Test Of Faith Resources

Real Science Real Faith

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

‘This book will challenge those who believe there is an inevitable gulf between scientists and religion; it will raise questions for Christians who think there are easy answers; and it will turn the head of many a professional scientist for whom religion has been out of bounds.’

- The Rt Revd Michael Turnbull, Bishop of Durham

‘The ultimate problem all of us have to face relates to the activity of God in the world,’ observes Professor R.J. Berry. ‘A God who has no control over events, who cannot answer prayer or affect our lives, is hardly worth believing in… But the message that comes over loud and clear from all sixteen scientists is that our faith is not “useless”, that God has intervened in the world he has made, and that “in him all things hold together…”

‘The result is not a textbook of apologetics, but all the classical science-faith problems are touched on – miracles, determinacy, “natural laws”, answered prayer, healing… a faith without reason is a stultifying as reason without faith.’

Surprised by Science

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Colin Russell began his scientific career by experimenting with electronics and home-made chemistry sets in a way that would make the hair of today's health and safety officer stand on end. Rebelling against church, he discovered Christian faith at a 'Crusader' class. Colin pursued a career in chemistry, before side-stepping into the Open University to run their new history of science department. It was in this post that he was able to challenge the idea that science and religion have always been in conflict.

Down to Earth

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Martin Bott combined a love of mountaineering and physics to become a geophysicist, and experienced the discovery of plate tectonics (the movement of the earth's crust) in the 1960s. A near-disaster on an expedition in Spitzbergen and a university Christian Union event both contributed to his finding personal faith. As a geophysicist Martin has had to think about how the Bible and science speak to each other, seeking the truth in both spheres.

Credibility and Credo

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As a young scientist Roy Peacock rejected faith in favour of what he saw as a rational alternative in science. But when his wife became a Christian he was able to observe the impact of Christian faith on her life first hand. The discovery that her life was changed convinced him that this faith was real, and discovered that 'the divide between the Christian faith and scientific knowledge is a mirage promoted by a few noisy people.'

A God Big Enough

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

John Houghton, the former Director-General of the British Meteorological (Met) office, describes how he answers the question often put to him: 'Should we pray about the weather?' He explores the nature of prayer, drawing on his knowledge of science, and his experiences as a Christian.

A Talent for Science

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ghillean Prance was accepted as a candidate for ordination in the Anglican church before realising that his talents in botany were a God-given gift that should be used. He never regretted his decision to stay in science, as he has been able to use his talents to the full. His faith informed his attitude towards conservation, and has helped him to learn from the Brazilians that he worked with.

Non in tempore sed cum tempore

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Robert Boyd was involved in the early use of rockets in high altitude studies, and later in the development of satellites. He has always been keen to get across his conviction that faith is not outmoded by science, and has written poetry that expresses both his faith and his love of science.

Biology and Belief

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Andrew Miller describes the science of molecular biology, and some of his own research. He asks - can life be explained fully in terms of physics and chemistry? And how did life arise in the first place? Finally, he explores the relationship between faith and science. He shows how, for him, science does not rule out faith in God.

How can I know God, or rather be known by God?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Duncan Vere maps out his faith journey, and the most important questions for him about how science and faith relate to each other. The main issues were creation, the resurrection, freewill and design in nature. As a medical doctor he has also faced some ethical issues. All of these issues relate to the question of how God interacts with the world.

Can Science and Christianity Both Be True?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Materials scientist Colin Humphreys deals with the question 'Is Christianity True?' He first wrestled with this question as a student in London, where his eccentric French landlady would only take students who spoke French, and his fellow boarders were both Christians. Colin questioned everything about his faith, but eventually the answer to the question was 'Yes'. Later in life this rigorous approach to evidence led him to tackle the question of miracles, creation, and the dating of the crucifixion - which is the subject of his most cited scientific paper...

Personal Faith and Commitment

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Although Elizabeth Rhodes loved both science and history, she decided to study science at university, and take part in the post-war scientific race. She was seriously ill as a child, and further illness as a student seemed to have shattered her dreams of a career in academic research. The teaching she received from John Stott encouraged her to keep going in science, as new avenues opened up to her.

Pathways

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Roger Bolton explains how he came to realise that science and faith can work hand in hand. He also honestly describes the issues that have troubled him.

Brains, Mind and Faith

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As a psychologist Malcolm Jeeves has thought deeply about the psychology of religion. He has learned to recognise the vulnerability of his faith, but the unchanging character of God. In this chapter he looks at the questions of wishful thinking, the soul, and reductionism.

Man - Dust with a Destiny

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Early in his career as a psychiatrist, Monty Barker noticed the lack of attention paid to a patient's religious beliefs. He charts the subsequent growth in psychotherapy, and the deep spiritual hunger that he believes has caused that trend - although religious beliefs were often still ignored. In this chapter he outlines his approach to psychiatry in the context of faith.

To Whale or not to Whale, That is the Question

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As a conservation biologist, Ray Gambell was a member of the whaling commission in the sixties and seventies, when pitched battles were being fought at a political level about the legality of whaling. Here he describes how his faith affected his role as a biologist in this difficult area.

Genes, Genesis and Greens

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Having tried to enter the 'holy' occupations (missionary, ordination, teaching) and been unsuccessful, Sam Berry became a scientist, and discovered that this was the best thing that he could do - to use his talents. Here he discusses some of the issues he thought through as a scientist: evolution, miracles and looking after the environment. He also demonstrates how, having had a traumatic start in life, God gives wholeness to all of life.

Science and Christian Faith Today

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The concluding chapter is an essay from the late Donald MacKay, who has contributed greatly to the discussion of faith and science. Here he outlines the historical relationship between science and faith. He also describes one way of looking at the way in which God acts in the world in relation to origins, 'natural laws', and miracles.

Bibliography

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 1: What does the 'image of God' mean?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The 'image of God' is a central concept in Christian ethics, yet it is rarely even mentioned in the Bible. Through history, people have come up with many difference explanations of the Image of God, but what does the Bible say?

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Mechanism and Meaning

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The goal of science is to understand the way the world works by asking questions about the mechanisms behind things we see happening. However, mechanism is not the only important thing. Meaning is important in life, and just because we know the mechanism underlying an experience, doesn't make it meaningless.

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Reading Genesis

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When we read the Bible, and Genesis especially, there are a few questions we can ask to help us understand it: What are the social and historical backgrounds of the texts? What type of literature is it? How does a text work in the context of the whole Bible?

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Science and Knowledge of God

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When Christians look at the created world, we can sometimes recognize God's work. However, there are some pitfalls here to be aware of…

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Ways of understanding science and religion

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are four basic ways of understanding the relationship between science and religion: conflict, separation, fusion, and complementarity.

Briefing Sheet Session 2: The age of the Earth

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Scientists have used many different methods to calculate the age of the Earth. They use layers in trees and ice cores back to over 10,000 years and 200,000 years. Changes in the Earth's magnetic field are recorded in rocks, and can be used to date them over several million years, while radiometric dating using decaying isotopes can be used to establish that the age of the earth is about 4.5 billion years old.

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Evidence for evolution

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Two of the most compelling examples of evolution are laid out here: ring species, which almost seem to preserve all the steps of evolution; and DNA fossils, which point to common ancestry.

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Intelligent Design

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Intelligent Design is a movement which seeks to use scientific and mathematical tools to detect the involvement of a designer in the structures of life and the universe. The main arguments for and against Intelligent Design are outlined here.

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Random Chance?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The processes of evolution can sometimes appear random, and therefore purposeless. However, randomness in a scientific sense is not the same as randomness in the more absolute sense of 'without purpose or meaning'. Christian biologists have said that evolution could be analogous to the experience of providence.

Darwin's Test of Faith: Lessons from a Victorian Agnostic, by Nick Spencer

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What did Charles Darwin believe? And what can we learn from it? For Darwin, Christianity was like a proof to be established. His faith was based on the natural world, rather than on the Bible and knowing God. Without real appreciation of the Cross, suffering and loss made it impossible for Darwin to hold on to his so-called 'rational' faith.

Bioethics: A Christian Perspective, by Lisa Goddard

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What is bioethics? Bioethics reasons about the moral issues within science and medicine, including those that affect people. Christian bioethics has its own set of moral values which are drawn particularly from the biblical account of God's relationship with humanity.

Just how complicated is the brain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles tries to express just how complicated the human brain is, and some of the realities of brain research.

How is personality related to the brain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The brain and personality are very closely connected. Alasdair Coles outlines the famous case of Phineas Gage, who had a brain injury which changed his personality.

Can our behaviour change our brain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The brain has a huge capacity for change, and in childhood it changes quickly and easily. Illness in adulthood shows how much our brains can still change.

How is religious behaviour related to the brain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles talks about the way religion is related to the brain. He explores the insights that come from working with people who are suffering from dementia, and the spiritual experiences that they have.

What is religious experience?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The complexity of religious behaviour and spiritual experience.

Where is belief located in the brain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Questioning the usefulness of talking about a 'God Spot'. Any behaviour involves activity in many areas of the of the brain - should faith be any different?

Is it possible to make someone religious?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Is it possible to stimulate spiritual experience in the brain? Genuine spiritual experience is very complicated and involves reasoning and actions which cannot be artificially stimulated.

How do mind and brain relate?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles discusses how he sees mind and brain relating to one another. The brain is like clay, but the mind is like a vase. The brain is made out of neurons, but it is not possible to describe the mind simply in terms of the organisation of neurons.

'Emergence' - Where does the human mind come from?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles gives an example of emergence which stresses the difference between a 'thing' and what that 'thing' is made of - a table is more than wood.

How did you become involved in research on spiritual experience?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A story about a patient with temporal lobe epilepsy and how that relates to religious belief. How is it possible to distinguish genuine religious experience from 'misfiring' in the brain?

What does it mean for us to be people 'made in the image of God'?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles explains his understanding of the 'image of God', and how that fits with human evolution in terms of human capacities and relationships.

Where does morality come from?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles discusses the difference between humans (homo sapiens) and other animals.

Why do some people find that science leads them to God, but not others?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alister McGrath describes two ways to approach science: first that it tells us all that is important about the world; second that it raises questions that we cannot answer.

What is the role of science?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Science is very successful at finding out certain things, but it has limits. When it comes to questions of meaning, does science have anything to say?

What is the relationship between science and Christian theology?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alister McGrath discusses two specific areas for collaboration between the natural sciences and theology: 1) the deep order in the way things are, and 2) why that order exists.

Do believers ever need to reassess their beliefs in the light of scientific discoveries?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The New Testament encourages Christians to test everything and hold on to what is good. Christians need to constantly be thinking, and science has a particular role to play in this process.

What is the relationship between science and religion?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alister McGrath explores the relationship between science and religion. Why do people often say that it is complementary - doesn't this imply that there are gaps in our scientific understanding that have to be filled with religion?

Will science one day 'touch the mind of God'?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Science is progressing all the time - will we one day have proof for God? What are the limits of the scientific endeavour?

The sixties generation & atheist apologetics

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alister McGrath considers atheist 'apologetics', and the use of scientific arguments. It was once thought that faith was on the way out, but this has not happened, and atheism has had to respond to that.

How do we know that spiritual experience is real?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Is spiritual experience simply a mis-firing of neurons in the brain, and so not to be trusted? Alister McGrath discusses this in the context of the wider basis of religious experience.

Childhood spirituality

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alister McGrath discusses the significance of recent research into childhood spirituality. Is belief in God as unnatural as some have claimed?

Setting the agenda.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Christians working in science are often invited to react to the criticisms of atheists. How can scientist-believers begin to set the agenda themselves?

What is the 'anthropic principle'?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There's something about the world that makes it friendly for life - it almost looks as if the universe knew we were coming...

What are we to make of Adam & Eve?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is one of the most important questions concerning the origins of life, and one where Christians hold different views. Alister McGrath discussed the various perspectives, then returns to the common truths that all Christians believe.

Ard Louis' research

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis is a theoretical physicist. At the moment he is working on biological systems because he is interested in complex systems such as gene interaction and cellular communication.

