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.
Penn Jillette offers his take on the 2012 presidential candidates — from an atheist perspective: His take on President Obama is spot on when it comes to his faith: Either he’s really a Christian as he claims (which means he’s not really one of us), or he’s lying about it for political purposes (which is disappointing in its own way). I still think he’s the best possible option. We could do better, but every other option right now is drastically… Read more
The week before Thanksgiving, Allen Stephenson wrote an article for the Greenville Advocate in which he discussed what we ought to be thankful for: Abel on the other hand, remembers that even the very air he breathes is a gift from God. He knows that if there is anything good in his life, it is directly from the hand of God. So his focus this weekend is take the energy he would normally devote to school and/or work, and direct… Read more
It’s always a treat to listen to former preacher Dan Barker talk about his religious past and this excerpt from his recent Skepticon IV talk shows you why. In it, he explains Christianity in a nutshell: The full talk is available here: (via HamboneProductions — Thanks to Brian for the link!) Read more
Senate Bill 48 in California passed by a 49-25 margin and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown back in July. It takes effect on January 1st. You can read the full text here. The bill broadens the scope of instruction in social science classes in CA public schools to include the “role and contributions of both men and women, Native Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, European Americans, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans, and members of… Read more
Colgate University is home to a brand new atheist group — Colgate Secular Association of Skeptical Students — and their first meeting is this Saturday! Gotta love the last line of their description 🙂 If you’re in the Hamilton, New York area, go check them out! For what it’s worth, the group is not yet officially recognized by the school — but the leaders tell me they don’t foresee any problems with that. (***Edit***: The Office of the Chaplains at… Read more