NEWSLETTER
of the
American Scientific Affiliation & Canadian Scientific &
Christian Affiliation
Volume 52, Number 2 MAR/APR 2010
The Catholic University of America Welcomes ASA
The ASA’s 65th Annual Meeting will be held at the Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington, DC, July 30–Aug. 2. The theme is “Science, Faith, and Public Policy” with the Scripture “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14b). Susan Daniels is the Program Chair, and Paul Arveson is the Local Arrangements Chair.
Founded in 1887 by the US Catholic bishops, CUA is the national university of the Roman Catholic Church in the USA. On May 24, 1888, the cornerstone of Caldwell Hall was laid with President Grover Cleveland and members of Congress and the US Cabinet in attendance. The university opened on Nov. 13, 1889, as a graduate research center and in 1904 began offering undergraduate education. Its president, the Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, says, “It all began as a dream—a vision, really—that there could be in the United States a great Catholic center of learning at the highest level, modeled after the great European universities.”
CUA includes twelve schools and 21 research facilities and is the only American university with ecclesiastical faculties which grants canonical degrees in three disciplines: canon law, philosophy, and theology. Theological College, the university seminary, prepares men for the priesthood. There are approximately 3,470 undergraduate and 3,240 graduate students from all 50 states and 97 countries in 72 bachelor’s programs, 103 master’s programs and 66 doctoral programs. Eighty-eight percent of undergrads and 61 percent of graduate students are Catholic. CUA’s motto is “Deus Lux Mea Est,” meaning “God is My Light.”
The university has a 193-acre campus just north of Capitol Hill. Students have access to a wide range of educational, cultural, and political opportunities in the nation’s capital including internships, even in congressional offices. CUA combines strong academics with programs of faith development and opportunities for service both locally and abroad.
CUA is one of only two universities in the USA to have hosted the Pope and the only one to have done so twice. Pope John Paul II came in 1979; Pope Benedict XVI in 2008. There are 21 varsity intercollegiate teams, and their athletic colors are red and black. Academic colors are gold and white.
The campus is set among tree-lined rolling hills, adjacent to the majestic Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in the USA. We look forward to our Annual Meeting at this amazing institution.
Christians Respond to Haiti Earthquake
- Several members of Christian Veterinary Mission (CVM) in
Seattle, WA, led by Kit Flowers, experienced the earthquake in
Haiti. Fortunately, the CVM fieldworkers survived, but prayers are
requested as they continue their work in this devastated area. Pray
for strength and wisdom as they grieve the loss with their friends and
co-workers and discern how best to respond. CVM has established a Special
Projects fund to help with this specific mission. It has sent
hundreds of short-term volunteers to Haiti over the years, has
trained over 1,000 village-level animal health workers, and has served
Haitians in many other development and ministry inputs. Updates can
be found at www.cvmusa.org/HaitiEarthquake
or write to Kit at Kflowers@cvmusa.org.
- The Council for Christian Colleges and
Universities has responded to the Haiti earthquake by organizing Prayer
Gatherings at more than 150 college campuses. This was done through World
Vision ACT:S, a network of students committed to faith and justice
formation, and effective advocacy. World Vision has worked in Haiti for
more than 30 years and has more than 800 Haitian staff as well as a dozen
international disaster response experts responding throughout affected areas.
For free Prayer Gathering resources and the latest news, visit www.worldvisionacts.org/haiti.
- “Why do you believe God is good?” That’s
the question that university students are challenged to answer by
producing a video—with a $5,000 prize for the best answer. Qualified
entrants must be enrolled in a bachelor’s level program at least 12
hours or in a post-grad program at least 6 hours this semester. Videos
must be succinct, a maximum of two minutes. The winning entry will be the
one that receives the most votes by April 5. Details are at www.godornot.com.