Personal story [1] - Childhood in Gabon

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis describes his idyllic childhood in rural Africa with his friends and his pet chimpanzee. He became a Christian through seeing the impact of Christianity on his African friends.

Personal story [2] - Did you ever have any problems relating science and faith?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis had to do some hard thinking when he was an undergraduate at Utrecht, and again as a grad student at Cornell. In reconciling his science and his faith, he became aware that the pursuit of knowledge can be glorifying to God in itself.

Personal story [3] - What is your experience of Young Earth Creationism?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis never had a serious problem with evolution, although there was a time when he had to think through how evolution and the Bible fit together. The real problem is when young people who are taught young Earth creationism go to university - what do they make of the new things they are learning?

Intelligent Design

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis explains his doubts about Intelligent Design, both scientific and theological.

Do you ever discuss science and religion questions with your colleagues?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Science-faith issues come up in many different settings in Oxford. Some are very high level heated discussions; others begin with surprisingly naïve assumptions.

Is science the whole story?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Science is probably the most successful operation human beings have every set out to do. However, science can only deal with predictable and repeatable events. Religion, on the other hand - like daily life - deals with events that are unique.

What surprised you most when you looked into the history of science and religion?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis was surprised when he was first learning about science and Christianity that actually historically Christianity has led to the development of modern science, and that the young earth creationism is not a historical doctrine.

Are science and faith complementary?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis explains his own view of how science and faith relate to each other - one that recognises the fact that faith influences the whole of life. Ard gives examples to show how this affects the way he conducts his work and relationships with his colleagues.

Personal story [4] - What areas cause you to have doubts?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis shares his thoughts on suffering. He describes how the Bible never gives a full answer for suffering, but instead gives us the solution in Christ.

Personal story [5] - How has growing up in Africa left its mark on you?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Growing up in Africa continues to have an impact on the way that Ard Louis lives his life now.

Is it decadent to worry about science and faith while people in Africa are dying?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis explains why he thinks that questions of science and religion are important to Africa. These questions are relevant, and they may also have an impact on overall spiritual life.

The developed world mainly benefits from scientific research. How do you live with that?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The vast majority of scientific funding in medicine and engineering goes to funding research that benefits the developed world. Many scientists see this as an injustice. A debate needs to be had on a national level about the priorities in science funding.

Is evolution a random process?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of Ard Louis' areas of research is self-assembly - how seemingly random movements lead to ordered biological structures. Ard discusses the link between his own work and the randomness we see in evolution.

Briefing Sheet Session 1: The Christian Roots of Science

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It sometimes feels as if science is about as far away from faith as you can get, because it’s done without reference to God. When we look at history more closely, though, we realize that science is based on a series of basic ideas or assumptions that came largely from Christianity. Most of these ideas come so naturally to people living in the deeply scientific twenty-first century that we need to spell them out in order to appreciate how revolutionary they were in their time.

Briefing Sheet Session 1: The Christian Roots of Science

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 1: What does the 'image of God' mean?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Reading Genesis

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Science and Knowledge of God

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When Christians look at the created world, we can sometimes recognize God's work. However, there are some pitfalls here to be aware of…

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Mechanism and Meaning

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Ways of understanding science and religion

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are four basic ways of understanding the relationship between science and religion: conflict, separation, fusion, and complementarity.

Briefing Sheet Session 2: The age of the Earth

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Evidence for evolution

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Two of the most compelling examples of evolution are laid out here: ring species, which almost seem to preserve all the steps of evolution; and DNA fossils, which point to common ancestry.

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Intelligent Design

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Random Chance?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darwin's Test of Faith: Lessons from a Victorian Agnostic, by Nick Spencer

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bioethics: A Christian Perspective, by Lisa Goddard

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis [1] - Childhood in Gabon

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis describes his idyllic childhood in rural Africa with his friends and his pet chimpanzee. He became a Christian through seeing the impact of Christianity on his African friends.

Ard Louis [2] - Did you ever have any problems relating science and faith?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis [3] - What is your experience of Young Earth Creationism?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis [4] - What areas cause you to have doubts?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ard Louis shares his thoughts on suffering. He describes how the Bible never gives a full answer for suffering, but instead gives us the solution in Christ.

Ard Louis [5] - How has growing up in Africa left its mark on you?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Growing up in Africa continues to have an impact on the way that Ard Louis lives his life now.

Alister McGrath - Will science one day 'touch the mind of God'?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Science is progressing all the time - will we one day have proof for God? What are the limits of the scientific endeavour?

Ard Louis - Is science the whole story?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles - Where is belief located in the brain?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Questioning the usefulness of talking about a 'God Spot'. Any behaviour involves activity in many areas of the of the brain - should faith be any different?

Alasdair Coles - 'Emergence' - Where does the human mind come from?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Alasdair Coles gives an example of emergence which stresses the difference between a 'thing' and what that 'thing' is made of - a table is more than wood.

Sample chapter: Learning the Language of God

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What if we could uncover the contents of the entire DNA instruction book inside every one of our cells, that drives the development and functioning of our bodies? This is the question that Francis Collins asked as the NIH Director of the Human Genome Project, a huge international effort that involved more than two thousand researchers. In 2000 the first draft of the DNA ‘genome’ was completed after ten years of hard work. The official statement from the White House said that ‘We are gaining ever more awe for the complexity, the beauty and the wonder of God’s most divine and sacred gift.' This wasn't political spin for Collins but really reflected his own experience.

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Journey Begins: Dr Ruth Bancewicz, The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, St Edmund’s College, Cambridge

1. Learning the Language of God: Dr Francis Collins, Former Director, Human Genome Project

2. Being Human: More than a Brain: Reverend Dr Alasdair Coles, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Neuroimmunology, Cambridge University, Honorary Consultant Neurologist to Addenbrooke’s and Hinchingbrooke Hospitals, and Curate at St Andrews Church, Cambridge

3. Exploring God’s Universe: Dr Jennifer Wiseman, Astrophysicist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

4. Biology, Beliefs and Values: Professor John Bryant, Professor Emeritus of Cell and Molecular Biology,
Exeter University

5. Life in the Lab: Professor Bill Newsome, Professor of Neurobiology, Stanford University School
of Medicine

6. Thinking Technology: Professor Rosalind Picard, Professor of Media Arts & Sciences, MIT; director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the MIT Media Lab; co-director, Things That Think Consortium

7. A Deeper Logic: Dr Ard Louis, The Rudolf Peierls Centre for Theoretical Physics, Oxford University

8. The Faith of a Physicist: Reverend Dr John Polkinghorne KBE FRS, Former Professor of Mathematical Physics, Cambridge University, and Former President of Queens’ College, Cambridge

9. Heart and Mind: Understanding Science and Faith: Dr Deborah B. Haarsma, Associate Professor in Physics & Astronomy, Calvin College, Michigan

10. The God Solution?: Professor Alister McGrath, Professor of Historical Theology, Harris Manchester
College, Oxford

Links - General

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion: Resources and courses on science & faith issues
The BioLogos Foundation: An organisation with many different resources on science and faith founded by Francis Collins, former director of the Human Genome Project.
Christians in Science: A UK-based fellowship for scientists and others
The American Scientific Affiliation: An American fellowship of Christians in science
Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation: A Canadian fellowship of Christians in science
Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology: An Australian fellowship of Christians in science
Victoria Institute: A forum for those who wish to hold together Christian faith and advances in scientific knowledge
Society of Ordained Scientists: A dispersed ecumenical preaching order of priest-scientists.
The Gifford Lectures on Natural Theology: Lectures held at the four historic Scottish Universities
James Gregory Lectures: Science and Religion at St Andrews
BeThinking: UCCF apologetics site, contains many articles on science and faith
The Science and Religion in Schools Project: A major project that aims to produce excellent and effective teaching materials for both students and teachers

Links - Origins

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Christians in Science: Information and resources on a theistic evolution position
The Faraday Institute: Information and resources on a theistic evolution position
The American Scientific Affiliation: A range of positions, mainly focusing on theistic evolution and intelligent design
Answers in Creation: A comprehensive Old Earth Creationism site
Godandscience.org: An Old Earth site
Reasons to Believe: An Old Earth public outreach organisation
Discovery Institute: The main supporter of the Intelligent Design movement
Answers in Genesis: The main international Young Earth Creationist organisation
Institute for Creation Research: One of the oldest Young Earth Creationist movements
The Wonder Project: A multi-disciplinary project concentrating on the study of origins

Links - Bioethics

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Christian Medical Fellowship: Provides a large collection of useful articles and other publications.
The Scottish Centre for Human Bioethics: An independent charitable organisation composed of professionals from various disciplines associated with medical ethics.
Biocentre: A British think-tank focusing on emerging technologies and their ethical, social and political implications.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics: A secular organisation that examines ethical issues raised by new developments in biology and medicine.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: The UK's independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research.
University of Chester Centre for Religion and the Biosciences
Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity: Provides news, information, and other resources on bioethics. Analysis from a Christian perspective.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Provides many links to current issues

Links - Environment

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A Rocha: An international Christian conservation organisation working to care for God's world
Climate Stewards: A carbon offset scheme with links to A Rocha
Living Lightly: A project of A Rocha UK.
John Ray Initiative: An educational charity for a Christian understanding of the environment
Evangelical Environmental Network: Environmental action based on Biblical understanding
Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies: An American organisation that provides university level courses
Eco-Congregation: Encouraging British churches to weave creation care into their life and mission
Christian Ecology Link: A multi-denominational British Christian environmental group
European Christian Environment Network: A European multi-denominational Christian environmental group
Evangelical Climate Initiative: An American Evangelical environmental group
The Religious Education and Environment Programme: Provides resources to link religions with the environment
Climate change pages from Tear Fund
Green Church Awards: Awards for Christian environmental action
Green Jesus: Christians responses on how to follow Jesus in light of climate change.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
United Nations Environment Programme

Links - Multimedia

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A series of videos from 'Focus': GOD: new evidence
Video of a debate between Prof Alister McGrath and Prof Peter Atkins
"Is belief in God a delusion?" Debate between Alister McGrath and Richard Dawkins
A Dialog on Biology, Morality, and Theology - Talks by Jeffery Schloss and Nancey Murphy on morality:
Interviews with Prof Bob White and Dr Nick Spencer on environmental issues
Radio Interview with Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne KBE FRS
George Coyne of the Vatican Observatory on science, faith
A useful collection of science and religion lectures
Counterbalance - A collection of interviews on science from a variety of religious viewpoints.
Flock of Dodos - Documentary about the USA evolution and Intelligent Design controversy
The Creation: Religion v Science - Documentary from 1984 featuring John Polkinghorne and others.

Links - Scientists of Faith

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Christians working in science
Barbara Drossel: Professor in the Institute of Solid State Physics at the Technical University of Darmstadt (German)
Loren Haarsma: Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Calvin College
Alister McGrath: Professor of Theology, Ministry and Education, and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture at King's College, London
Ken Miller: Professor of Biology at Brown University
Pete Moore: Honorary Fellow in Ethics at Trinity College Bristol
Rosalind Picard: Founder and director of the Affective Computing Research Group at the MIT
John Polkinghorne: A physicist turned priest and Fellow of the Royal Society
Wilson Poon: Senior Research Fellow at the Engineering and Physics Sciences Research Council
Tony Watkins: Resources and Training Co-ordinator with Damaris Trust
David Wilkinson: Principal of St. John's College Durham University
Faraday Institute advisory board, associates, and staff
A collection of interviews from Christians in Science members

Book list

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A collection of recommended books, taken from the Test of FAITH course Leader's Guide 'Taking it Further' lists.

Biographies

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Books that tell the life stories of Christians who have worked in Science.

