December 2024 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following 18 items:
- The Future of The Clergy Letter Project;
- Across the Cosmos for December 2024: Absolutely Striking Space Photographs;
- What Noah’s Family Heard on the Ark;
- The Vatican Observatory;
- Are Faith And Free Will Compatible With One Another?;
- Peter Hotez on RFK, Jr.;
- Ken Olson’s Take on the Election;
- Judaism and Science – Schism or Synergy?;
- A Jewish Take on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life;
- Join Me on BlueSky;
- Giving Tuesday – No Money Requested;
- Bible Lessons in Texas;
- Trump Bibles Appear in Oklahoma Classrooms;
- Are Bible Lessons Coming to Idaho?;
- How Science, Stigma and Religious Language Shaped the AIDS Crisis;
- Congregations in the Age of Trump 2.0;
- An Historical Perspective on Religion and Science; and
- A Unifying Vision for the Modern Age.
1. The Future of The Clergy Letter Project
Before going into any detail, I want to thank all of you who took the time to write to express your thoughts on this question. Your responses were thoughtful and provided much to think about. They ranged from suggesting that perhaps The Clergy Letter Project should declare victory and encourage members to move on to other endeavors to suggesting that our work is more important now than ever before. Some suggested that the material presented in our newsletter provides important information for members. Others suggested that we should do significantly more to spread the word about the relationship between religion and science.
It was suggested that we hold regular Zoom gatherings for members with invited speakers, that we create local networks to enable members to more effectively contact legislators when pertinent local issues arise, that we invite legislators to interact with members via Zoom, that we hold in-person conferences, that we expand our outreach to include more scientists, and the list goes on. So many of the ideas suggested are exciting but what is painfully clear is that with a(n unpaid) staff of one, and no budget, adopting any of these suggestions is going to be very difficult. Which is where you come in.
I’m open to almost anything but I need help. (The one firm conviction I have is my absolute reticence to ask members to donate money!) Are you willing to help? Do you, and a friend or colleague or two, want to take on a project in the name of The Clergy Letter Project? Are you willing to work with other members to plan a course of action? Are you interested in serving on a steering committee? If helping out in any of these ways sounds good to you, please let me know. Working together, we should be able to do so much more. I very much look forward to hearing from you.
In the meantime, if you haven’t yet done so, please sign up to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2025. With the Weekend scheduled a mere couple of weeks after the presidential inauguration, this year discussing ways to search for truth, the importance of truth, and a demonstration that religion can be so much richer than promoting Christian Nationalism seems more critical than ever. I hope we can increase participation and make an impressive statement about the power of religion and science working together, especially in a divided world.
Similarly, with the US government likely pulling back from taking meaningful climate change action, we need to be even more vocal about the importance of continuing to move forward. The first step on this journey, if you haven’t yet done so, is to sign our Climate Change Letter.
_____ Yes, this is an important time for action. Please:
_____ sign my congregation up as a participant in Religion and Science Weekend 2025
_____ add my signature to the Climate Crisis Letter
Name:
Congregation (or other entity):
Location:Together, let’s help shape the future we so desperately want and fear we are losing.
2. Across the Cosmos for December 2024: Absolutely Striking Space Photographs
For reasons out of her control, Grace is taking this month off. Instead of a fascinating column by her, I’ll take this opportunity to share a couple of links with truly amazing photographs of the cosmos. The first is the NASA Webb Telescope feed on BlueSky which you can access here. The second is another BlueSky account, this one entitled “Astronomy Pictures.” The site administrator has certainly chosen some amazing photographs. You can view the images here. Enjoy!
3. What Noah’s Family Heard on the Ark
The folks at Answers in Genesis have outdone themselves! They’ve posted a short video claiming to portray what Noah’s family heard on the ark. While it’s difficult to take this seriously, I’ll remind you that Answers in Genesis, the largest creationist organization in the world, is a multimillion-dollar enterprise. You can view the video here.
4. The Vatican Observatory
Religion Unplugged ran a really nice story about the Vatican Observatory. You can read it here.
5. Are Faith And Free Will Compatible With One Another?
Religion Unplugged also ran an interesting piece entitled “Are Faith And Free Will Compatible With One Another?” You can read the story here.
6. Peter Hotez on RFK, Jr.
Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and founding dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, has been a critically important voice in promoting the importance of science literacy and opposing all types of discrimination, in addition to helping to develop low-cost and/or free vaccines. He was recently interviewed by Inside Higher Ed and discussed RFK, Jr.’s opposition to vaccines. You can read the interview here.
7. Ken Olson’s Take on the Election
The Reverend Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and a frequent contributor to our newsletter, has shared two short essays with me that he submitted to his local newspaper. The first, entitled “When Did Ignorance Become a Virtue?, notes, among other things that what “we are obligated to do is to recognize the extreme danger of ignorance and speak out against it.” The piece can be found here. The second piece is entitled “I Was Wrong” and explains how his belief that character and truth would matter in the presidential election was far from the mark. You can read it here.