- The International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR)
is sponsoring a major essay competition to honor the 80th birthday of John Polkinghorne, one of the leading
figures in the science and religion dialogue for decades. This is for
students and young academics (without tenure). The essays, which are limited
to 10,000 words, should explore a topic related to Polkinghorne’s
work on the relationship between science and theology, like chaos theory,
natural theology, eschatology, divine action, or epistemology, and
highlight what makes his work unique. The first place winner will receive
10,000 pounds; second, 5,000; and third, 2,000. The deadline is March 31.
For further details visit www.issr.org.uk.
ISSR, along with the Ian Ramsey Centre Theology Faculty, University of Oxford, is also sponsoring a conference, July 7–11, at St. Anne’s College, Oxford, titled “God and Physics.” The winner of the essay contest will be able to present his or her essay at this conference. Essays can be sent to Dr. Christopher Knight by email at cck26@cam.ac.uk.
The Executive Director’s Corner
Randall D. Isaac
In the nearly 70 years of its existence, the ASA has dealt with many issues of origins. The beginning of the universe, Earth, life, species, and consciousness, to name a few, have all occupied a significant amount of space in our journal and publications. But the one that draws the most attention is human origins. Many writers who have found ways to integrate the evolution of species with biblical teaching, have stopped short at the challenge of human origins. Now we see a surge of emphasis on this topic.
On March 17, 2010, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History will open its new exhibit on human origins, titled “Human Origins: What Does It Mean to Be Human?” This exhibit will present the latest scientific discoveries of the development of humans over the last 6 million years. A new website will be launched in concert with the opening of the exhibit.
Recognizing the sensitivity of many people to the scientific account of human origins, the Smithsonian Institute convened a Broad Social Impact committee to address the ways in which the public might respond to this exhibit. This committee of about 25 people represents the many diverse religious and ethnic cultures in America. I had the privilege of being asked, as ASA director, to represent the evangelical protestant perspective.
Our committee met last summer in a stimulating 24-hour session that included a tour of the unfinished exhibit and of the back rooms of the museum. We had no means of influencing the content of the exhibit. Rather, our mission was to inform the leaders how the exhibit might be perceived and to help anticipate questions from the public and to advise the most constructive responses. Despite the broad diversity of committee members, we had a remarkable degree of commonality on most of the issues. Meeting each other and hearing about the various perspectives on human origins were most valuable experiences.
On March 21, a few days after the opening of the exhibit, this committee is scheduled to meet again and to begin to publicize some of the perspectives on understanding human origins and faith issues. It will be interesting to see what media coverage will be obtained.
One of the reasons for the resurgence of interest in human origins is the tremendous progress of research in genetics, especially following the success of the Human Genome Project. While the fossil record provides an incredible historical trail of anatomical features, it is the genetic code that provides detailed evidence for many connections between humans and other species.
Based on the fossil and genetic evidence, the following tale of human origins is now the majority scientific understanding. Human ancestors branched from primate relatives about 7 million years ago. Diverse hominin species developed but all became extinct, as recently as 30,000 years ago, except for Homo sapiens, which apparently first appeared in central east Africa around 200,000 years ago. Dispersion out of Africa began about 120,000 years ago and reached all continents by about 18,000 years ago. Studies of human genetic diversity indicate that world human population during these 200,000 years never dropped below 5 or 10 thousand.
How do we as Christians respond to such an account? It does not seem to easily accord with the traditional account we find in the Bible, not just Genesis 1 but Romans 5 and related passages. Within a diverse group such as ASA, we have a broad spectrum of responses. A first reaction is to question the science. Can such an account be adequately proven? Perhaps it is wrong. However, rapidly mounting genetic evidence is making it more and more difficult to defend such an approach. Does careful biblical interpretation lead us to an account consistent with, or at least not contradictory to, such a scientific account? We all believe that there is no inherent conflict of science and faith, so such reconciliation is possible in principle. But the wide diversity of views will give us many years of intense discussion.
The role of the ASA is to facilitate civil and respectful discussions on topics such as this. We are not advocates of a particular perspective but aim to show how Christians can discuss these issues, demonstrating our unity in Christ while we disagree on the details. Pray for continued wisdom and effectiveness for the ASA as we seek the truth in love.