Resources

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Links - Origins

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Christians in Science: Information and resources on a theistic evolution position
The Faraday Institute: Information and resources on a theistic evolution position
The American Scientific Affiliation: A range of positions, mainly focusing on theistic evolution and intelligent design
Answers in Creation: A comprehensive Old Earth Creationism site
Godandscience.org: An Old Earth site
Reasons to Believe: An Old Earth public outreach organisation
Discovery Institute: The main supporter of the Intelligent Design movement
Answers in Genesis: The main international Young Earth Creationist organisation
Institute for Creation Research: One of the oldest Young Earth Creationist movements
The Wonder Project: A multi-disciplinary project concentrating on the study of origins

Links - Environment

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A Rocha: An international Christian conservation organisation working to care for God's world
Climate Stewards: A carbon offset scheme with links to A Rocha
Living Lightly: A project of A Rocha UK.
John Ray Initiative: An educational charity for a Christian understanding of the environment
Evangelical Environmental Network: Environmental action based on Biblical understanding
Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies: An American organisation that provides university level courses
Eco-Congregation: Encouraging British churches to weave creation care into their life and mission
Christian Ecology Link: A multi-denominational British Christian environmental group
European Christian Environment Network: A European multi-denominational Christian environmental group
Evangelical Climate Initiative: An American Evangelical environmental group
The Religious Education and Environment Programme: Provides resources to link religions with the environment
Climate change pages from Tear Fund
Green Church Awards: Awards for Christian environmental action
Green Jesus: Christians responses on how to follow Jesus in light of climate change.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
United Nations Environment Programme

Links - Bioethics

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Christian Medical Fellowship: Provides a large collection of useful articles and other publications.
The Scottish Centre for Human Bioethics: An independent charitable organisation composed of professionals from various disciplines associated with medical ethics.
Biocentre: A British think-tank focusing on emerging technologies and their ethical, social and political implications.
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics: A secular organisation that examines ethical issues raised by new developments in biology and medicine.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: The UK's independent regulator overseeing the use of gametes and embryos in fertility treatment and research.
University of Chester Centre for Religion and the Biosciences
Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity: Provides news, information, and other resources on bioethics. Analysis from a Christian perspective.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life: Provides many links to current issues

Links - General

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion: Resources and courses on science & faith issues
The BioLogos Foundation: An organisation with many different resources on science and faith founded by Francis Collins, former director of the Human Genome Project.
Christians in Science: A UK-based fellowship for scientists and others
The American Scientific Affiliation: An American fellowship of Christians in science
Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation: A Canadian fellowship of Christians in science
Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology: An Australian fellowship of Christians in science
Victoria Institute: A forum for those who wish to hold together Christian faith and advances in scientific knowledge
Society of Ordained Scientists: A dispersed ecumenical preaching order of priest-scientists.
The Gifford Lectures on Natural Theology: Lectures held at the four historic Scottish Universities
James Gregory Lectures: Science and Religion at St Andrews
BeThinking: UCCF apologetics site, contains many articles on science and faith
The Science and Religion in Schools Project: A major project that aims to produce excellent and effective teaching materials for both students and teachers

How tight is the mesh between behaviour and brain activity?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Neuroscientists have to work with the assumption that the mesh between brain activity and behaviour is very tight. For the moment this assumption is bearing good fruit in research.

What if there's a connection between a certain brain activity and religious experiences?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bill Newsome explains the evidence so far. But don’t forget that we should expect to find neurological correlates for any human experience…

How do science and faith relate?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

For Bill Newsome, science is concerned mostly with mechanism, while religion deals with other questions, such as the question of purpose.

Does neuroscience offer proof for God?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bill Newsome discusses the idea that no science will ever provide proof for God - but that's ok, many important questions can't be answered through science.

Are we just the sum of our neurons?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Some people try to reduce our everyday experience to the level of biological mechanism. But different levels of explanation serve different functions, and mixing them isn't always helpful.

Does my brain shape me, or do I shape my brain?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Our brains shape us by constraining the kinds of things we are able to do - but, says Bill Newsome, we also have an effect on the physical structure of our brain by the choices we make.

Are some 'hardwired' for belief? What would be the implications for human freedom?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There is some evidence that our genes do have some effect on our personality and talents. But what effect do our own choices and experiences have on our character? Bill Newsome explains how he sees freedom in the process.

Can we hold people responsible for their own behaviour?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Within our law structure we have always had provisions for people who we view as not being responsible because of some physical problem. But how does neurological data fit in?

If I am constrained by my own brain, isn't my freedom of choice an illusion?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Some would say that freedom of choice is an illusion. But Bill Newsome argues that to reduce personal realities like choice to physics, chemistry, or even neurobiology, is to have an impoverished understanding of the world.

Is it reasonable for people to fear neuroscience as something dehumanizing?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The spectre of determinism is unnerving for a Christian view of what it means to be human. But this is not a new threat: it is one that theologians have been fighting since the early church. Bill Newsome recounts his father's humorous approach to this question...

Has science displaced faith?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bill Newsome explains how, for him, questions such as, 'It is better to live or die?' show that science cannot answer every important question.

Personal story - How does faith affect your life?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Are we just an evolutionary accident, or is there a purpose to life? Bill Newsome describes how his Christian faith makes a difference to the way he lives.

An updated version of Job, by Charles Birch

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There is a passage in the Bible (Job 38 & 39) where God addresses a man, challenging him on his understanding of God's actions in the universe. The Australian biologist Charles Birch has used this as the inspiration for a piece of writing, trying to imagine how God would address modern (scientific) humankind.

'Ontological emergence' - do I decide to move my hand?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

An explanation of a big problem in physics - is the behaviour of every system determined by its smallest constituents? The most important example is - do I decide to move my hand?

Personal story [1] - Growing up in the church

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The story of Darrel Falk's childhood and Christian upbringing. He describes the reasons why he questioned Christianity, and his drift away from faith.

Personal story [2] - Finding faith

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk tells the story of his coming back to faith and the events leading up to that.

Personal story [3] - At home in the church

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk talks about his experience of finding a church which would be his community, accept him, and encourage him in his faith.

How old is the universe?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk answers the question, 'If a young Christian undergraduate came to you and said, what is our current understanding of the best proof for the age of the universe, what would you say?' by talking about different dating methods and how they fit together.

Reading Genesis 1-3

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Isn't reading Genesis 1-3 figuratively a slippery slope to giving up miracles such as the parting of the Red Sea, the virgin birth and the resurrection? Darrel Falk explains why he thinks not.

What is Intelligent Design?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk explains that ID is a 'big-tent' movement which can include anyone from young earth creationists to those who believe in the common ancestry of all species. The defining characteristic is the belief that you can detect the presence of divine activity through scientific tools.

Why don't you accept Intelligent Design?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk explains his concerns about both the science and the theology of the Intelligent Design movement.

How do you see the dialogue between those with different views on creation playing out?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Evolutionary creationists need to do a better job of communicating the fact that they accept the evidence for evolution, and also share the same values that evangelicals have - an emphasis on sin and redemption, the resurrection, miracles and redemption.

Darrel Falk [1] - Growing up in the church

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The story of Darrel Falk's childhood and Christian upbringing. He describes the reasons why he questioned Christianity, and his drift away from faith.

Darrel Falk [2] - Finding faith

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk tells the story of his coming back to faith and the events leading up to that.

Darrel Falk [3] - At home in the church

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk talks about his experience of finding a church which would be his community, accept him, and encourage him in his faith.

Bill Newsome [1] - How does faith affect your life?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Are we just an evolutionary accident, or is there a purpose to life? Bill Newsome describes how his Christian faith makes a difference to the way he lives.

Bill Newsome [2] - An updated version of Job, by Charles Birch

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Darrel Falk - What is Intelligent Design?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Bill Newsome - Are some 'hardwired' for belief? What would be the implications for human freedom?

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Personal story [1] - Learning to love learning

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins grew up on a small farm in rural Virginia. He was homeschooled until he was twelve, and developed a keen sense of curiosity - the most important qualification for becoming head of the Human Genome Project.

Personal story [2] - A theatrical family

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins' parents were not Christians when he was growing up. His father was a professor of drama, his mother a playwright. Francis began performing on stage when he was very young, and he still has a keen appreciation of theatre.

Personal story [3] - College life

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Having never been familiar with faith, when he went to university Francis Collins slipped into agnosticism, then determinism. He ascribed religious beliefs to superstition based on emotion or indoctrination.

Personal story [4] - Medical school

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins changed paths and went to medical school, where he encountered genetics for the first time. He was also confronted by the reality of death. A patient challenged him on his beliefs, and this started him on a totally new journey of discovery.

Personal story [5] - Thinking about death

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Death makes us realize that we will not live forever, and what we believe really does matter.

Personal story [6] - The beginning of a journey

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Talking to a terminally ill patient at her bedside made Francis Collins begin to think more carefully about his atheism. It led him to study C.S. Lewis, and realise that there was more to belief in God than he had thought.

Personal story [7] - Encountering Jesus

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins argues that the 'Moral Law' poses difficult questions for atheism, but makes sense to Christians. Through this Francis came to accept the existence of God, and discover who Jesus really is.

Personal story [8] - Coming to faith

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

While in the Cascade Mountains in a break from medical school, Francis Collins had a moment of extreme clarity, and gave his life to Christ.

Personal story [9] - Do you have doubts?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins describes how he sees doubt as an important element of faith.

Personal story [10] - What is the personal cost of discussing matters of faith in science?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins reflects on the personal costs of talking about science and faith in the public eye. Some don't believe that faith should be spoken about in public - especially where science is involved.

Practical applications of the Human Genome Project

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins tells the story of a woman who is involved in a clinical study. Because of the decoding of the human genome, they now know the cause of her illness and are able to treat her and her family.

Did my genes make me do it?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins considers whether, 'My genes made me do it', will ever be a good defence in law. There is one feature of human behaviour that we are all familiar with - and it shows that the 'genetic determinism' argument is not a good one.

Genetic enhancement

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Most people are comfortable with using medical technology to heal people who are unwell. What about using it on people who are well to give them higher functions? There are plenty of scientific myths around the subject of 'enhancement'.

How do altruism and evolution fit together?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Even if altruistic behaviour developed through evolution, moral behaviour is still a bit of a mystery. Francis uses a story of the sacrifice made by an escaping prisoner to illustrate this point.

Evolution and the Problem of Suffering

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We should be careful not to overestimate the role of suffering in evolution. A tiny reduction in reproductive fitness can have a big effect. And will we will ever understand why God used this method of creation?

From a biological point of view, isn't the universe random?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Biology is, in a way, an extension of physics and chemistry, which are both highly ordered. There is something different about biology in that it seems to lack predictability. But if you delve deeper biology does start to seem more orderly - and that may not be entirely accidental.

What would happen if the tape of evolution were rerun?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simon Conway Morris tells the story of his PhD research on the Burgess shale with Stephen Jay Gould. He explains why he came to disagree with Gould on the randomness of evolution, and gives an example: the Octopus 'arm.'

Examples of evolutionary convergence

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Some say that evolution is an accidental process, but is there a deeper pattern to evolution? Simon Conway Morris gives examples of 'evolutionary convergence', including the camera eye, and the sabre toothed marsupial.

Was the development of human intelligence inevitable?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Humans are unique, but intelligence isn't. Birds such as crows and parrots are very intelligent. Dolphins, elephants and octopi also show signs of intelligence, and even plants have some sort of distributed communications.

What is 'neo-Darwinism'?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Neo-Darwinism is an extension of the theory of evolution by natural selection which Darwin proposed which includes aspects of evolution which were unknown to Darwin. Generally it includes the belief that evolution is completely open-ended - this aspect of it Simon Conway Morris does not agree with.

If evolution explains why we're here, why add the 'supernatural bolt-on' of God?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A good scientist should acknowledge that we don't know "half a percent of anything", so to assume we can rule anything as big as God out is beyond the capability of current science.

Personal story [1] - Coming to faith

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simon Conway Morris describes how he came to the Christian faith, and why he has rejected materialism.

Personal story [2] - How has G. K. Chesterton been an influence?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

G.K. Chesterton is important because he was a fascinating and intelligent essayist, novelist, and philosopher, a Christian, and because he reminds us that we should not let our optimism over ride our good sense. Science can be ambiguous, and we need to seriously think about its consequences, says Simon Conway Morris.

Personal story [3] - Are there areas where you have doubt?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

You cannot do good science without doubt. Likewise, doubt can be helpful for faith. Ultimately the test of faith is death - we will see when we get there, says Simon Conway Morris.

