For those who know me personally (or who have followed me for long enough), you’re aware that I am atheist. I grew up very Catholic. And like all good Catholic boys, the only vestige of my Catholicism now is periodically invoking the name of the Father, the Son, the Blessed Mother, or whatever Saint fits the bill in the most violently profane torrent needed at the time. Never the Holy Spirit, though. Fuck that guy.

And as a vehement atheist, I have come to appreciate actual biblical scholarship. I feel like I know the Bible way better now than I did earlier (even as one of the few people who have actually read the motherfucker all the way through). For the record, “Then came Shamgar, son of Anath, who killed 600 Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel.” Shamgar: absolute fucking legend.

So as I was listening to the Data Over Dogma podcast the other day, Dan McClellan (a scholar of the Bible and Religion) said something that surprised me. He said that how he writes and how he speaks are very different. To the point where narrating an audiobook of his own work was a chore.

This is very strange to me. Except for drafting actual legal documents (I am an M&A attorney, after all), I write and speak in exactly the same way. Work emails, personal emails, this blog. National CLE’s where I teach the economics of Mergers and Acquisitions transactions. It’s all the same voice.

Perhaps it’s a luxury of being the kind of lawyer who never has to go to court, know any actual laws, or be particularly formal. Perhaps it’s just taking intellectual honesty to its logical conclusion.

But when you read these words, know that you’re getting the unvarnished and truthful James. That is my promise to you.

JPG