At the 2009 Annual Meeting, Horizon Media Studios, Inspirational Christian Television Programming, Lake Worth, FL, interviewed several ASA leaders and produced a 6–7-minute video describing the ASA. It aired on the Revelations television program, which was broadcast on the Inspiration Network, World Harvest TV, Total Christian Television, GOD TV, the Word Network, and the Family Net Television Network. The video is available from the ASA website, www.asa3.org, to help you introduce our organization to others.
WesleyNexus was created in 2009 by a group of dedicated clergy, academics, and laypersons who share the heritage of John Wesley as part of their faith tradition. This is a nonprofit organization in the greater Washington, DC, area dedicated to disseminating sound information on the dialogue between science and religion within the Wesleyan tradition. Their website www.wesnex.org provides resources and announcements of discussions about science and religion in the DC area. Their goal is to build an understanding of how science, religion, and theology can better inform one another among persons in a growing online community. They hope to broaden the dialogue among thoughtful persons of faith who take science seriously.
Wesley Theological Seminary is the largest Protestant seminary in Washington, DC, and trains pastors in various Protestant denominations. This is a new resource for all of us involved in the interface of science and faith. Paul Arveson, our local arrangements chair, will be networking with them in advance of our 2010 ASA meeting. * Paul Arveson
Solar physicist Charles Kankelborg is among the Montana State University (MSU) scientists involved in a new space mission to figure out how energy is transferred through the sun’s atmosphere. He says IRIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph) was one of two missions that recently won NASA’s Small Explorer Competition. Their team will design its telescope to face the sun at all times, orbit Earth at least three years, and gather images from the sun’s chromosphere and transition region which is invisible from the ground. This telescope would be launched on a NASA rocket in 2012. IRIS is the latest in a string of solar missions involving MSU students. TRACE, or Transition Region and Coronal Explorer, drew Kankelborg to MSU in 1996. MSU Collegian (Fall 2009): 7.
As an atheist, “Bruce Sheiman does not believe in God, but he does believe in religion,” states an October 15 Religionnews.com dispatch. Regarding his new book An Atheist Defends Religion: Why Humanity Is Better Off with Religion than Without It, he told an interviewer, “I don’t know if anybody is going to be able to convince me that God exists, but they can convince me that religion has intrinsic value.”
The “upgraded unbelievers” aren’t echoing Dawkins’ acerbic assertions that religion is a mental virus. The article differentiates,
The old atheists said there was no God. The so-called ‘New Atheists’ said there was no God and they were vocally vicious about it. Now, the new ‘New Atheists’—call it Atheism 3.0—say there’s still no God, but maybe religion isn’t all that bad.
One reviewer summarizes,
unlike most atheists who embrace their rejection of God as a sign of intellectual triumph, he [Sheiman] asserts that such disbelief is maladaptive and that some form of religious belief is the overwhelmingly preferable option. Reaching beyond the God question, this book explains how religion provides a combination of psychological, moral, emotional, existential, communal, and even physical-health benefits that no other institution can replicate.
In Sheiman’s words,
More than any other institution, religion deserves our appreciation and respect because it has persistently encouraged people to care deeply—for the self, for neighbors, for humanity, and for the natural world—and to strive for the highest ideals humans are able to envision.
www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/atheism_30_finds_a_little_more_room_for_belief1/
Religion’s Role in Environmentalism
In early Nov. 2009, a conclave of leading figures from nine of the world’s major religions was held at Windsor Castle, under the auspices of Prince Philip and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Called “Many Heavens, One Earth,” the meeting hoped to generate commitments for actions by religious organizations, congregants, and countries that could reduce emissions of greenhouse gases or otherwise limit the human impact on the environment. Science and Religion Today (Nov. 4, 2009.)
Church Women United and Creation Care
Last November, Church Women United groups around the
world emphasized environmental care as a duty for Christians. The worship
service “Piecing Earth Together” dealt with Scripture which
referenced God’s Earth (Ps. 136:1–9, 23–26; Genesis 1) and
included a page of pledges to which participants could consider and commit.
