The third in our series of monthly discussions on “The Bible from the Standpoint of Scientific and Historical Analysis” will be held on Saturday, February 20 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m., in the library at 700 Hartford Turnpike in Hamden. Handouts will be available to accompany our studies of: The origins of the science of archeology; the timeline of the Stone, Copper, Bronze, and Iron Ages in Mesopotamia; the timeline of the Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian Empires; an introduction to isotopic dating techniques, beginning with carbon-14 dating; the oldest known cities in the Middle East; and finally, a comparison of early Mesopotamian creation myths with the first and second Biblical creation myths.

Our featured speaker will be our own Dr. David Schafer. Since February is Darwin Month, we will once again celebrate the incalculable change wrought by one man in humanity’s understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe. Explaining some of the basic concepts and methods of “Evo-Devo,” (the emerging science of the Evolution of Development, a blend of evolution and embryonic development) illustrated by segments from the December 29 installment of NOVA on PBS, entitled “What Darwin Never Knew,” David will attempt to give an appreciation of the fabulous promise of this research for our future understanding of the detailed panorama of the molecular machinery underlying evolution, something “Darwin Never Knew.”

We'll start with a half an hour of coffee and conversation at 7:30 PM. The talk will start after brief announcements at 8:00 PM.

The Congregation for Humanistic Judaism will be holding their second annual Darwin Day Dinner on Friday, February 12, at 7:00 p.m. at Quattro Pazzi Restaurant, 65 Fillow Street, Norwalk.

The program includes a lecture, “Evolution of the Universe,” presented by Charles David Bailyn, the Thomas E. Donnelley Professor of Astronomy & Physics at Yale University. Tickets cost $60 ($55 before January 31) and seating is limited.

Reserve your place by mailing your check payable to Darwin Day Committee to: 249 Chestnut Hill Road, Norwalk CT 06851. For more information, contact the Southern Connecticut Darwin Day Committee by calling John Levin at (646) 371-9280 or emailing him at jlevin@tfm-llc.com, or Craig Tomarkin at ctomarkin@aol.com. You can also visit http://www.humanisticjews.org/darwin/.

Humanist Conversations: "Humanism: What For?"

Science marches on. Are the effects always, without reservation, blessings? The possibilities that the development of a cheap, easy, and wide net test for genes linked to some truly dreadful diseases or syndromes are wonderful or maybe dreadful. We will look at a brief news report and a somewhat more detailed written news story. Then the conversation will follow the inclinations of our participants. Join us Saturday, February 6 at 2:30 p.m. in the library at 700 Hartford Turnpike in Hamden. Refreshments will be served.

Book discussion on Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character), by Richard P. Feynman and Ralph Leighton.

Rescheduled from December 19, 2009

The second in our series of monthly discussions on "The Bible from the Standpoint of Scientific and Historical Analysis," was concerned with comparing the Creation Story in the book of Genesis with the much older Sumerian myth known as "Enuma Elish." We took a look at the history of comparative studies of the texts, together with the role of major archeological discoveries in the 19th and 20th centuries. We also watched the first program of the Michael Wood documentary Legacy.

Our featured speaker this month wass Richard Duffee. He studied philosophical psychology at the University of Chicago, earned an MA in English, then taught in high school, prison, and college. After earning a J.D. (with a certificate in International Law) at Pace Law School, Duffee went to Southeast Asia, lived there nine years, taught at two Indian law schools and married into an Ex-Untouchable family. Duffee began teaching the international dimensions of poverty in “Law and Poverty” courses in 1999 in India, first published his analysis in 2003, and has presented it at the World Social Forum.

Humanist Conversations: Foreclosure

Steve Meacham, a community organizer for City Life/Vida Urbana, is doing something about the foreclosure crisis, one foreclosure at a time.

We watched and discussed an inspiring segment from the December 18, 2009 edition of Bill Moyers Journal.