Professor Anthony Grayling, soon to be the President of the British Humanist Association, has rewritten the Bible, without all the nasty bits (there are a lot of them). Matthew Adams from New Humanist has interviewed him about his “lifetime’s work”. Grayling says, The way I made it was to plunder from the great traditions texts on which I had performed redaction, weaving them together, editing them, interpolating other texts and sometimes my own, just as the Bible makers worked on their texts.

Our guest Esther Fidler, a Suffolk primary school teacher, thinks not. Come and hear why. For more about the proposed school, type “Steiner” in our search box.

Not sure what’s planned, but you’re welcome anyway.

Youre invited to bring recommended reading to the meeting. Fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry, science or art, funny or serious – whatever youve enjoyed, come and be prepared to tell us about it. Note that if you decide to buy any of the books, theres an Amazon link on our website – we get commission if you use it.

A short illustrated talk by our member Andrew Sheldon on the history of the River Stour from its source to the sea. Places of interest along the way from times gone by and the present day, including important brickwork’s, battle grounds and structures.

Prof. John Midwinter (BSc & PhD in Physics, Hon. DSc, Fellow of the Royal Society) will address the following questions: What is the truth about climate change? (the scientific evidence) What are the implications for us? How can we reduce our personal fossil fuel consumption? What are the possibilities for large scale renewable energy in the UK? Tipping points – the real worry behind the climate change debate.

Humanist Week includes World Humanist Day (21st June, the summer solstice). We’re still working on our plans for this year, Watch this space.

Members enjoyed talking about the books they’d read at our May meeting, so they wanted to do it again. This time, we may talk about films too, maybe even films of books. Share your recommended reading or films.

Group members will be consulted about the BHA’s proposal to change the relationship with us, signing up to a detailed agreement. We are currently affiliated but could become a partner. We’ll be deciding when and how to consult members.

As to Martin Rees accepting the Templeton prize, it’s rather like the Pope accepting the secularist of the year award.

At its AGM last week, the Suffolk Humanist & Secularist group failed to elect a new chairperson, as no one wanted the job. It was agreed that a chairperson would be nominated from the attendees at each meeting, while the committee would take it in turns to chair their meetings. The new committee consists of Denis Johnston (secretary), John Mellis (treasurer), John Palmer, Tom Boles, Colleen Nunn, Michael Imison, Tom Boles, Sue Hewlett and Peter Davidson.

In the Independent, Adrian Hamilton writes, … this Easter week, I can’t help feeling more than ever that the Church of England will not survive my children’s lifetime and quite possibly not even my own. He opines that the C of E may do better if it severs its ties with the state. We’d like disestablishment too, wouldn’t we?

Two stories that have been in the news have attracted lots of attention; the French burqa ban and the Big Society. Eric Pickles and Sayeeda Warsi seem to imagine that religious organisations are the best ones to provide public services in the Big Society. In yesterday’s Guardian, Rahila Gupta wrote, “Faith” has increasingly become the new way of constructing racial minorities, a trend that started under Tony Blair and continues under the Tory-led government.

Campaigning against religion can be socially counter-productive. If teachers take the uncompromising line that God and Darwinism are irreconcilable, many young people raised in a faith-based culture will stick with their religion and be lost to science. Moreover, we need all the allies we can muster against fundamentalism – a palpable, perhaps growing concern.