Examples were carpooling, using locally grown food, planting a tree, using
energy-efficient light bulbs and appliances, using solar or wind energy,
recycling, becoming informed about environmental legislation before Congress,
and advocating for responsible action. Hymns included in this service were
“This Is the Day That Our God Has Made,” “Morning Has
Broken,” and “Touch the Earth Lightly.” The opening prayer
was
The benediction was, “Go out into God’s creation, looking for ways to piece Earth back together. Monitor your own life in seeking new ways to contribute to environmental conservation and encourage others to honor God’s great gifts.”
The president of the British Science Association, Lord
May, gave a presentation at its festival at the University of Surrey in
September. He said that religious leaders should play a front-line role in
mobilizing people to take action against global warming, adding that religious
groups should use their influence to motivate their peers to reduce the
environmental impact of their lives and that religion can unite communities as
they tackle environmental challenges.
The Guardian (7 Sept. 2009).
“The Catholic-Jewish Commission recently said there is a tension between ‘secular environmentalist movements and religious perspectives’ on ecology because Christians and Jews follow biblical teaching that gives human beings a special place and a special responsibility for the rest of creation. They said the Bible ‘views nature as being endowed with sanctity that flows from the Creator,’ but it also asserts that God made human beings ‘the summit of his inherently good creation’ and gave them stewardship over the earth.” Science and Religion Today (Jan. 21, 2010).
Evangelical Environmental Network
The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to educate, inspire, and mobilize Christians to care for God’s creation, to be faithful stewards of his provision, and to advocate for actions and policies that honor God and protect the environment. Its president and chief executive officer is Mitchell Hescox, pastor of Grace Church, Shrewsbury, PA. Headquartered in Washington, DC, EEN publishes a quarterly journal, Creation Care, and provides educational materials and resources to individuals and churches to help them take actions that will honor God and protect the environment. They are concerned with water, endangered species, air pollution, energy usage, recycling, and many other areas. They inform youth and adults and advise churches about how to deal with these issues. One of many suggestions they have is:
Turn your church grounds into a garden and wildlife habitat. Have your youth group help turn your church grounds into a place to attract wildlife and a place for church members and others to go and pray and relax in the beauty of God’s creation. Plant native vegetation that will require minimum upkeep. Plant berry bushes and other things that will attract a variety of birds. Add a hummingbird feeder, butterfly feeders, or bat house.
Contact them at een@creationcare.org. Also go to www.creationcare.org/resources/sunday/actions.php.
The World Wildlife Fund has chosen Earth Hour 2010 to be on Saturday, March 27, 8:30–9:30 p.m. local time. National landmarks including Mount Rushmore, the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Las Vegas Strip have pledged to participate. Each of us can be a part of this special event by joining millions of people around the world in turning off the lights for Earth Hour 2010. See www.EarthHour.org.
More than 790 congregations from all 50 states and 11 countries participated in Evolution Weekend, Feb. 12–14. The goal was to elevate the level of discussion concerning the compatibility of religion and science. Sermons, discussion groups, church classes, and chats over lunch were some options. Michael Zimmerman, biology prof. at Butler University, the initiator of the project says,
One important goal is to elevate the quality of the discussion on this critical topic—to move beyond sound bites. A second critical goal is to demonstrate that religious people from many faiths and locations understand that evolution is sound science and poses no problems for their faith. Finally … Evolution Weekend makes it clear that those claiming that people must choose between religion and science are creating a false dichotomy.
“Gershon Galil of the University of Haifa has deciphered
the earliest known Hebrew inscription, dating to the 10th
century BC, written on a shard of clay found near the Valley of Elah in Israel.
This makes it possible, he says, that parts of the Bible could have been
written that far back, centuries earlier than scholars now believe.”
Galil says that it is very reasonable that in the 10th
century BC, during the reign of King David, there were scribes in Israel who
were able to write literary texts and complex historiographies, such as the
books of Judges and Samuel. Science and Religion Today (Jan. 13,
2010).
