Aron Ra

Aron Ra[2] (formerly L. Aron Nelson, born October 15, 1962) is an American author, podcaster and atheist activist. Ra is the host of the Ra-Men Podcast[3][4][5] and a regional director of American Atheists.[3] He had previously served as president of the Atheist Alliance of America[6][7] and ran as a Democratic candidate for Texas' District 2 Senate seat.[8]

Aron Ra
Ra speaking at De Vrije Gedachte in Utrecht, Netherlands in 2015[1]
Born (1962-10-15) October 15, 1962
Kingman, Arizona
NationalityAmerican
OccupationPublic speaker, video producer, vlogger, podcaster
OrganizationAmerican Atheists, Atheist Alliance of America, Democratic Party of Texas
Known forAnti-theist activism, evolution education
Spouse(s)Lilandra Ra (2009–present)

Early life

Aron Ra was born in Kingman, Arizona, and baptized as a Mormon. Despite his religious upbringing, he states that he has been a skeptic from a young age.[9]

He studied paleontology in Dallas.[10]

Career

A vocal critic of theism and creationism and an advocate for the inclusion of evolution in science curricula,[10][11][12][13] Ra produces YouTube videos on the topics of skepticism, free thought, and atheism. Among the video series he has released are Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism,[14] Refuting the Irrefutable Proof of God,[15] and How Aron Ra Disproves Noah's Flood.[16]

He has engaged in live debates with young Earth creationists, including Ray Comfort,[17] and presented at skepticism conferences in Europe.[18][1][9][19] As a member of the Unholy Trinity, he toured the United States and Australia with fellow atheist activists Seth Andrews of The Thinking Atheist and Matt Dillahunty of The Atheist Experience.[20][21] [22]

He appeared in the documentary films My Week in Atheism, directed by John Christy,[23][24] and Batman & Jesus, directed by Jozef K. Richards.[25] He published his first book, Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism, in 2016.[26][27]

Ra is the creator of the Phylogeny Explorer Project,[28] a free, volunteer run, online encyclopedia of the entire phylogenetic tree of life that is currently in progress.

Political candidacy and views

In March 2017, Ra resigned from his position as president of the Atheist Alliance of America to run for the Texas State Senate against Republican incumbent Bob Hall.[7][29][30] The first Democratic candidate to run for the District 2 seat since 2002,[8] he dropped out of the race after failing to secure the Democratic Party endorsement.[31]

Ra identifies as a feminist.[32]

Books
  • Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism (2016)[33]

References
  1. de Vries, Hans (May 2015). "AronRa: "Religie is het kostuum dat je draagt"". De Vrijdenker (in Dutch). 46 (5): 17.
  2. Lilandra Ra (February 8, 2017). "Did you know that I am a famous Lilandra?". Patheos. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  3. "The Ra-Men Podcast". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  4. Richter, Kathryn (April 19, 2012). "A Night of Reason: Society presents guest speaker". Daily Eastern News. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
  5. Anna Merlan (December 6, 2012). "THE RISE OF THE TEXAS ATHEIST". Texas Observer.
  6. Brown, C.W. (March 14, 2017). "Aron Ra Resigns as President of Atheist Alliance of America, Focuses on State Senate Run". Philosophical Atheism.
  7. Ra, Aron (March 11, 2017). "I am Resigned to Run for State Senate". Patheos.
  8. "Aron Ra Resigns as President of Atheist Alliance of America | News". Atheist Alliance of America. March 14, 2017. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  9. van Elst, René (June 2015). "Aron Ra, een Amerikaanse atheïst in Utrecht". De Vrijdenker (in Dutch). 46 (6): 10–12.
  10. "Evolution debate experiences resurgence in Texas". April 13, 2005. Students should be critical of all scientific theories," said L. Aron Nelson, a paleontology student from Dallas with an extensive knowledge of evolutionary evidence. "You have to be, or it isn't science. But the theory of evolution is actually better-supported than the current theory of gravity, and children shouldn't be misled to be doubtful of the best-supported theories we have.
  11. "Who's Who Among the State Board of Education Hearing". Texas Monthly. September 18, 2015. Aron Ra is a prominent opponent of the teaching of creationism. The 27 videos in his YouTube series, "Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism," have combined for more than four million views on the site. He also serves as the Texas director of the American Atheists
  12. "Live-Blogging the Texas Science Textbook Hearing (2013)". Texas Freedom Network. September 17, 2013. Now the board hears from science defender (and YouTube sensation) Aron Ra, who attempts a 2-minute science lesson. No questions from the class.
  13. Eugenie Scott (September 18, 2013). "There They Go Again (Of Necessity)". National Center for Science Education.
  14. AronRa (November 11, 2007), 1st Foundational Falsehood of Creationism, retrieved November 6, 2018
  15. AronRa (December 10, 2015), Refuting the Irrefutable Proof of God - part I, retrieved November 6, 2018
  16. AronRa (May 25, 2017), How Zoology Disproves Noahs Flood, retrieved November 6, 2018
  17. "AronRa VS Ray Comfort RPRR 9-17-2012". YouTube. September 17, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  18. "Panel: Every Cloud-based Video Service has a Silver Lining". Lanyrd. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  19. "AronRa på puben – OBS! Nytt sted!". Heyevent. Skepsis Norge. May 8, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  20. "The Unholy Trinity Tour - United CoR". United CoR. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  21. "The Unholy Trinity Tour visits WTAMU". The Prairie. West Texas A&M University. March 25, 2014.
  22. "Unholy Trinity Tour Australia". Unholy Trinity Down Under website. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
  23. Korb, Melanie (February 20, 2014), "Christian, Atheist Display Complicated Friendship in New Documentary", Charisma
  24. Anugrah Kumar (February 18, 2014), "Christian Filmmaker, Atheist Activist Release Their New Film 'My Week in Atheism'", The Christian Post
  25. Batman & Jesus (2017), retrieved February 6, 2017
  26. Hemant Mehta (November 29, 2016). "Aron Ra's New Book Tackles the Foundational Falsehoods of Creationism". Patheos. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  27. Sanya Mansoor (April 18, 2017). "Texas education board nears compromise on evolution standards". Herald Democrat. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  28. Phylogeny Explorer Project, https://explorer.phylogenyexplorerproject.com/clades, Accessed: 2020 May 04
  29. RA. "I am Resigned to Run for State Senate". www.patheos.com. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  30. "About". Aron Ra. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  31. RA (November 18, 2017). "Ending My State Senate Run". RA. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  32. [YouTube Atheists and Battling Online SJW Haters: An Interview with Aron Ra] by SINCERE KIRABO, 18 MAY 2016, Thehumanist.com
  33. Ra, Aron (2016). Foundational falsehoods of creationism. Durham, North Carolina: Pitchstone Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63431-080-2. OCLC 957739244.
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