Can a scientist believe in miracles?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The theologian Rudolf Bultmann said that it is silly for modern people to believe in miracles, but Simon Conway Morris explains how, if Jesus really was God, it makes sense that he would have power over nature.

If miracles could happen, what about Intelligent Design?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Miracles and Intelligent Design are not the same thing. Simon Conway Morris accepts evolution and rejects Intelligent Design as doing a disservice to theology - here he explains why, and what his theology of creation might be.

What role does awe play in science?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

No one can be a scientist if they are not inspired in some way. Science is a difficult, exciting, and time-consuming job. The reward is the genuine advancement of knowledge.

How can you reconcile the wastage and death in evolution with a loving God?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One answer to the problem of evil is simply that we shouldn’t assume that we are to know everything. Another is to say that, unlike materialism, Christianity is a religion of salvation: God will ultimately save us, heal us, and reconcile us.

If science were to create a living humanoid robot would that be the end of the soul?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rosalind Picard explains where the technology of robotics is just now, and why she could never see a robot as a human being.

Are we really sophisticated robots? [1]

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Some scientists believe that we are nothing more than biological robots. The difficulty they have to live with is the purposeless that this philosophy brings.

Are we really sophisticated robots? [2]

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rosalind points out the flaws that she sees in the logic of the 'humans as robots' argument.

What is affective computing?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rosalind Picard explains her work in using technology to decode and respond to emotion, and how it relates to people with autism.

Do we have free will?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rosalind Picard explains why she believes that we have free will. Some other scientists don't, but it's difficult to see how you would understand free will scientifically.

An example of the purposeful use of randomness in computer programmes

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

An example of how in computer graphics a little bit of 'noise', or randomness, actually makes things work much better. This randomness has been put there for a purpose.

Personal story [1] - Coming to faith

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When Rosalind Picard was younger, she assumed religion was for emotionally or intellectually stunted people. The experience of reading the Bible for herself challenged all her previous assumptions.

Personal story [2] - Do you ever face doubts?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As a trained scientist Rosalind Picard believes that everyone should be open to and interested in new evidence for any of their beliefs. This applies to faith as well. Here she explains how she lives out that principle.

Personal story [3] - What are the strongest grounds for rejecting Christian faith?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are many intellectual objections to faith, but they can be dealt with. The biggest issue is perhaps the way that Christianity impacts upon a person's life: some people don't want their life to change, and others are put off by seeing Christians living apparently unchanged lives.

Technology for people on the autism spectrum [1]

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Over the last ten years Rosalind Picard's group has started thinking about autism. Their technology can be immediately beneficial to autistic people . On the other hand, some autistic people can understand and give insight into how to analyse human emotion.

Technology for people on the autism spectrum [2]

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

An explanation of some of the challenges for people living with autism, and an example of how affective computing technology can be used to help them.

Technology to improve communication

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It is easy for scientists to just follow their love of learning. However over the last five years communication technology has greatly increased to the point where technology has a real role in connecting people and creating communities.

The potential for communication technology to help or hinder communication

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Technology can 'democratize' communication by allowing people who otherwise wouldn't be able to communicate to speak to one another. Rosalind Picard tells a story about using the internet to communicate with an autistic person who cannot speak, and how sometimes technology can 'level the playing field'.

An example of the application of Rosalind Picard's research [1]

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Measuring audience reactions.

An example of the application of Rosalind Picard's research [2]

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

An example of how using small cameras to give real time information on a person's emotional state can help those on the autism spectrum to interact socially.

What has working with autistic people taught you?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rosalind Picard explains the benefits of consulting the people they are trying to help at every stage of the process.

How can you stop your technology being used in negative ways?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Technology always potential negative uses of any technology, and scientists cannot just assume that people will use the systems they develop wisely. Rosalind Picard explains how she and her colleagues have sought to identify the potential negative uses of their work, and to build in ways to prevent that from happening.

Francis Collins [1] - Learning to love learning

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins [2] - A theatrical family

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins [3] - College life

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins [4] - Medical school

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins [5] - Thinking about death

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Death makes us realize that we will not live forever, and what we believe really does matter.

Francis Collins [6] - The beginning of a journey

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins [7] - Encountering Jesus

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins [8] - Coming to faith

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

While in the Cascade Mountains in a break from medical school, Francis Collins had a moment of extreme clarity, and gave his life to Christ.

Francis Collins [9] - Do you have doubts?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins describes how he sees doubt as an important element of faith.

Francis Collins [10] - What is the personal cost of discussing matters of faith in science?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simon Conway Morris [1] - Coming to faith

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simon Conway Morris describes how he came to the Christian faith, and why he has rejected materialism.

Simon Conway Morris [2] - How has G. K. Chesterton been an influence?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simon Conway Morris [3] - Are there areas where you have doubt?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

You cannot do good science without doubt. Likewise, doubt can be helpful for faith. Ultimately the test of faith is death - we will see when we get there, says Simon Conway Morris.

Rosalind Picard [1] - Coming to faith

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When Rosalind Picard was younger, she assumed religion was for emotionally or intellectually stunted people. The experience of reading the Bible for herself challenged all her previous assumptions.

Rosalind Picard [2] - Do you ever face doubts?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Rosalind Picard [3] - What are the strongest grounds for rejecting Christian faith?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Simon Conway Morris - What would happen if the tape of evolution were rerun?

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Francis Collins - Genetic enhancement

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Nothing New Under the Sun?, by Stephen R. Holmes

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Our current debates about science and religion are not about the scientific method. Today, we all accept that the best way to find out how the natural world works is by science. Rather, our interesting debates are at deeper philosophical levels about our human identity, and morality, and the origin of the world.

R.J. Berry (Ed), Real Scientists Real Faith (Monarch, 2009)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£8.99, 288 pages

Buy from: http://www.lionhudson.com/detail.php?product_id=1919596

Author details: http://www.jri.org.uk/index.php/about/people/sam-berry

Real Scientists Real Faith is a collection of stories written by senior scientists, telling how their Christian faith has affected their science, and vice-versa. It is a new version of the book Real Science Real Faith, also edited by RJ Berry, which was published in 1991. The updated version introduces a new set of scientists but is in a similar format, with an essay from the late Donald Mackay to close. Most of the scientists are from the UK, with several from the US (including Francis Collins, the new director of the US National Institutes of Health), and one New Zealander.

Each person contributing to this book has brought their own unique perspective to it: there are some quite different interpretations of the brief, which makes for an interesting read. Some of the chapters are more readable than others, which is to be expected, but overall this is a very good and readable collection of stories.

The book includes a number of engaging life stories, where the writers tell how they came to faith, and how they came to be scientists. Denis Alexander describes how as a young scientist he worked in Turkey and Lebanon for fifteen years, before being evacuated with his family from Beirut during the Lebanese civil war in the 1980s. Simon Conway Morris gives a very witty and interesting account of his early work on the Burgess shale, and his own reasons for belief.

Many of the chapters in this book give quite an original take on science-faith issues. Mike Hulme describes the challenges of coping with climate change, and asks, ‘What sort of climate are we aiming for?’ Gareth Jones describes his pioneering work on bringing new areas of medical ethics into the academic arena, and Andrew Gosler shares how his own research played a part in his coming to faith well into his scientific career.

For inspiration, Calvin deWitt - an enthusiast and inveterate list-writer - describes in detail how he has lived life as an academic: from family life to teaching, and everything in between. Alister McGrath gives some excellent arguments for faith based on his previous responses to Dawkins’ writings, and Simon Stuart gives his reasons for hope in the face of the current global ecological crisis.

Not everyone will agree with every viewpoint expressed in this book. Clinical psychologist David Myers’ chapter, which includes his reasons for supporting gay marriage, is particularly controversial, but this is nevertheless an extremely helpful book. It should be essential reading for science students, and highly recommended for any scientist who wants to think more deeply about how their faith and science relate. Non-scientists will also find the book approachable: it is relatively jargon free, and the science is explained well. Overall the book achieves what its editor sets out to do: to show in a very practical way how real science and real Christian faith impact each other across the whole range of scientific disciplines.

Contributors: Alister McGrath, Professor of Theology, Ministry and Education, King's College, London; Denis Alexander, Director of the Faraday Institute, Cambridge; Derek Burke, Former Vice-Chancellor, University of East Anglia; Gareth Jones, Professor of Anatomy and Structural Biology, University of Otago, New Zealand; Andrew Briggs, Professor of Nanomaterials, University of Oxford; Mike Hulme, Professor of Climate Change, University of East Anglia; Ian Arbon, Chartered Engineer and Environmentalist; David Myers, Professor of Psychology, Hope College, Michigan; Wilson C. K. Poon, Professor of Physics, University of Edinburgh; Robert White, Professor of Geophysics, University of Cambridge; Simon Stuart, conservation biologist; Andrew Gosler, Chair of the Institute of Human Sciences, Oxford University; Joan Centrella, Chief of the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, NASA; John Wyatt, Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics, University College London Hospital; Simon Conway Morris, Professor in Evolutionary Palaeobiology, University of Cambridge; Calvin B. DeWitt, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin- Madison; and Francis Collins, Director, National Institutes of Health.

Simon Conway Morris, Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe (CUP, 2003)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£17.99, 464 pages

Buy: http://cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521603256

Author details: http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/simon-conway-morris

In Life’s Solution, Simon Conway Morris makes the argument that although life may be a very rare phenomenon, once it gets going something like humanity will almost inevitably evolve. It has chapters covering many different areas of science. These include molecular biology and the unlikely efficiency of the genetic code which, Conway Morris argues, shows that possibilities for life are strictly constrained. There are not millions of different ways that life could exist; in fact, there is probably just one.

Conway Morris then goes on to discuss the origins of life. The strangeness of the Earth and solar system are described in an attempt to show that the conditions for life are so constrained and specific that it’s surprising it even happened once. He argues that it is highly unlikely that, even in a universe the size of ours, it could happen again - hence the ‘lonely universe’.

Most of the rest of the book is taken up with an impressive number of examples of evolutionary convergence at all different levels and in all sorts of different structures, from molecular biology (the clear proteins in the human lens) to the way ‘societies’ of organisms organize themselves (agriculture in ants). On the way through, he shows the reader a world of fascinating creatures, and aspects of life that often go without comment.

The examples of convergence laid out in the book are to show that despite the amazing fecundity of evolution, the forms that organisms may take are indeed limited. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book is the focus on convergence in sensory perception, which in turn leads to a consideration of convergent intelligence. A wonderful example of this is the way that dolphins, and possibly other animals, show some of the same types of reasoning and understanding as humans. This leads Conway Morris to conclude that intelligence is rampantly common, and rampantly convergent despite intelligence in different species relying on very different brain architecture as a result of different evolutionary paths.

Conway Morris’s final conclusion is simply to say that evolution is not a random game, but rather follows the strict rules laid out for it by the nature of reality. However, once life gets started, the nature of reality leads almost inevitably to intelligence. This, Conway Morris says, puts a question mark over many of our scientific assumptions.

This book is a fascinating read, both for the argument Conway Morris is making, and as a description of biology in general. It will not be an easy read for someone with no previous knowledge of biology, but for those who have had read a little in the area, it should prove to be engrossing.

Nick Spencer & Robert White, Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living (SPCK, 2007)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£9.99, 224 pages

Buy: http://www.spckpublishing.co.uk/cat/show.php?9780281058334

Author details: Robert White - http://graphite.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/faraday/Staff.php

Nick Spencer - http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/mainnav/about-theos/theos-team.aspx

In Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living, authors Nick Spencer & Robert White set out a compelling three-part Christian vision of environmental action.

The first part covers the evidence for, and nature of, the current environmental problem. This goes into a lot of detail, but is nonetheless extremely readable.

