I’m Speaking in DC!

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What’s the best way to spend Pi Day (March 14th)?  Arguably eating the Venn Piagram pictured above, but luckily that choice doesn’t rule out coming to a theatre talkback I’ll be leading that night!

Theatre J is reviving its stellar production of New Jerusalem: The Interrogation of Baruch de Spinoza and, after the 7:30 show on March 14th, I’ll be moderating a panel cosponsored by the Center for Inquiry on A Spinozian Sense of Justice: Crime and Punishment in a World According to Spinoza.

The two confirmed panelists are John Shook, author of The God Debates: A 21st Century Guide for Atheists and Believers (and Everyone in Between) and the Director of Education for the Center for Inquiry and Jonathan D. Moreno, a professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, of History and Sociology of Science, and of Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania.

You can get the logistical details from the CFI Events Calendar and take advantage of a special group rate for this performance, if any of you are in the area.

This play by David Ives is absolutely magnificent and Theatre J’s staging last summer was extraordinary.  The play is set almost entirely within Baruch de Spinoza’s trial for heresy in front of his synagogue, led by the Rabbi who taught him and supervised by a representative of Protestant Amsterdam.  The show blends philosophy, theology, and history masterfully, and I recommend seeing it on any night (but especially March 14th).