Dear Friends,

Lots going on!

After a fascinating summer researching the intersection of religion and daily life, I'm pleased to announce three new presentation topics:

• Reporting and Distorting the Bible - How religious leaders use the Bible to promote their own social agendas.
• Politics and Piety - The politically convenient lies politicians tell about the Bible.
• The Bible-Based Business - Honest scriptural lessons for people who honestly care about Scripture.

Designed for mainstream audiences, these augment my current range of offerings.

 

To include your community in this exciting new discussion realm, please be in touch directly.

 

I am cutting back a little on travel this fall to do some writing and local teaching, but if the timing works I may still be able to schedule an event in the coming months.  And I do have availability in 2018.

 

Speaking of getting in touch, some of my incoming e-mail has been mysteriously vanishing.  If you tried to reach me and didn't get a response, please accept my apologies and try again.  Or call me. I almost always reply to messages within 24 hours, even when I'm traveling.

 

Finally, the weather has been on my mind.  The Houston community, and in particular the stellar JCC there, has been exceptionally good to me.  I'd like to help them rebuild after hurricane Harvey; I've got some suggestions below. And even as I write this, Florida - another favorite destination of mine - faces its own nearly unprecedented threat.  I hope no rebuilding will be necessary there. 

 

Keep reading for details on all of these, and more. Then drop me a line with reactions. 

 

Joel

• Will the Real Bible Please Stand Up?
• On the Bible's Cutting Room Floor.
• The Bible Doesn't Say That.
• The Mystery and Majesty of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
• Four Exiles and Four Spiritual Revolutions.
• What Did Jesus Quote?
• The Inside Scoop on Israel.
• Reporting and Distorting the Bible. (new)
• Politics and Piety. (new)
• The Bible-Based Business. (new)

Flooding at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC in Houston

Many of you have heard me talk about the JCC in Houston, TX, and the wonderful experiences I've had there.  The JCC got a mind-boggling 8 feet of water in some of their buildings.  From what I hear they are enthusiastically rebuilding, but I can't imagine it's easy.

I've made a small donation to help them, here. I'll be grateful if you'll consider doing the same.  Find more information about what they're dealing with here.

Last spring, I started an experiment called " The God Confusion," designed to address the surprising ways in which modernity has created two extreme positions - fundamentalism and atheism - and explore the equally surprising middle ground between them.

Most initial reaction was positive.  But I got vitriolic and ad hominem attacks from a small minority of readers.  In a sense, though they insisted that I was mistaken, this second group actually demonstrated my thesis, because there were two kinds of assailants: atheists who used fundamentalist positions to attack me, and fundamentalists who insisted tautologically that the devil was at work in atheism because atheism is the work of the devil.

So I'm not sure where I'm going with this.  I still think there's something there, but I am less optimistic that we can have a civilized discussion of it.

At any rate, I'd love to know what you think.  You can find the initial posts here.

Partial Solar Eclipse

Sometimes all you need is a few clouds, as with this photo I took of the partial solar eclipse in August, here in Westchester, NY.

I wasn't planning on photographing the eclipse, but when the light cloud cover rolled in, I grabbed a pair of ISO-certified solar glasses for my eyes and a camera with a real viewfinder. Then I pointed the camera skyward and awkwardly waved it around at random until I stumbled upon the faint glow of the sun, at which point I did my best to focus, took a guess about exposure, and fired off a few shots.  Sometimes traveling to the backyard can be an adventure, too.