- Scientific
American recognized ten people who “have recently demonstrated
outstanding commitment to assuring that the benefits of new technologies
and knowledge will accrue to humanity.” One was Andras Nagy, a
researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, who made headlines in 2009
when his team found a new way to use skin cells to create stem cells that
are pluripotent (can become nearly any tissue in the body). These cells appear
to provide the same potential as embryonic stem cells—without the
moral debate surrounding the creation and destruction of embryos. The
magazine said, “In effect, Nagy and his colleagues had, for the
first time, created the equivalent of embryonic stem cells that were
uncontroversially ethical, safe and efficient—a significant
advance toward being able to use them in patients in a clinic.” Science
and Religion Today (May 18, 2009).
- Responding
to a Letter to the Editor in Science, Jan. 16, 2009, p. 339, Erik
Parens, Josephine Johnston, and Jacob Moses of the Hastings Center,
Garrison, NY, said,
We think that “creating” life in the context of synthetic biology raises the same ethical question that is raised by “manipulating” life in the context of genetic engineering (and in contexts such as assisted human reproduction, embryonic stem cell research, or animal-human chimeras). The question is: Should there be any in-principle limits on our capacity to transform ourselves and the rest of the natural world?
- Last July,
a federal appeals court ruled that pharmacists are obliged to dispense the
Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to it on religious
grounds.
- Science and Religion Today, July 9,
2009, stated, “John Cartwright: There is no justification for a
claim that Christianity must oppose the assisted death of a person who has
made their own decision to die, provided that such a person can convince
others that their desire to die is fully considered. I will make this
argument given two conditions: first that the person is capable of making
an educated decision, and second that their end-of-life experience
includes full access to both pastoral and medical care.” (www.guardian.co.uk)
Science and Religion Today, Oct. 5, 2009, quotes Denis Alexander, director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion as follows:
It is not the task of theology to seek to influence the content of scientific theories … Nevertheless, it remains a fact that positive theological influences on the actual content of scientific theories can readily be discerned in the history of science, although such influences are more readily discernible with the benefit of hindsight. Scientists are not ethereal beings isolated from their cultural milieu, but embedded in their context and history as much as anyone else. So even those who think they are being most “purely scientific” in their work may, in retrospect, be seen to be influenced in their theorizing or research programs by nonscientific factors. It is a plausible inference, for example, that Newton’s laws of gravity were nurtured by his deep faith in a creator God who could act over vast distances to maintain the mathematically elegant relationships between objects in harmony. Newton was resolutely agnostic over the mechanisms whereby gravity operates, leading to accusations that he believed in “occult forces,” but a universe in which unknown forces of gravity acted at a distance certainly seemed more believable when it was ruled over by a benevolent albeit invisible law-maker.
Jim Tour gave a riveting talk last year at our Annual Meeting about how to stand for Christ in the Academy. The Houston Chronicle, Jan. 3, featured him on the front page of the City section, in a laudatory article titled “Laws of Science.” Jim has always been very open about his faith and how he relies on God for direction in his research. See the full article: www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6795911.html * Christina Chan and Scott and Penny Robinson
- Francis
Collins was among the twelve distinguished scientists and writers
in the Templeton Foundation’s latest essay series who discussed
“Does Evolution Explain Human Nature?” The essays are
available online at www.templeton.org/evolution, where they can also be
requested in a free printed booklet. The report says, “There are
disagreements among the essayists, of course, but all of them are
wrestling with very fundamental questions about what makes us
human.” Templeton Report (May 13, 2009).
- Collins also
participated in the 2009 World Science Festival in June in New York. Many
high-profile scientists attended covering topics such as multiverse
theory, environmental sustainability, human cooperation and altruism, fate
and free will, our response to music, and the concept of
nothingness.
