I’m excited to tell you about a recent program “Caught in the Pulpit: Exploring the Journey from Religion to Reason” presented by the Santa Fe Institute (SFI).
My colleague Dan Dennett participated in it, along with his colleague, Michael Gazzaniga and Marin Gazzaniga, the playwright. The program was moderated by SFI president, David Krakaur and includes selected scenes from the play-in-development, Caught in the Pulpit that I’ve written about twice before on this blog.
Here’s how the program is introduced on the SFI website:
“In this special event, part of SFI’s 2017 Community Lecture Series, actors present select scenes from Marin Gazzaniga’s play, followed by discussion with cognitive scientist and philosopher Dennett (an SFI external professor) and Michael S. Gazzaniga, a cognitive neuroscientist (and the playwright’s father), about what brain-mind mechanisms might be at work in religious belief — and the implications for individuals and society.”
You can watch the whole hour-and-a-half video here.
You could also just bounce around through it to catch scenes featuring five characters: Sherm, the Orthodox Rabbi, Johnny, the Pentecostal preacher (aka Jerry Dewitt), Elizabeth, an Episcopal priest (who is actually a composite character, using dialogue from the transcripts of Caitlin, Candace, aka Catherine Dunphy, my Rational Doubt blog colleague and former acting executive director of The Clergy Project), and Darryl the Presbyterian minister. Then there’s Jim the believing Episcopal priest and Adam the fundamentalist minister (aka Carter Warden). I’ve already informed all of them about the SFI program, which took place on May 9th. It took awhile to get the word out, however, because I was on a computer-free vacation to the national parks when the program went on line. Yes, you can find it on Google!
Of course, the program also included Linda, the interviewer, who is reincarnated as a gorgeous tall blond. The fine local actors are Sabina Dunn, Charles Gamble, Campbell Martin, Hania Stocker and Elizabeth Wiseman. I should add there are two additional characters in the current iteration of the full play which the team that created the SFI program did not include: Joe the Mormon and Michael the Seventh Day Adventist. Also, because the play is still being worked on, it’s possible that there will be additional changes in the characters and scripting. This program offers an unusual peek into a play that is still in development.
I think those of you who can carve out some time to watch the program will find it time well spent. The commentary by Dennett and Gazzaniga adds a whole new dimension to the experience of watching these scenes. Current and former clergy might find the scenes eerily familiar and a little weird. That was the reaction of some of the people I’ve talked with since they’ve seen themselves portrayed as actors on the video.
Catherine Dunphy hardly recognized her former distressed self, attributing her positive change in large part to the company of like-minded people she has met in The Clergy Project.
Jerry Dewitt/Johnny commented,
“It was like watching footage of the car crash that left you crippled.”
Carter Warden/Adam said,
“It is interesting that even then I addressed the possibility of coming out in a very public way.”
He also appreciated the commentary:
“I enjoyed hearing Dan speak throughout and I would have liked to have heard more from Marin.”
**Editor’s Questions** For current/former clergy: How did you feel watching this? How does this relate to what you went through? If not clergy: What are your reactions to the scenes from the interviews? For all: What did you learn from the commentary between the scenes?
I’m looking forward to your comments.
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>>>>>Photo Credits: By Caravaggio – Own work, Lafit86, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10250909 “San Girolamo” (c. 1605-1606), a painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio depicting Saint Jerome, a Roman Catholic priest, historian, and theologian.