The second is an argument for why Christians should care for the environment, and how they can do that. In short, Christians should care because God does; because that is the mission we are given in Genesis 1&2; because if we don’t it hurts our neighbours; and because nothing we do will be lost in the new creation. Christians especially should be able to live a more environmentally sensible life because, in contrast to the enlightenment vision of autonomous individual people consuming an infinite amount of resources, the Bible offers a vision of human society with strong relationships: with God, with other people, and with the natural world. The argument here is that sustainable living and healthy society are closely linked. For example, an hour-long commute each way isn’t good for the environment, and it’s may not be very good for your family either. Indeed, going even further, sustainable living practices are incorporated into the societal fabric of the Bible – such as the ‘Jubilee’ year when all fields were left to lie fallow.

The third section is an intensely practical look at what Christians can do to help the environment in daily life, and at all levels of society, building upon the biblical foundation outlined in part two. This helpful and interesting section begins by outlining eight principles for Christian sustainable living. There are suggestions such as: ‘We should reflect the close bond between society and environment in our decisions’ or ‘We should not confuse wealth and value: our goal should be relational health rather than money or personal freedom’. There are also more controversial proposals including: ‘We should favour regulated, market-based solutions that take account of natural, human and social capital.’ In line with these suggestions, the authors go on to make proposals for Christian action in five different areas: personal response, communal response, national response, technological response, and international response. All of these sections include practical and useful new ideas which people can implement in their own lives, or encourage their incorporation in wider society.

Although this is an extremely helpful book, it is limited in that it only gives statistics for the UK. Likewise, many of the practical ways to respond to environmental issues do not apply outside of the UK, which does limit the impact this book can have. Thankfully, there is a new edition for the USA by Nick Spencer, Robert White, and Virginia Vroblesky (Hendrickson, Dec 2009).

Charles Foster, The Selfless Gene (Hodder, 2009)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£ 11.99, 270 pages

Buy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfless-Gene-Charles-Foster/dp/0340964367

Author details: http://www.charlesfoster.co.uk/

How can Christians reconcile a loving God with the theory of evolution, and its seemingly selfish and painful mechanism, natural selection? Charles Foster sets out to address this challenge while taking both the Bible and modern biology seriously.

Foster’s criticisms of modern biology are not directed at the science of evolution, but rather the negative slant so often given to it by some biologists. Doubtless suffering and self-preservation are involved in natural selection, and we need to work to reconcile this with our view of God, but natural selection is more than this. There is a clear drive towards complexity, altruism, and cooperation in nature that natural selection alone does not explain. Something else is at work, which scientists need to examine.

Foster then argues that the reason for suffering in the process of evil is due to the fall of Satan before the creation of this world. He explains that Satan is a malignant force who has been attempting to work against God even as God creates, but God has used his bad works for good and beauty. God created Adam (humanity) to tend and subdue the rest of creation which was rebelling against God under Satan’s guidance. However, humanity opted to throw in their lot with Satan, instead of God, and thus the fall of humanity. So without the fall of man, Foster thinks, there would be no Hitler, but no Bach either – the whole of civilization is simply a result of mankind joining Satan’s rebellion.

The exegesis that Foster uses to back up his claims is not immediately convincing and conclusive, but raises some interesting points worthy of discussion. For instance, Foster argues that the creation story in Genesis 1 is attempting to put across the idea that creation is in rebellion against God. Foster sees evidence for this in the fact that when God commands grass to grow, instead the earth puts forth grass – thus commandeering the divine prerogative, and that when God commands the waters to swarm with sea creatures, we are then told that God creates them – because, Foster infers, the waters had refused. However many biblical scholars read Genesis 1 as a statement of God’s complete and unopposed power over creation and see the examples Foster sites as commentary on the way that God works in the world, rather than a creaturely rebellion against God.

Foster’s main point – that Christianity and science fit well together– is excellent, and his recollection of the idea of the angelic fall is also useful because it has historical roots in Christianity, and therefore deserves consideration.

This book is a very good and interesting contribution to current discussions on evolution and Christianity. Anyone who is involved in these discussions and able to enter the theological debate should read it.

Reflection: Ice Globes (Big Bang)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A quiet reflection on the universe and its origins, using visual shots cut from the Test of FAITH documentary.

Reflection: Goldfish Bowls (The Multiverse)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A short reflective piece using the beautiful and original multiverse visual illustration from the Test of FAITH documentary.

Reflection: Traffic/Telescopes (Creation)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A series of fast moving time-lapse shots cut from the Test of FAITH documentary.

Reflection: The Environment

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A reflection on the environment and our place in it, using visual shots cut from the Test of FAITH documentary.

Reflection: Ice Man (Emergence)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

A serene piece composed of visual shots from the Test of FAITH documentary footage, using an 'ice man' to reflect on the emergence of the human mind.

Part 1 - The debate starts here (Making sense)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

How do we know what is true, either in science or in Christianity? Is 'Why is the universe here?' an important question? Many live unexamined lives, never questioning why they belive what they believe. The science and religion debate is all about asking questions about the world, and why we are in it at all.

Part 1 - How can science and faith work together? (Science and faith)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Oxford professor Peter Harrison discusses the historical reason for the perceived antagonism between science and faith. He says that it was a 'wedge' strategy devised by agnostic Thomas Huxley to turn science into a serious profession rather than a hobby for clergymen. Physicist turned priest John Polkinghorne says that both science and faith are important in understanding the world.

Part 1 - The limits of science (Limits)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

There are some questions which science is unable to answer. Why does the universe exist? Why are we here? Science must acknowledge its limits. But Christians in particular should be excited about science because it is a way to explore the world that God has created.

Part 1 - Fine Tuning

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Physicist turned priest John Polkinghorne tells the story of Fred Hoyle's discovery of where carbon comes from - and why it shook his beliefs.

Part 2 - Examining evolution

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The former Director of the Human Genome Project and current Director of the US National Institutes of Health, Dr Francis Collins, discusses the evidence for evolution and how it fits with his Christian faith.

Part 2 - A random process?

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What does it mean to say that evolution has a random element? In everyday life it sometimes means 'meaningless'. In science 'random' means unpredictable, but not necessarily without meaning. Research in 'evolutionary convergence' implies that evolution isn't necessarily as random as it sometimes seems...

Part 2 - Caring for the environment (Environment)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The former co-chair of the scientific assessment panel of the Intergovernmenal Panel on Climate Change, and former head of the British Met office gives his take on Christianity and the environment.

Part 3 - The brain and spiritual experience (A God spot?)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What if spiritual experience has no reality outside our skulls? What if we make God? Or is it simply not surprising that an activity like prayer is correlated with certain kinds of brain activity?

Part 3 - Not just machines

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Any neuroscientist knows how much our biology determines our behaviour. But is behaviour 'just' biochemistry?

Part 3 - Cloning

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

What does cloning mean for human personhood? Geneticist and Bioethicist John Bryant discusses the ethics and implications of human cloning.

Part 3 - Choice

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

John Polkinghorne and Stanford neurobiologist Bill Newsome discuss the relationship between brain matter and choice. Do we have the ability to make meaningful moral choices? Are we simply computers made of meat?

Simon Conway Morris, Life's Solution: Inevitable Humans in a Lonely Universe (CUP, 2003)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£17.99, 464 pages

Buy: http://cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521603256

Author details: http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/simon-conway-morris

Charles Foster, The Selfless Gene (Hodder, 2009)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£ 11.99, 270 pages

Buy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selfless-Gene-Charles-Foster/dp/0340964367

Author details: http://www.charlesfoster.co.uk/

Nick Spencer & Robert White, Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living (SPCK, 2007)

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

£9.99, 224 pages

Buy: http://www.spckpublishing.co.uk/cat/show.php?9780281058334

Author details: Robert White - http://graphite.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/faraday/Staff.php

Nick Spencer - http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/mainnav/about-theos/theos-team.aspx

In Christianity, Climate Change, and Sustainable Living, authors Nick Spencer & Robert White set out a compelling three-part Christian vision of environmental action.

The first part covers the evidence for, and nature of, the current environmental problem. This goes into a lot of detail, but is nonetheless extremely readable.

Test of FAITH Trailer

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The relationship between science and faith is often represented as a battleground. The claim is that science has pushed God into the margins. But is the truth more complex? Talking to leading scientist-believers, we probe the issues at the heart of this debate. Has science really murdered God? Or is the God question being redefined in new ways by science? Does the possibility of a Creator remain an ineradicable challenge?

Richard Dawkins, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (Bantam Press, 2009)

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

£20, 470 pages

Buy from: http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk/catalog/book.htm?command=Search&db=twmain.txt&eqisbndata=059306173X

Author details: http://www.richarddawkins.com/

Richard Dawkins’ latest book is a very readable and entertaining summary of the evidence for evolution. Like all his popular science books, it is a fascinating tour through the biological details, interspersed with stories and witty tangents.

It is intended as an argument for evolution and against ‘creationism’. Readers may be rather put off by the rather strong anti-faith passages that are sprinkled throughout the book (often in the footnotes), but it is worth persisting.

The story starts with an examination of the word ‘theory’ and what that means to scientists. The term ‘theorum’ is proposed for a theory that has been established beyond reasonable doubt. The theorum of evolution is then explained over several chapters. The most interesting among these is ‘Before our very eyes’, which outlines examples of measurable evolutionary change occurring within living memory. Dawkins goes on to tackle several arguments that are often used against evolution, including missing links in the fossil record, the effect of genetic mutations on the development of organisms, and the formation of new species. He explains the evidence for evolution from homology and vestigial organs, and the more recent evidence found in DNA. The examples of ‘unintelligent design’ and the chapter on ‘evolutionary theodicy’ are presented as a serious challenge to proponents of Intelligent Design or Young Earth Creationism. The concluding chapter is an exegesis of Darwin’s famous ‘grandeur in this view of life’ passage.

The basics of current evolutionary biology and the more common misunderstandings of it are very well explained. Dawkins has obviously spent a lot of time in discussion with Young Earth Creationists, and knows what the key scientific arguments are. But (and this is a big but) the book is an argument against the existence of a creator and, like Dawkins’ other books, strongly promotes the idea that science and faith are completely incompatible. The author’s frustration gets the better of him much of the time, so the rhetoric is very strong, and often unfair to both faith and science.

Dawkins’ commitment to natural selection as the chief driving force of evolution is clear throughout the book, but he is ready to admit that not all biologists will agree with him. He occasionally reads evidence more strongly than might be justified, for example the inclusion of data on elephant tusk sizes that doesn’t seem to take the lifespan of elephants into account. It is frustrating that Dawkins did not elaborate on the way in which he believes that we as human beings have risen above our animal origins - but perhaps this will the subject of another book.

This is a good book to read if you are interested in evolutionary biology, and in considering the arguments against evolution and possible responses to them. For a treatment of science and religion, other books will give a better overview of the various viewpoints that are held by different people.

Everything is Spiritual (Zondervan, USA, 2007)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$19.99, 77 minutes

More information, clips, and how to buy

Presenter information

This is a live video of a talk by pastor, author and presenter of the ‘Nooma’ films Rob Bell on the ‘Everything is Spiritual’ tour. As he talks, Bell draws visual aids on a giant whiteboard. The talk is about Genesis, and the amazing things we can find out using science. He uses a scientific illustration to explore how we might encounter God, and develops the idea that ‘Everything is spiritual’ in a way that should speak to people of any faith or none. Bell draws on some of the themes that he is well known for, such as creativity and the need for a less frenetic pace in life. His style is very engaging and relaxed. It’s well produced, and surprisingly attention grabbing given the simple format. It is definitely suitable for adults from all walks of life, and might even hold the attention of a youth group for a while.

Flock of Dodos (New Video, USA, 2007)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$26.95, 85 minutes

More information, clips, and how to buy

This is a lighthearted look at the ‘Intelligent Design’ debate. The presenter Randy Olson (filmmaker and former evolutionary ecologist) travels around Kansas interviewing some of the people who were involved in the famous Dover trial. Who are the dodos, the Intelligent Design proponents or the evolutionary biologists? Flock of Dodos manages to listen respectfully to both sides of the debate, using quirky cartoons and some very critical questioning to provoke thought and poke fun at everyone in a very inoffensive way. Olson’s own mother, Muffy Moose, has the last word – ‘can’t we all just get along?’