- Last May, some of the nation’s
leading journalists gathered in Key West, FL, for the Pew Forum on
Religion & Public Life’s “Faith Angle Conference” on
religion, politics and public life. Francis Collins discussed why
he believes religion and science are compatible and why the current
conflict over evolution vs. faith is unnecessary. He shared his journey to
faith and that he believes that science provides evidence of God. He cited
the Big Bang theory and the fact that the universe had a beginning out of
nothing and added that the laws of physics have precisely the values
needed for life to occur on Earth and argued that this would seem to point
to a creator.
-
An article entitled “The Promise of a Cure: 20 Years and Counting” in Science, June 19, 2009, p. 1504, says,
The gene hunt began quietly, with few theatrics and much uncertainty. For Mitch Drumm, the starting gate lifted in the fall of 1985. He and geneticist Francis Collins met on opposite sides of a volleyball net, during a faculty-student mixer at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Drumm, shorter than the lanky Collins, was outmatched in volleyball. But Collins quickly recruited Drumm to join the lab he was setting up, as its first graduate student.
The two scientists began gene hunting on cystic fibrosis. In 1989, in collaboration with a research group in Toronto, they cloned the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene. 2009 was the 20th anniversary of the identification of the CF gene. Life expectancy in 1989 for those with CF was about 29 years. In 2009, with gene therapy, it exceeds 37 years. The article includes a 1980s-era photo of Collins and Drumm.
- The Las Vegas Sun, May 5, 2009, included an article
“Cancer Still a Mystery.” The following reference to Francis
Collins was included. “Collins was in Las Vegas last month
speaking to scientists at the Desert Research Institute, which had awarded
him the Nevada Medal. In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, he
said spending $400 million a year for up to ten years on
an innovative study could result in ‘prodigious amounts of
knowledge’ about illnesses, including cancer. He said the money
could be used to enroll 500,000 people in different geographic areas of
the country to monitor key aspects of their lives, including their diets
and the air they breathe and the fluids they drink.’ We believe
Collins, who is renowned both as a scientist and a medical doctor, offers
an intriguing new approach to medical research, one that Obama should
consider.”
Following up his best-seller The Language of God, Francis Collins has written The Language of Life (New York: Harper, 2010). Subtitling his book “DNA and the revolution in personalized medicine,” Collins explains, “For centuries, we considered ourselves to be healthy until symptoms of illness arose. Once diagnosed, correctly or not, we received standardized treatments … But not all our glitches are the same, so one treatment does not fit all sufferers of a given disease.” It’s difficult for physicians to keep current on new developments, so much routine medical treatment is obsolete or erroneous.
An increasing number of people are having their DNA analyzed for early warnings of what genetic weaknesses they may have inherited. Reliable tests for key indicators are now available for prices ranging from $399 to $2499, using DNA samples donated by merely spitting into a special tube or scraping a cheek. Collins anonymously submitted samples; the fact that all three laboratory results agreed in all important characteristics assured him of their accuracy.
Plentifully lacing it with real-life examples, Collins gives an insider’s look at the genomic revolution in ways that fascinate the casual reader and provide state-of-the-art insights for anyone needing or providing medical care. With discrete balance and avoiding hype, he points out, “The more you know about all this, the more you can adjust your own lifestyle and medical surveillance to prevent illnesses or catch them in early and treatable stages.”
On Jan. 23, the First Baptist Church of
Austin, TX, and the Center for Ministry Effectiveness and Educational
Leadership at Baylor University co-sponsored an all-day seminar titled
“Science and Faith: Breaking Down the Wall.” Its aim was to help
clergy and laity understand how, in their pursuit of truth, their faith can be
strengthened and their Christian effectiveness be increased when they take
biblical theology and science seriously. The seminar showed how the Christian
faith and the scientific investigation of the natural world can be
complimentary, mutually informing, and edifying. Gerald Cleaver, assoc.
prof. of physics, spoke on “Faith and the New Cosmology.” Barry
Harvey, prof. of theology, presented “Mystery and Well-Formed
Intellect—Why Science and Theology Are Not in Competition,” and
Phyllis Tippit, lecturer in geology and interdisciplinary science, spoke on
“Does Life Have a History?”
