Remember that one time, when God did that thing?

Slate blogs the Bible, by David Plotz

I’m really enjoying the archives of this Slate series. I’ve planned to go back and re-read the Bible for some time now, but you know – it’s so darn long. Every page provokes all sorts of questions – why the two versions of Genesis, blah blah blah. I should read a commentary along with it, but which commentary? Agh, the indecision; the infinite number of Amazon reviews to peruse; maybe I’ll do it later. What I really need is a tastily serialized, feed-friendly Bible, and David Plotz has obliged. If you, too, are a little rusty on your begats, and need a low-impact way to remind yourself just what was up with those Edomites, check it out.

Now, a digression. People are often shocked that I, a molecular biologist, have read the Bible at all. Of course I have. It boggles the mind (and not in a happy, word-game kind of way) that an educated person would not be interested in a text that has shaped Western culture so profoundly. Occasionally, it’s other scientists who express surprise (the amazingly efficient ones who are so resistant to superfluous distractions, they publish three papers while you’re still trying to organize your controls). But usually it’s well-meaning evangelicals, who appear to think that if I only would read the Bible, I would instantly reject evolution, cease taking the Lord’s name in vain, and get out of bed on Sunday morning. The fact that I have already read it, and these events did not transpire, puzzles them exceedingly.

Over the holidays, yet another enjoyable conversation veered the way of religion. I should be used to this, given where I live, but I found myself on the defensive. As usual, it was suggested that perhaps I can’t help being irreligious, because I have been repeatedly taught (“brainwashed”) as a scientist to not believe in God. What baloney! I’ve never been taught anything about religion in any of my science courses. I’ve learned about it in my humanities classes, where it belongs.

Unfortunately, there are many people who are willing to put religion into science courses, and further willing to brutally edit biology wherever it contradicts a literal reading of Biblical text. If you saw Alexandra Pelosi’s HBO documentary, and hoped it was excessively hyperbolic, I’m sorry to burst your bubble of comfort. It’s not. If you didn’t see it, just imagine being a biology teacher in this community:

When I have students like this, I tell them they don’t have to believe in evolution to pass my class (I dislike the phrase “believe in evolution,” since it implies faith, not science, but it gets the message across). All I require is that they learn the evidence for evolution, and can explain why all credible biologists support it. And really, the same goes both ways. Whether you think the Bible is divine or not, everyone ought to know what’s in it, and why people will do such astonishing things because of it. Especially when those people are your neighbors.