Moody Science Classics & Moody Science Adventures (1940s onwards, USA, Moody Publishing)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From about $8.99, raging from 28-60 minutes

More information, and how to buy

From the 1940s onwards the Moody Bible Institute produced a whole series of videos that many of the baby boomer generation remember fondly – and they are now out on DVD. Taking a very neutral stance towards the ‘how’ of creation, they explore the wonders of creation using (what once was) state of the art technology. They are beautifully made for their time, and are now so ‘retro’ now you could probably show them to a youth group!

Science and the God Question (Fixed Point Foundation, USA, 2007)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$19.99, 72 minutes

More information and how to buy

A series of interviews with John Lennox, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, and Alister McGrath, Professor of Theology, Ministry and Education, at King's College, London. This documentary was created to equip Christians to engage intellectually with science-faith issues, and is a good introduction to the thinking of two academics who are both very involved in speaking and writing on science and faith.

The Privileged Planet (Illustra Media, USA, 2004)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$19.95, 67 minutes

More information, clips, and how to buy

This is based on the book, ‘The Privileged Planet’ by Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards, and is a detailed explanation of the idea that the universe is finely tuned for life (the Anthropic principle). It covers a whole range of arguments, including some new ideas about our ability to study the universe from the vantage point of Earth. This documentary was very professionally produced, using lots of archive footage and computer graphics, and is narrated by John Rhys Davies (Lord of the Rings) Although now ageing a bit, it is still worth using to explore the anthropic principle.

Is God a delusion? Debate (UCCF, 2007)

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

£5, 107 minutes

More information, audio downloads, and how to buy

This is one of several debates by philosopher and theologian William Lane Craig during UCCF’s ‘Reasonable Faith’ tour 2007. This one is of particular interest because it was with the developmental biologist and prominent atheist Professor Lewis Wolpert, and was chaired by BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today Programme’ presenter John Humphreys.

The Age of the Universe

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

How old do Astronomers think the Universe is, and how can they be sure of that age? The best estimate just now is about 13.7 billion years. Astronomer Jennifer Wiseman explains the evidence for that great age.

Are we fooling ourselves?

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

It possible that the Universe just looks old, but is actually quite young? When posed with this question, Astronomer Jennifer Wiseman says that science is all about questioning our assumptions, so these questions have to be taken seriously. She explains how different sources of evidence build up a picture of the age of the earth that makes sense.

?A Response to Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, by James Crocker

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Richard Dawkins wrote 'The God Delusion' in 2006, and it has been a bestseller ever since. This article is a response to some of the main arguments of the book, including the improbability of God and the question of morality. It also includes a summary of 'The God Delusion', and a list of other articles and books that have been written in response to it.

Tell us about your own research

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer Jennifer Wiseman explains her study of star formation.

How does your research affect your own faith? [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jennifer Wiseman discusses life on other planets, and the theological implications of that possibility.

How does your research affect your own faith? [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jennifer Wiseman explains why she doesn't think the existence of life on other planets would be a problem for her faith.

Are we really made of stardust? [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The elements in our bodies come from the stars. Jennifer Wiseman explains how that happens.

Are we really made of stardust? [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The elements in our bodies come from the stars. Jennifer Wiseman explains how that happens.

What's the problem with the idea of multiple universes?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Some people believe that multiple universes exist. Jennifer Wiseman explains a philosophical problem in multiverse theory: that of multiple realities.

Is it surprising that the universe has developed in the way that it did?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jennifer Wiseman gives her own take on the idea that the universe is finely tuned for life.

Personal Story [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer and author Jennifer Wiseman tells how she first encountered God, and what got her interested in science.

Personal Story [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer and author Jennifer Wiseman tells how, since her days as a university student, her faith and her science have complemented each other.

Are science and faith in conflict?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Many of the great scientists of the past few hundred years have been Christians. What can science tell us, and what are its limits?

What are the everyday issues of living out your faith as a scientist? [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The main issues are ethical. For example, how do you choose the research that you do? For Jennifer Wiseman the main issue is how to communicate her discoveries with the wider public.

What are the everyday issues of living out your faith as a scientist? [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jennifer Wiseman also believes that it's valuable to share her own personal insights from looking at the latest discoveries in astronomy.

Is there a cultural war being fought between science and faith?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Science is sometimes presented as having all the answers - or that is the perception that people have - and believers can feel that they have to choose between science and faith. Jennifer Wiseman shares how she handles that perceived conflict.

Have you always found it easy to find a home, as a scientist, within the church?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer Jennifer Wiseman shares her experiences of finding support from other scientists in the church. In fact, she found that faith fit together very well with science in the environments where she found herself.

When you look at the universe, can you see anything of the characteristics of God there? [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jennifer Wiseman thinks that you can't find out whether there's a God from looking at the universe, but here she describes what she sees - as a Christian - in the discoveries of astronomy.

When you look at the universe, can you see anything of the characteristics of God there? [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer Jennifer Wiseman describes more of the characteristics of God that she sees as a Christian working in astronomy.

What about the idea that God created the universe but has ignored it since? [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This is not the sort of God that Jennifer Wiseman has experienced. Science may reveal a continually unfolding development of the universe, but humans experience more than just physical existence - we believe in good and evil, and people experience the interaction of God with them.

What about the idea that God created the universe but has ignored it since? [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Jennifer Wiseman continues to explain why she believes in a personal God - including what we read in the Bible, Jesus, and the existence of evil and suffering.

Where do you science and your faith lead you in terms of stewardship of the environment?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Taking care of the environment is one of the most important things we can do, says astronomer Jennifer Wiseman, and is something that Christians in particular should be concerned about.

Space research is notoriously expensive. Is it fair to spend money on it?

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We shouldn’t feel that we have to choose between caring for the poor and doing other activities - we need to focus our attention on all of these things. God has given us the whole universe to explore, and it is important to do that as an act of worship. Jennifer Wiseman explains how she sees that working out in practice.

Jennifer Wiseman [1]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer and author Jennifer Wiseman tells how she first encountered God, and what got her interested in science.

Jennifer Wiseman [2]

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer and author Jennifer Wiseman tells how, since her days as a university student, her faith and her science have complemented each other.

What's in the Bible? With Buck Denver: 1, In the Beginning (Tyndale House Publishers, 2010)

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$14.99, 56 minutes

More information, clips and how to buy: http://whatsinthebible.com/

Presenter information: http://www.philvischer.com/

This is the latest video from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer. These two 25 minutes episodes are presented by Phil Vischer himself, and use puppets, animation and live performers to teach abut the Bible. The style is typically wacky, with Vischer’s trademark Monty Python-esque humour that adults will enjoy as well as children. This series is particularly unusual in that it mixes solid Biblical studies with the usual crazy VeggieTales type presentation that holds children’s attention so well. It covers questions such as ‘What is the Bible?’ ‘Who wrote the Bible?’ ‘What’s in it?’ ‘Why do different Bibles have different numbers of books in them?’ and ‘When did God create the world?’ (Answer – Christians have different view, but most importantly, Genesis is about ‘who’ not ‘how’).

Michael Poole, The 'New' Atheism, 10 Arguments that don't hold water (Lion Hudson, 2009)

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

£3.99, 96 pages

Buy from: http://w ww.lionhudson.com/detail.php?product_id=2328124

Author details: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/education/staff/mpoole.html

The ‘New’ Atheism, 10 Arguments that don’t hold water is a short, pocket sized, critical response to recent ‘new atheist’ arguments popularised by authors such as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Daniel Dennet. Advertised as a ‘book written for those without a lot of time for reading’ (p8) it is reminiscent in both style and content of the popular OUP ‘Very short Introduction’ series. Each of its ten chapters deals with a specific argument identified by Michael Poole as central to, or frequently used by, new atheist authors. Poole is well qualified to write this short handbook as he is a visiting Research Fellow in Science and Religion at King’s College, London, author of a number of books including the ‘Users guide to science and belief’ (2007, Lion Hudson) and has previously debated with Richard Dawkins.

The book starts strongly by addressing the arguments ‘Religion is evil because many bad deeds have been done by religious people’, ‘Faith is believing what you know ain’t so’ and ‘Religious beliefs are memes, mind viruses, self-delusion, placebos, wishful thinking and indoctrination’. Poole’s reply to each argument is very short, however his brevity is far more a reflection of the weakness of these atheist arguments than any attempt to abbreviate the (fairly standard) theistic responses. The next four chapters deal with various types of evidence that people commonly use to inform their worldview before leading nicely into a chapter critiquing the scientific bias commonly presented by the new brand of atheism. The final three chapters address whether good scientists can be religious believers, whether the biological theory of evolution removes the main argument for God’s existence, and whether the cosmological theory of multi-verses makes the existence of God improbable.

In an area that spans science, philosophy and theology, arguments concerning science and religion can often get rather convoluted and difficult to follow. In an attempt to address this difficulty many contemporary authors try to distil their position into a few memorable points, a tactic especially favoured by debaters. Such a tactic can often lead to the accusation of ‘straw-man’ arguments, however writing about Poole’s previous work Richard Dawkins states ‘Poole's collation of my ideas is so thorough, and his representation of them so fair, that I have almost no complaints along these lines. (S&CB, 1995, 7(1):45-50)’. Readers can therefore be confident that despite writing from an unashamedly Christian position, Poole is keen to deal fairly with the debate. Indeed he makes six excellent and memorable points that should be heeded by all those who hold the new atheist position. However, the chapters concerning evidence reflect the more convoluted (and some would say social scienc-y) nature of this debate that do not fit well with the volume’s attempt to identify ten concise points. This book is useful as a very short introduction to the failings of new atheism seen from a theistic perspective - but should be read as an introduction for further reflection, and not as suggesting that new atheism can be brushed off quite as easily and simply as the length of the volume might suggest.

Simon Kolstoe, Postdoctoral Researcher, University College London

Arguments against God, and how to answer them

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander is asked, 'If you were a young atheist scientist what would you use to argue against the existence of God? And how would you answer those claims yourself?' He discusses the apparent randomness of the universe. Is it really random, or is there an order there that points to the existence of God?

Why do you think the debate between science and religion is happening now?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander discusses the reasons for the debate between science and faith in the media: political, scientific, religious and cultural.

What do you think Richard Dawkins and his colleagues have got right in this debate?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Richard Dawkins has raised some really interesting questions, such as the misuse of religion for evil purposes. Denis Alexander explains his own insights from living in the Middle East, and as a biologist. But does Dawkins understand what sort of God Christians believe in?

Why do you describe the relationship between science and religion as complementary?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Biologist Denis Alexander explains that science and faith do not have to been seen as giving rival views about things. It is more helpful to think of them as different levels of explanation.

Why can't the relationship between science and religion be perfectly unified?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

If God underlies everything, including science and faith, why can't the relationship between science and faith be described as perfectly unified? Denis Alexander explains how, although the world is a unity, there are different aspects to life. We tackle these areas in different ways, with different types of language to describe them.

Can you define what evolution is?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A concise definition of biological evolution.

Is it justifiable to equate evolution with atheism?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander explains why he thinks evolutionists don’t have to be atheists.

How have different ideologies used Darwinism for their own purposes?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander gives two examples of ways in which evolution has been misused, and used to justify different harmful ideologies: 'might is right' and racism.

If evolution can explain how we came to exist, why do we need God?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander raises questions that demand an answer: Why is there something rather than nothing? and what's the point of life? Does the existence of God provide an answer?

How can a loving God create through a process involving so much wastage and death?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

God is generous and powerful says Denis Alexander - and waste is not something he needs to worry about. [See next interview for the question of death.]

How do you reconcile 'natural evil' with faith in God?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander tackles the issue of all the suffering and death involved in evolution.

If illness and death existed before the Fall, what was the Fall?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Different Christians have different ideas about the Fall. Denis Alexander explains his own view. It's clear that the fall involves Adam and Eve, disobedience to God and being alienated from him. But is physical death involved?

Who were Adam and Eve?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Again, there are lots of different views among Christians. Denis Alexander explains his own view.

How do you reconcile the timescale of evolution with Genesis?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander explains the 'theistic evolution' interpretation of the Bible, where the timescale of evolution fits in with the narrative of Genesis 1-3.

