(8 votes, average: 4.63 out of 5)
Loading...Are you in NYC or at least planning to be in October or November? There is a new play called “The Unbelieving” that you should check out! It is a dramatization of a real-life phenomenon that most people don’t know about: pastors who have left the faith but are still active in ministry. There’s more of these religious professionals than you might imagine. Here is the brief description of the play on the show’s website (here: http://Shows | www.59e59.org)
Show Info By Marin Gazzaniga Directed by Steve Cosson
In the classic tale of religious conversion, finding God holds the promise of a life filled with purpose and meaning. But what happens when this transformation occurs in reverse, and a faith you have built your life around begins to fall away? The Unbelieving takes a penetrating look into the lives of practicing clergy members— Catholics, Episcopalians, Evangelicals, Fundamentalists, Jews, Mormons, Muslims—who have stopped believing in God.
Staged by NYC’s acclaimed downtown theater company The Civilians in the brilliant investigative-theater style they pioneered, THE UNBELIEVING tells the intimate stories of these faith leaders. Using their actual words, obtained during a groundbreaking study by philosopher Daniel C. Dennett and qualitative researcher Linda LaScola, the play explores the struggles, courage, and great humor of these “unbelievers” as they face the hardest decision of their lives—whether to continue living in secret or to risk everything by telling the truth.
The play is based on a book that came out in 2013 Caught In The Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind, co-authored by Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola. The book is a non-fiction account of that kind of person: Christian ministers and rabbis actively engaged in ministry but who realize they no longer believe. What does one do in that situation, when one’s livelihood, training, family, social networks are all tied up in a faith that you no longer hold?
Many of you will know have read other books by Dennett or possibly just know about him.. He is one of the major philosophical thinkers of our time and a prolific writer. His main field is cognitive science and he works in such areas as the philosophy of mind, consciousness, and the philosophy of science, especially as these relate to areas of evolutionary biology. He is also widely classed as one of the major “neo-atheists,” along with Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens.
Dennett’s co-author was Linda LaScola. Linda is a psychotherapist, researcher, and clinical social worker. I have corresponded with Linda for many years because she was the co-founder of “The Clergy Project” which provides support for just the kind of religious professional who has lost their faith that their book and now the play is about. Do you know about the Clergy Project? It’s an extremely interesting group. Check out their website (http://The Clergy Project » Support | Community | Hope) Here’s the opening bit of what you’ll find there:
Welcome to The Clergy Project
Are you a religious professional who no longer believes in any God or gods?
Have you remained in vocational ministry, secretly hiding away your non-belief?
Are you struggling over where to go from here with your life and career?
Maybe you’ve been out for some time,out of the ministry and maybe even publicly out as a non-believer…
Maybe you’ve found that the challenges continueto come with your new life and you’re in need of some good community with people who understand the issues you face…
Maybe you’d simply love to connect with other religious professionalswho have likewise left belief behind…
If this is you, we invite you to join The Clergy Project!
The Clergy Project was launched in March 2011 to create a safe and secure Online Community of Forums composed entirely of religious leaders who no longer hold to supernatural beliefs. Many of our project participants have deep privacy concerns, and for that reason, we place your security among our top tier of priorities. Identify yourself with a pseudonym and an avatar image if you prefer. And our private-access website is held secure with air-tight features to make sure your anonymity is in the best of hands.
And so it goes from there.
Interested in the play? It will run from October 20 – November 20, 2022. If you’re going to be in the city, check it out!
Just because you let go of childish religious literalism does not mean that you are closed to embracing the transcendent mysteries of life and the universe or serving a higher purpose.
— Over the past 46 years, psychology has become a spiritual outlook and psychotherapy has become a way of ministering to folks without the robes or liturgy.
