously amazing. If you’re a member or donor, thank you so much! This year, we’re doing things a bit differently, removing ourselves as one of… Read more
So here’s what I *think* happened with the Alameda County Community Food Bank (in California). They’re not an atheist group by any means. But even they must know that praying to alleviate hunger isn’t helpful to anyone. Starving people don’t need your god’s help. They need something to eat. But the food bank, unlike all of us, probably has no desire to be politically incorrect and tell people “Stop talking to your god and just donate some non-perishables.” They don’t… Read more
Carl Zimmer wrote a wonderful profile of Neil deGrasse Tyson for the January edition of Playboy… but in case you don’t get that, there’s a perfectly SFW version of the piece here 🙂 A short excerpt: For most of the people huddling on the ground, tonight is the first time they’ve spent such an extended period looking up at the sky. For three hours, Tyson keeps his audience staring so hard at the heavens he cramps their necks. He speaks… Read more
Jordan Williamson, the Stanford kicker, missed two crucial field goals in the Fiesta Bowl — including one that would have won the game in regulation. (Start at the 5:00 mark) You don’t see this in the video, but before the kick that would’ve won the game, Williamson looked to be Tebowing on the sideline: Looks like God didn’t care much for the public display of faith. … On the flip side, kicker Brendan Gibbons of the University of Michigan had… Read more
A couple of weeks ago, Ginger Strivelli’s fifth-grade son came home from his school with a copy of the Bible. It was a shock to her since he attended a public school and she was a Pagan. Katherine wrote: The school denies any wrong-doing, noting the box of Bibles was dropped off by the Gideons, who weren’t allowed any contact with the children. The Bibles were kept in the office where students could stop by for one if they wanted,… Read more