8. Judaism and Science – Schism or Synergy?
Our good friends at Sinai and Synapses have published two interesting pieces this month. This item and the next offer both of them. This first one presents a panel addressing the topic, Judaism and Science – Schism or Synergy? The piece’s introduction explains the thesis well: “The conflict between science and religion is as old as science itself, with many religious leaders denouncing advances and theories, from Darwinism to the use of embryonic stem cells, and scientists expressing similar contempt for religion. Does Judaism have a unique religious perspective when it comes to balancing questions of trust, faith, evidence and knowledge? Do today’s Jewish scientists believe traditional Jewish wisdom brings value to the tables at which they work?” You can read the full article here.
9. A Jewish Take on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life
The title of the second article from Sinai and Synapses, “A Jewish Take on the Search for Extraterrestrial Life,” explains its focus. You can read the article here.
10. Join Me on BlueSky
I’ve moved on from X (Twitter). I’m no longer interested in supporting its owner and I’m tired of all of the hate speech there, so I’ve taken up residence at BlueSky, a site that is far more interesting and civil. Join me there. You can find me by clicking here. Hope to interact with you soon!
11. Giving Tuesday – No Money Requested
Giving Tuesday is an opportunity to provide monetary support for organizations you believe are doing good work. While I hope you feel positive about the efforts of The Clergy Letter Project, I’m not asking for monetary contributions. Instead, I’m interested in receiving an investment of your time – probably about one minute of your time! Specifically, I’m asking you to contact one or more colleagues and invite them to join The Clergy Letter Project. That’s not too much to ask, is it? Thanks for investing that minute in our shared future.
12. Bible Lessons in Texas
As you’ve likely heard, the Texas State Board of Education, in late November, approved the use of the Bible in elementary school lessons. I’m providing a gift article from The New York Times that outlines the situation and presents significant criticisms about the nature of the curriculum. You can read the article here. I fear that this is just the beginning of efforts around the country to infuse one particular religious perspective in public school classrooms. The next several items detail some of what’s happening around the country.
13. Trump Bibles Appear in Oklahoma Classrooms
Newsweek reports that Trump Bibles have made their appearance in Oklahoma classrooms. At least 500 of those Bibles have now been distributed to schools throughout the state with tens of thousands more apparently on the way. You can read the article here.
14. Are Bible Lessons Coming to Idaho?
The East Idaho News just ran a story indicating that “An influential Christian lobbying group in Idaho plans to bring forward a bill that would require all public schools to read the Bible.” The head of the Idaho Family Policy Center, the organization promoting the proposed legislation, stated her bias very clearly: “Government should promote Christian values.” I suspect that her description of Christian values might not be the same as what many of you believe – not to mention that this ignores the values espoused by members of other religions as well as atheists. You can read the piece here.
15. How Science, Stigma and Religious Language Shaped the AIDS Crisis
Anthony Petro, associate professor of Religion and of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Boston University, published an essay entitled “How HIV/AIDS got its name - the words Americans used for the crisis were steeped in science, stigma and religious language” at RNS. His insights into the way these three variables shaped how the crisis was imagined and handled are worth reading and, perhaps more importantly, how they may shape future medical crises is worthy of our attention. You can read the article here.
16. Congregations in the Age of Trump 2.0
The Rev. Cameron Trimble, founder and CEO of Convergence, in an article entitled “The Future Ahead: Congregations in the Age of Trump 2.0,” warns readers that “the re-election of Donald Trump to the presidency presents an unprecedented crisis for American democracy” and argues that it might lead to “unleashed racism and misogyny, exacerbated by one new factor that past civilizations have never had to confront: climate change.” She offers advice for congregations interested in dealing with these threats: “In the face of societal and political turbulence, congregations can play vital roles in fostering justice, resilience, and community connection.” You can read her article, including seven critical steps congregations can take that might make a difference here.
17. An Historical Perspective on Religion and Science
The November issue of Covalence is focused on the question of whether religion and science might come together to tackle uncertainty. As Susan Barreto, editor of Covalence, notes, they’ve done so before. You can read the piece here.
18. A Unifying Vision for the Modern Age
As Susan Barreto, editor of Covalence, notes, “In this new issue of Covalence, we are looking more closely at the more recent history of the faith and science dialogue with a snapshot of the work of Ralph Wendell Burhoe.” Her article opens by explaining, “Ralph Wendell Burhoe (1911-1997) wasn’t a scientist or a theologian but wrote extensively on humanity’s expanding knowledge and technology and the impact of it surpassing religion and culture. Among other contributions, he argued that this potentially has left humankind at its most vulnerable condition in perhaps millions of years.” You can read the article here.
Concluding Thoughts
We’re a month past the US presidential election and, frankly, it doesn’t feel any better. I fear what’s coming and only hope that enough of us are able to retain the focus and energy to push back effectively and often. We need to protect the truth, the planet, the most vulnerable among us. We need to remember the importance of respect, to value diversity in its myriad forms, to celebrate each other. In short, we need to retain our humanity in the midst of those who would wrest it away. None of this will be easy, but it might be possible if we remember that we have each other. On that note, I wish each and every one of you a healthy holiday season as well as a productive and happy new year.
Finally, as I do every month, I urge you to take one simple action. Please share this month’s Newsletter with a colleague or two (or post a link via any social media platform you use) and ask them to add their voices to those promoting a deep and meaningful understanding between religion and science. They can add their signatures to one of our Clergy Letters simply by dropping me a note at mz@theclergyletterproject.org. Spread the word; change the world. Together we are making a difference.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org