Can you explain fine tuning in biology? What are the implications of that for faith?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Evolution can seem like a random process, but some biologists think that there is evidence for order and 'fine-tuning' in the process. Biologist Denis Alexander explains this concept, and how that fits with Christianity.

What is your main objection to Young Earth Creationism?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander explains that the main reason why he rejects the idea that the earth is young is because he thinks the Bible does not demand that particular interpretation.

What sort of ethical situations do you think we will be facing in the next 10 or 20 years?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

One of the biggest ethical questions that we will face over the next ten or twenty years is going to be the issue of brain control. As we understand more about the brain works, we will learn more how to manipulate it with drugs and electrical stimulation. How will we decide between what is good therapeutic use, and what is wrong?

What do you think of the idea of enhancement of human abilities through science?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We have been doing enhancement of some sort for a long time through education, vaccines, etc. But that is very different to the idea that, for example, we can enhance ourselves by changing our own genomes in a way that is passed on to the next generation.

What do you think of the phrase 'playing God', as applied to scientists?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander explains the difference between 'playing God' and 'stewardship'. We are commanded to be good stewards of the earth in Genesis, and that is a more helpful thing to aim for.

Denis Alexander - How has your faith impacted on your work?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

For Denis Alexander, faith led to fifteen years in universities in the Middle East. Here he explains why he took that step so early in his career.

Does science create a world of 'haves' and 'have nots'?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There is a huge spill over effect from the developed to the developing world. Denis Alexander discusses how this happens, and why he thinks we should continue to do high-tech research.

Do you feel a sense of awe when you do science?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Biologist and Christian Denis Alexander shares the feelings of awe and wonder he had when he made discoveries in the laboratory.

Have you seen others affected by that feeling of awe at scientific discoveries?

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Denis Alexander tells the story of a Chinese student who was recently baptised in his church. She made the first step towards becoming a Christian in a biochemistry class!

How Great is our God (Passion Talk Series, USA, 2008)

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$10, 40 minutes

More information, clips, and how to buy: http://268store.com/store/product/222/How-Great-Is-Our-God/

Presenter information: http://www.268generation.com

This is another live video of a talk, this time a popular and very passionate presentation by Louis Giglio on tour in the USA with musician Chris Tomlin. The first part of the talk is a guided tour of the universe, from the tiniest cell to the biggest star, with animated visual aids. Giglio’s shares his awe at the scale of the cosmos, and his enthusiasm is infectious. He goes on to bring the story nearer to home, our personal struggles, and the cross. The use of the ‘cross’ in biology and in the first image beamed back from the Hubble telescope feels a bit contrived and is proving unhelpful in that people are taking this as ‘evidence’ for God rather than something that is meaningful to Louis Giglio personally as a sign of God’s grace, much as rainbows might be to other people, which is I think how he intends it to be taken. Nevertheless, the first part of the DVD in particular is a great visual aid to help Christians think about how looking at the wonders of creation can provoke praise and worship.

Do we have to choose science without God, or God without science?

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Deborah Haarsma explains how science and faith fit together for her as a Christian.

The hijacking of both science and faith...

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Some think that scientific explanations remove the need for God, but Deborah Haarsma explains how she sees scientific progress from a Christian point of view.

So where does the tension between science and faith come from?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

God has revealed himself through creation and also through the Bible, and those two different forms of revelation cannot contradict each other. The conflict comes from our different interpretations.

Why don't we simply go with an objective materialistic explanation for things?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer Deborah Haarsma discusses objectivity in science, and the assumptions of science that allow people with different 'worldviews' to work together.

What have been the most exciting developments in astronomy over the last 20 years?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Deborah Haarsma describes what she thinks have been the most exciting discoveries in astronomy during her career, including data from new telescopes and satellites.

The earth is now known to be a tiny planet in one of billions of galaxies. What does that mean for us?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The argument has been made that the earth has been demoted from the centre of the universe by scientists. But Deborah Haarsma points out that, at the time of Kepler and Galileo, being moved away from the centre of the universe was actually a promotion! She goes on to discuss where human worth comes from.

What is the firing squad argument for 'fine-tuning' in the universe?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Astronomer Deborah Haarsma explains philosopher John Leslie's analogy of a firing squad as a defence for the anthropic principle, or fine-tuning in the universe.

What about the theory that a 'mother universe' gave rise to many universes?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

One type of multiple universe theory is the 'mother universe' theory, Deborah Haarsma explains what the implications of that would be if it did exist, especially for the idea of fine-tuning in our universe.

How does Genesis contrast, as a story of origins, with those of surrounding cultures at the time?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ancient near eastern cultures had their own creation narratives. Dr Deborah Haarsma compares those stories with the Genesis account, and discusses the uniqueness of Genesis.

Do you think God directly controls each 'random' event in creation?

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Deborah Haarsma explains two different meanings of the word 'random', and gives an example to show the type of randomness that she thinks God may have used to create the universe.

Worshipping God in his creation

Tue, 04 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A lot of Christian hymns use references to the created world. Here Deborah Haarsma tells how her scientific understanding informs her own worship as she sings those hymns.

Indescribable (Passion Talk Series, USA, 2008)

Wed, 05 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$10, 43 minutes

More information, clips, and how to buy: http://268store.com/store/product/223/Indescribable/

Presenter information: http://www.268generation.com

Another very popular live video of a talk by Louis Giglio on tour with musician Chris Tomlin, and based on the popular Christian worship song ‘Indescribable’. Giglio describes the size of the universe using images of stars from the Hubble telescope as visual aids. He does a great job of explaining the science, using it to remind the audience of how big our creator God is and how small we are in comparison. In the final part he talks about the cross, where Jesus the ‘word’ who created everything died for us. Again, the use of the ‘cross’ in an image beamed back from the Hubble telescope feels a bit contrived and is proving unhelpful in that people are taking this as ‘evidence’ for God rather than something that is meaningful to Louis Giglio personally as a sign of God’s grace, much as rainbows might be to other people, which is I think how he intends it to be taken. But Giglio’s use of scientific data as a way to share his own feelings of wonder, awe and worship will inspire many.

What is 'bioethics'?

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

John Bryant explains the meanings that the word bioethics has taken on since it was first used in the 1970s.

How has bioethics developed over the last few decades?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Two examples of the development of ideas in bioethics: the very complex area of decisions about the human embryo, and drugs to enhance our cognitive abilities. How should human beings treat each other?

What impact are current developments in science having on bioethics?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

One key scientific development that has ethical implications is the attempt to enhance human abilities through genetics, information technology and drugs. Much of that is for necessary medical applications such as artificial limbs, but these technologies could also be used for other purposes. Another area is the selection of embryos with different genetic traits.

Is the Bible scientifically accurate?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

John Bryant explains how the big story of the Bible is told using different types of literature. At times those stories, such as the parables of Jesus, use imagery or storytelling methods that do not relate to scientific findings. To ask if they are 'scientifically accurate' is to ask the wrong question.

How can the Bible be used to develop a framework for ethics, or 'ethical toolkit'?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There are very detailed instructions in the New Testament that demonstrate wider principles on how to treat people. These principles are an extension of the command to 'love God and love your neighbour'. The details of how to handle new technologies must be worked out wisely using these principles.

How much of our behaviour do you think is determined by our genes?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Some elements of our behaviour, explains biologist John Bryant, are at least partly determined by our genes, but the effect of the environment and what we learn is far greater.

What is your response to the concept of transhumanism?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Transhumanism is the idea that we can make ourselves 'better than well' and transcend our humanness. John Bryant responds to this concept firstly with the idea that even if humans modified themselves using technology they would still be spiritual relational beings made in the image of God, because we are not limited by our physical nature. Secondly, transhumanism is probably a misuse of our God-given creativity.

Does Richard Dawkins use science in an ideological way?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Dawkins's use of evolution as evidence against God is philosophy rather than science. John Bryant's own view is that God used the process of evolution to create.

What is human cloning, and is it possible?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Biologist and bioethicist John Bryant explains the status of the technology of 'cloning' living organisms, and humans in particular.

Do you have any objections to human cloning, if the technical dangers were overcome?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There are a great many technical dangers of human cloning, explains John Bryant, and secondly attempting to clone a human being would be an act of such arrogance and commodification of human life that it should be avoided at all costs.

What are the implications of human cloning for family life?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

John Bryant discusses just one of the implications of human cloning for family life.

What do you think about animal-human hybrids?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An explanation of the technology of using animal-human hybrids to make embryonic stem cells.

Isn't creating an embryo only to destroy it wrong?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

John Bryant discusses his own views on the ethical dangers of using embryonic cells for therapeutic uses.

If we significantly lengthened human life, would that change our relationship with God?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

John Bryant thinks that the desire to lengthen our lives actually comes from a loss of relationship with God rather than the other way around - but that it will probably be impossible to lengthen life significantly.

What is a saviour sibling, and what is your view on using IVF to make them?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

A saviour sibling is born - in rare cases - to save the life of an older brother or sister by donating tissues or organs.

What excites you about the future of science?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

John Bryant shares his own excitement at the possibility of understanding more about how living organisms work, and new developments in 'systems biology' - an integrated study of whole organisms that reveals how we operate as living beings - and the application of new knowledge in practical ways.

Do we exploit the third world in relation to science?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There has been a history of piracy of knowledge and resources from other countries that profit only the developed world, says John Bryant, as well as more general economic pressures.

Does a Christian believer have any special claim to ethical insight?

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Christians cannot claim any special insight for themselves, but simply pray and rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit - for wisdom.

Debating Darwin. Two Debates: Is Darwinism True & Does it Matter? (Paternoster 2009)

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Graeme Finlay, Stephen Lloyd, Stephen Pattemore and David Swift

£8.99, 144 pages

Buy from: http://www.authenticmedia.co.uk

Author details:

Graeme Finlay - http://www.cis.org.uk/resources/interviews/graeme-finlay

Stephen Lloyd - http://www.biblicalcreationministries.org.uk/b/index.php/about-our-speakers

This mutually respectful discussion presents different Christian viewpoints on modern versions of Darwin’s ideas and their relationship to Christian scripture and doctrine. It debates two questions, one theological and one scientific: is the concept of evolution compatible with Christian doctrine and is evolutionary theory sufficient to explain the variety of life forms present on the earth? Those familiar with these issues should find the theological material accessible. Some of the biology under discussion is sophisticated but diagrams are included to illustrate the points being made. Both sides in each question present their own arguments, then respond to the other’s, producing eight chapters.

Lloyd claims that Neo-Darwinism is incompatible with Christianity because the story it tells is incompatible with ‘the big storyline’ of the Bible, in particular with what he sees as ‘three foundational doctrines’ (p.3); the historicity of Adam as an ‘individual from whom the whole human race is descended’, a global flood, and what he terms ‘no-agony-before-Adam’. The latter is defined as an absence of extreme pain or death among such higher animals as can experience suffering; microbes, plants and individual body cells are specifically excluded. Lloyd understands physical death as a consequence of sin; consequently fossil-bearing rocks must postdate Adam’s fall. He does not rule out the possibility of common descent, or that even ‘macro’ evolution may have occurred, but sees the conflict being between timescales and sequences.

Presenting the argument for compatibility, Finlay & Pattemore point out that many supposed clashes between science and scripture are the result of particular interpretations of scripture. They then rehearse well-known arguments for a literary reading of the biblical creation stories, particularly the seven day schema, and stress that, while the Bible is not a science text book its worldview is consistent with the practice of science. They argue that, whatever the Biblical writers or characters might have believed about the physical world (for instance, the sun going round the earth), the truth of their teachings about God and the work of Christ is in no way dependent upon their ‘science’ being correct or on their understanding of the literality of Adam’s story. Finlay & Pattemore’s arguments, here and in their response to Lloyd, are often presented in the form of comparative tables. Considering this first question, an appreciation of different possible interpretations of scripture may enable readers to understand why believers differ in their conclusions regarding its compatibility with evolution.

