About

This blog is meant to be an exploration of various topics, somewhat loosely organized , around the idea that the universe is a fascinating place which abounds in wonder without ever needing to appeal to spirits, gods, or other supernatural entities. The title "Not in Heaven" comes from Deuteronomy 30:12. In its context the phrase refers to the idea that "truth" can be found in the document as is and does not require appealing to prophets or astrologers to query the stars for insight.  I agree with the phrase, but for a different reason. In my view, one never needs to appeal to prophets or astrologers and this includes the Bible and other "revealed" works.

The blog is also a loose follow-on from a previous blog Kefirah of the Week which looked at the Hebrew Bible (or Tanakh) from an academic perspective, as understood by a now atheist, but former Orthodox Jew. From time to time, I might refer to the previous blog, but I expect most of the topics I discuss will be divorced from the Tanakh altogether.

I also don't expect to adhere to any formal schedule.  Posts will be published as I write them, and will probably arrive at seemingly random intervals. Despite the lack of schedule, I have some topics that I plan to discuss. As with my previous blog, I have no compunctions with slaughtering sacred cows. While I don't expect to be purposefully provocative, I do plan to talk about topics which tend to elicit extremely strong emotions among people. I also fully expect to write things about which I am unknowingly wrong.  If you think I state anything in error, I invite you to comment. Provided you can post with politeness, I will certainly consider your posts seriously.

Here are some possible topics I plan to address. If these interest you, check back from time to time.

Do gods exist? why or why not.
Do souls exist?
Absolute and relative moralities
Epistemology, how do we know things
Navigating in the age of (mis)information
Thoughts on contemporary Jewish life
Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism
The current political climate
The trajectory of humanity
The beauty of the physical and mathematical worlds
--and others as I think of them

A note about language. If there winds up being an audience for this blog, I have some expectation that it will be somewhat broader, than my previous one. Therefore I plan to use the standard English forms of words when referring to Biblical figures or concepts, rather than Hebrew ones. So I will talk about the Bible rather than the Tanakh or Torah. Isaac instead of Yitzhak, etc. These are less natural for me, but I feel it's necessary. One unintended side effect is that when I say Bible, I'm usually only referring to the Hebrew Bible, whereas the New Testament will be referred to explicitly. Hopefully this distinction doesn't matter so much, but it's entirely possible that this will cause some confusion.