Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason
This fall, Interfaith Expressions will continue the showing of programs included in Bill Moyers’ Public Television series, Faith and Reason. His series explores the complex region between faith and reason through conversations with some of the world’s most noted writers and thinkers.
Moderated discussion will follow each 57-minute showing
at Traditions Café (5th & Water, downtown Olympia)
at 2 pm on the following Sundays
September 23, 2007 Margaret Atwood and Martin Amis
Canadian writer Atwood, the author of such classics as The Handmaid’s Tale and The Edible Woman, talks with Moyers about agnosticism, the hunger for meaning, and the distinction between belief and knowledge.
British author Amis, who has written London Fields and Time’s Arrows, discusses with Moyers humanity’s present condition and the conflict between fundamentalism and secular values.
October 28, 2007 Jeanette Winterson and Will Power Cancelled
British novelist Winterson, author of Sexing the Cherry and Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, talks with Myers about Weight, her new version of the Atlas and Hercules story. She also discusses the power of art to develop a fulfilling inner life.
Writer, actor, and rapper Will Power, whose vividly-staged performances, including The Seven, his hip-hop adaptation of Aeschylus’ Seven Against Thebes, discusses the challenges of using an ancient Greek Drama to create a highly-charged contemporary work.
November 25, 2007 Anne Provoost and David Grossman
Provoost’s novel, In the Shadow of the Ark, tells the story of Noah from the perspective of those who aren’t chosen to go aboard. She talks with Moyers about using ancient narratives to find new insight into the human experience.
David Grossman’s books Someone to Run With and Death as a Way of Life depict the realities of the living in the Holy Land. His most recent work, The Lion’s Honey, is a retelling of the Biblical story of Samson with parallels to today’s turbulent Middle East conflict.
January 27, 2008 Mary Gordon and Colin McGinn
Bill Moyers talks with Mary Gordon -- author of Final Payments, The Company of Women, and Pearl -- about the concept of martyrdom and its connection to rage and despair. She also explores the negative implications of what she sees as two converging influences in modern society: fundamentalism and consumerism.
Colin McGinn -- author of The Mysterious Flame: conscious Minds in a Material World and Ethics, Evil, and Fiction -- talks with Moyers about his adoption of atheism, and his belief that rational criticism is healthy for religion.