In the second half of the book Swift and Finlay respectively present cases against and for the theory of evolution on scientific grounds. The argument against is that presented by many proponents of intelligent design (Swift claims his reasons for thinking evolution wrong are entirely scientific); the complexity of life at the molecular level renders impossible its development through the incremental improvements brought about by natural selection. Micro-evolution occurs through new combinations of existing genes but macro-evolution requires the generation of new complexes of genes. On the other side of the argument, Finlay reviews the vast amount of evidence supporting evolution from common ancestors and presents viable mechanisms by which the necessary molecular changes could have occurred. This survey is very up to date and includes recent work on jumping genes. Both write well, stating their cases clearly, but as a former biologist I still find the case for evolution compelling and no reasons within scripture to doubt its veracity.

Cherryl Hunt, Exeter

Justin L. Barrett, Why Would Anyone Believe in God? (AltaMira Press, 2004)

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

$22.95 (£14.99), 152 pages

Buy: http://www.altamirapress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=0759106673&thepassedurl=[thepassedurl]

Author Details: http://www.cam.ox.ac.uk/staff/dr-justin-barrett/

Influential figures like Richard Dawkins can give the impression that belief in God arises from a general childhood gullibility and indoctrination. Using experimental results in the relatively new field of cognitive psychology of religion, Justin Barrett argues convincingly that children are not uniformly gullible, but rather are biased towards religious belief. Most of what we believe is grounded in mental tools that rapidly and intuitively generate beliefs about our environment. Belief in gods and spirits fits well with these automatic biases and intuitions, and belief in an all-knowing, creator God fits even better.

Barrett argues that belief in gods plausibly has its roots in our tendency to detect agency and purpose even when it isn’t there, (the Hypersensitive Agent Detector Device or HADD). We see “faces in the clouds”, we perceive a rock as a bear, and instantly fear that the bump in the night is an intruder or a ghost. Experimental subjects observing geometrical shapes moving around a computer screen spontaneously describe such movements in terms of purpose: one shape is “chasing” another, and so on.

Our tendency to suspect agency and purpose makes belief in invisible agents plausible, and this feeds in to the human bias to spread stories and beliefs about agents that are intuitive enough to fit well with our mental tools and intuitions about agents but unusual enough to be interesting and significant. Furthermore, recent research by psychologists suggests that children are predisposed to think that minds can exist without physical bodies and survive physical death.

Barrett further argues that there are additional factors disposing to belief in an all knowing creator. Margaret Evans found that children younger than ten preferred creationist explanations of animals to evolutionary ones, even when their parents and teachers taught them evolution. Experimental evidence, including cross-cultural studies, suggests that three-year-olds attribute super, god-like qualities to lots of different beings. Super-power, super-knowledge and super-perception seem to be the starting assumption. Children then have to learn that their parents don’t know everything and that people will die.

Cognitive science of religion thus suggests that children do not need harsh 'indoctrination' to believe in a god-like creator, but rather are naturally prone to such beliefs. Culture and upbringing provide specific details and support religious beliefs, but a general tendency to believe in supernatural agents is innate.

Barrett usually offers a clear and helpful explanation, outlining experimental results without going into details or dwelling on areas that are controversial or take him beyond his central point, such as modular understandings of human psychology or attempted evolutionary explanations of why humans show such tendencies. Barrett has a point of view and sees the tendency to religion as primarily a by-product of human psychology rather than as something that helps humans to survive and reproduce per se. Furthermore, unlike many others working in the field, Barrett is a Christian. He offers explanations of how and when atheistic belief might commonly arise and argues that, granted that God is the creator of nature and our minds, the existence of natural explanations of why humans tend to believe in God need not undermine belief, just as the existence of a natural tendency to believe that others have conscious feelings need not undermine that belief.

This new field is important both scientifically and theologically. Those willing to make the effort will find this a useful introduction.

Where did the idea of warfare between science and faith come from? [1]

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ian Hutchinson explains one of the sources behind the idea that there is a warfare between science and religion. The historian Andrew Dickson White wrote a very influential book about conflict between science and Christianity. He did this essentially to argue that higher education should be secular (and he also co-founded Cornell University, the first secular private university in the USA).

Personal story [1]: How have your faith or ideas of stewardship of the environment affected your work?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

An academic career can go in unexpected directions. But for Ian Hutchinson, his faith certainly was a strong factor in his motivation to work in a field where the outcomes might benefit the rest of humankind.

Ian Hutchinson [1]: How have your faith or ideas of stewardship of the environment affected your work?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ian Hutchinson [2]: Are there other ways in which your faith has influenced your work?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ian Hutchinson talks about how his faith has influenced him in other areas of his career: the main one being the way he has approached leadership positions, and dealing with people.

Ian Hutchinson [3]: Are there other ways in which your faith has influenced your work?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Ian Hutchinson explains how his faith gives him a sense of awe and wonder about the world.

Where did the idea of warfare between science and faith come from? [2]

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:53:41 GMT

Dickson White's book has been severely criticised as being inaccurate and without balance. It is a polemic rather than a work of academic research, and historians over the last 20-30 years have been revisiting the issues.

What is your own work, and how is it significant? [1]

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:55:28 GMT

Ian Hutchinson describes his own field of plasma physics, the aim of which is to create a reliable source of energy by (hot) nuclear fusion.

What is your own work, and how is it significant? [2]

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:57:13 GMT

A description of how scientists are trying to use plasma physics to create energy through (hot) nuclear fusion.

Personal story [2]: Are there other ways in which your faith has influenced your work?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:00:56 GMT

Ian Hutchinson talks about how his faith has influenced him in other areas of his career: the main one being the way he has approached leadership positions, and dealing with people.

Personal story [3]: Are there other ways in which your faith has influenced your work?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:02:23 GMT

Ian Hutchinson explains how his faith gives him a sense of awe and wonder about the world.

Is the technology that you are developing not potentially dangerous?

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:04:39 GMT

Almost no technology is entirely safe, and unless we are deliberate in how we handle technologies they can harm people. Unforeseen dangers can always arise, and waste products have to be dealt with. Another danger is the idea that we can fix all our problems with technology in the absence of moral, ethical and religious guidance.

Levels of explanation [1]

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:06:14 GMT

Explanations at different levels can be valid at the same time. For example, we might understand a person at the level of physics, or chemistry, or biology, or personal meaning, or spirituality.

Levels of explanation [2]

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:07:53 GMT

Ian Hutchinson uses human thought to illustrate the concept of levels of explanation: understanding thought at the level of mechanisms in the brain does not take away any sense of meaning.

David Bentley Hart, Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

(Yale University Press, 2009)

£19.99, 272 pages

Buy from: http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300111903

Author details: http://orthodoxwiki.org/David_Bentley_Hart

Atheist Delusions is an excellent Christian response to the new atheists (these include Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Daniel Dennett). Hart laments the quality of the modern critics of Christianity. In the early church, pagan critics really understood the faith against which they were arguing. More recently, philosophers such as Nietzsche and Hume also had an accurate understanding of Christianity when they argued against it. Nietzsche in particular realised that the effect of Christianity was to support the weak and helpless, and this is precisely what he criticised in it. The modern critics, however, seek to portray faith as being detrimental to morality – without realising that the morality they themselves employ is the result of a Christian revolution in history. The modern moral consensus in large areas is not something inevitable, but rather the result of the impact of Christianity on the Western Roman Empire and its descendants over thousands of years.

Hart’s method is to systematically tackle common perceptions about the negative impact of Christianity on the West in the Middle Ages, which results in the idea of the ‘dark age’. Hart argues that Christianity was not detrimental to reason, science, and tolerance. Rather, for example, it was the undermining of classical Greek and Roman thought by Christianity that opened up the possibility of modern science. He goes on to examine the impact of Christianity on moral society, and concludes by arguing that secularisation in the West is undoing some of these changes and taking our civilisation back into the darkness which preceded it.

Hart’s section on ‘The Christian Invention of the Human’ is particularly illuminating. The principle idea here is that Christianity caused the rapid spread of the Jewish notion of the infinite worth of every human being regardless of social status, wealth, or any other factor. Christianity was responsible for hospitals, schools, and (admittedly terribly late) the abolition of slavery. In Roman society, the tears of a peasant or slave were not worth recording, except as the butt of a joke. How revolutionary it is then, that Matthew’s Gospel records Peter’s tears after he denies Jesus, not as a joke, but as a serious and solemn matter (see Matthew 26:75).

Hart concludes that we are now in a time when we are losing the Christian idea of the human, and that Christianity must adopt a form much more similar to the desert fathers who withdrew into the desert to pray, to be an ark for the preservation of Christianity, and be content not to be at the heart of modern consciousness. This is not as bad as it might sound – many of the spiritual children of the desert fathers went out into the Roman Empire and, empowered by their sustained prayer, changed the world.

The essence of the book, then, is that the common image of the glorious light of the Roman Empire giving way to the dark ages, which then give way to Renaissance and Enlightenment with the rediscovery of classical culture, is wrong. Rather, we should think of the dark and brutal Roman Empire, which under the influence of Christianity brought forth a shining Christian era in the West that now seems to be ending, just as Christianity continues to expand rapidly in other parts of the world. Meanwhile in the West the darkness threatens to return, albeit in a different form.

Hart writes well, and this is a book to be savoured and enjoyed. Many reviewers consider the book to end on a more negative note than is necessary, but we will leave it to the reader to decide.

Test Of Faith Resources

Real Science Real Faith

Surprised by Science

Down to Earth

Credibility and Credo

A God Big Enough

A Talent for Science

Non in tempore sed cum tempore

Biology and Belief

How can I know God, or rather be known by God?

Can Science and Christianity Both Be True?

Personal Faith and Commitment

Pathways

Brains, Mind and Faith

Man - Dust with a Destiny

To Whale or not to Whale, That is the Question

Genes, Genesis and Greens

Science and Christian Faith Today

Further Reading

Bibliography

Briefing Sheet Session 1: What does the 'image of God' mean?

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Mechanism and Meaning

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Reading Genesis

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Science and Knowledge of God

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Ways of understanding science and religion

Briefing Sheet Session 2: The age of the Earth

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Evidence for evolution

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Intelligent Design

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Random Chance?

Darwin's Test of Faith: Lessons from a Victorian Agnostic, by Nick Spencer

Bioethics: A Christian Perspective, by Lisa Goddard

Just how complicated is the brain?

How is personality related to the brain?

Can our behaviour change our brain?

How is religious behaviour related to the brain?

What is religious experience?

Where is belief located in the brain?

Is it possible to make someone religious?

How do mind and brain relate?

'Emergence' - Where does the human mind come from?

How did you become involved in research on spiritual experience?

What does it mean for us to be people 'made in the image of God'?

Where does morality come from?

Why do some people find that science leads them to God, but not others?

What is the role of science?

What is the relationship between science and Christian theology?

Do believers ever need to reassess their beliefs in the light of scientific discoveries?

What is the relationship between science and religion?

Will science one day 'touch the mind of God'?

The sixties generation & atheist apologetics

How do we know that spiritual experience is real?

Childhood spirituality

Setting the agenda.

What is the 'anthropic principle'?

What are we to make of Adam & Eve?

Ard Louis' research

Personal story [1] - Childhood in Gabon

Personal story [2] - Did you ever have any problems relating science and faith?

Personal story [3] - What is your experience of Young Earth Creationism?

Intelligent Design

Do you ever discuss science and religion questions with your colleagues?

Is science the whole story?

What surprised you most when you looked into the history of science and religion?

Are science and faith complementary?

Personal story [4] - What areas cause you to have doubts?

Personal story [5] - How has growing up in Africa left its mark on you?

Is it decadent to worry about science and faith while people in Africa are dying?

The developed world mainly benefits from scientific research. How do you live with that?

Is evolution a random process?

Briefing Sheet Session 1: The Christian Roots of Science

Briefing Sheet Session 1: The Christian Roots of Science

Briefing Sheet Session 1: What does the 'image of God' mean?

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Reading Genesis

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Science and Knowledge of God

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Mechanism and Meaning

Briefing Sheet Session 1: Ways of understanding science and religion

Briefing Sheet Session 2: The age of the Earth

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Evidence for evolution

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Intelligent Design

Briefing Sheet Session 2: Random Chance?