— I am really interested in seeing this play come fall .
http://www.revmichaelheath.com/
That must be one of the hardest parts: that beliefs you cherished so ardently now seem “childish” …
Bart, you are so right, google turns up a trove. Here’s just one : https://www.salon.com/2013/03/27/5_religious_leaders_who_became_outspoken_atheists_partner/
You may someday have to do a Trade on this topic, and just how you *must?* commiserate with the challenge of having to abandon youthful and not so youthful religious enthusiasms. Some years ago, in Canada, I remember hearing a Tapestry interview. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/tapestry/tapestry-at-25-tattooed-pastor-nadia-bolz-weber-and-adam-1.5352959/tapestry-at-25-the-atheist-evangelical-minister-known-as-adam-1.5353438
More of a share for those who might wish to listen. Come to think of it, so many members of your own platform fall into this to considerable degree I believe!
Do you know of any books that only give the parts of the gospels that historical-critical scholars consider likely to be historically authentic? Or an edition of the gospels that clearly designates those parts?
I know the Jesus Seminar did something like this but you’ve persuaded me that that is not the best scholarship.
In Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium, you do an excellent job of describing what those parts say. But I would also like to read and have available for ready reference just the NT extracts-in some sort of order-on which that description is based.
Explanatory footnotes would be good too.
The Jefferson Bible would be one of the early attempts. THe problem, of course, is that every scholar would include different parts. And many of us sit on the fene with a *lot* of the material: authentic? not authentic? partially authentic? basically authentic? etc. So it would be hard ot know what to do except the Jesus Seminar’s four color version, which has obvious problems of its own….
Any chance of there being a simple list of passages that have historical value?
I’ve never made a list, no. Interesting idea. BUt in my book Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium I do discuss many of the ones that I think are key for understanding Jesus’ teachings.
Hi Dr. Ehrman,
Do you when writing scholarly books, scholars writing articles, and do students only use Microsoft Word or have you all used Adobe FrameMaker or Adobe InDesign? I was watching a technical writing video which said Adobe FrameMaker was good for multi-level tables of contents and multi-level indexes. Some scholarly books have complex indexes, sometimes more than one index.
I am thinking you have seen other wordprocessing software because your writing has appeared in magazines; for example, Newsweek, Time, National Geographic, Biblical Archeological Review which probably produce their page layouts using Adobe InDesign.
Steve Campbell, author of Historical Accuracy
(also a financial writer and potentially a technical writer)
Authors don’t have to design their writing for publication; they just write it. So most of us simply use Word or something comparable.
“Just because you let go of childish religious literalism does not mean that you are closed to embracing the transcendent mysteries of life and the universe or serving a higher purpose.” In fact, one can now embrace the spiritual mysteries.
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” (1 Co 13:11). Bart, if St Paul did not write this, it is spiritually wisdom.
These childish beliefs are hard to let go, but in order to grow one must learn spiritual truths which are tested, not just blindly believed.
I decided that blind religious beliefs were almost useless for my further evolution, so I accepted what Jesus said, “seek and ye shall find.” I searched for decades, the saints and master of spirituality – in all religious traditions – and have found that they demonstrated their atunment with the transcendental mysteries by their love and healing miracles. I have explored and experienced a few of these transcendental mysteries and been changed by greater insights and gratitude.
Don’t throw out the baby (spirituality) with the bath water (religious blind belief).
“Plato and Aristotle… share a common rationalism; and also a common dualism…. The effect of this rationalism and dualism has been determinative for the classical doctrine of man and for all modern doctrines which are borrowed from it…. This body-mind dualism and the value judgments passed upon both body and mind stand in sharpest contrast to the Biblical view of man and achieve a fateful influence in all subsequent theories of human nature. The Bible knows nothing of a good mind and an evil body.”
https://a.co/eCAVrPh
Years ago, Bart, I saw you argue that dualism began with Descartes. You are infinitely better read than I am, but I never found your argument on that point persuasive. And now at last, lol, I’ve stumbled upon an argument that *does* strike me as being more plausible.
Thanks as always! <3
I didn’t argue that the idea of dualism itself began with Descartes! But the modern division between mind / body, and natural / supernatural can be traced to him. If you would like to read further, check out Dale Martin’s book The Corinthian Body.
I did see the play “The Unbelieving” in New York and thought it was very interesting and very well done. Interesting premise, very real, very topical. And the acting, direction were top-notch.
Ken Wachtell
Jersey City, NJ