* Don Schmeltekopf and Gerald Cleaver and Scott
and Penny Robinson.
On Jan. 10, John Haught, chair (1990– 1995) and professor (1970–2005) in the Department of Theology at Georgetown University, gave a presentation “Evolution, God, and the Drama of Life” at the Metropolitan Memorial United Methodist Church in Washington, DC. Maynard Moore, a retired Methodist minister, organized the event to which more than 70 attended.
Haught is an internationally known lecturer and author (including God after Darwin) in science and religion and testified for the plaintiffs in the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Board of Education trial in Harrisburg, PA. He has won many awards in science and religion. His area of specialization is systematic theology, with a particular interest in issues pertaining to science including cosmology, evolution, and ecology.
Paul Arveson attended this lecture and says Haught’s
“defense of the faith is based on the idea that religion and evolution
lie on different ‘levels of explanation,’ so they cannot logically
compete with each other.” Paul says that Haught’s latest book, Making
Sense of Evolution: Darwin, God and the Drama of Life, will deal with much
of what he discussed with them. After the presentation, Paul met with Haught
and told him that he thinks we have come a long way in our acceptance of
evolution. Haught agreed, then countered, “But you don’t rejoice in
it yet.” * Paul Arveson
“Creation,” a new film about Darwin, premiered in the USA on Jan. 22 in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, and Boston. The National Center for Science Education’s executive director, Eugenie Scott, said it was “a thoughtful, well-made film that will change many views of Darwin held by the people—for the good.” Discussion panels were present in each city prior to the showing. Since it was well received, it is being shown in almost 20 cities in February and March. For more, visit www.creationthemovie.com/
- Presented by Duke University’s Center for
Spirituality, Theology and Health, two workshops compress material
presented in a post-doctoral fellowship into five days, and are the only
place in the world where training on how to conduct research on religion,
spirituality, and health can be obtained from researchers active in the
field for decades. The courses are recommended for both researchers early
in their careers and seasoned researchers wishing to shift their work into
spirituality and health, as well as students considering an academic
career in this area. The workshops are in Durham, NC: one, July
19–23; the other, Aug. 16–20. Contact Harold Koenig at Koenig@geri.duke.edu
- On June 28–29, Indiana Wesleyan
University (IWU) in Marion, IN, is sponsoring “The Pedagogy of Faith
in the Science Classroom: Integrating Faith, Hope, and Love in the Natural
Sciences Curriculum.” This workshop is for Christian college and
university professors of biology, chemistry, physics, math, and computer
science within driving distance of IWU. Contact Dennis Brinkman at Dennis.Brinkman@indwes.edu or
(785) 677-2632.
Mar. 12. Science Museum of Minnesota opening the
exhibition of “The Dead Sea Scrolls and the St. John’s
Bible.” Details at www.smm.org/scrolls.
Mar. 13. “Radioactive Dating,” Reasons
to Believe Chicago chapter, Wheaton, IL. Information at Chicago@reasons.org.
Mar. 16–18. "Exploring Identity:
Created or Crafted?" Wheaton, IL, Council for Applied Christian Ethics.
Details at www.wheaton.edu/CACE/
Mar. 24. Wheaton College Science Symposium,
“Extreme Frontiers in Geo-exploration: Earth and Mars,” Armerding
Auditorium. Speakers: Wei Lou, associate prof of geography, Northern Illinois
U., “Global Pattern of Dissection on Mars and the Northern Ocean
Hypothesis,” at 4 p.m. Marjorie A. Chan, prof of geology and geophysics, U.
of Utah, “Red Rocks on Earth and Mars,” at 7 p.m. www.wheaton.edu
Mar. 31. "The Identity of a Christian
College," 7 p.m., Barrows Auditorium, Wheaton College. Speaker: Duane
Litfin, President, Wheaton College. Details at www.wheaton.edu/CACE/
Apr. 10. “Does the Bible Support an Old-Earth
View?” Reasons to Believe Chicago chapter, Wheaton, IL. Information at Chicago@reasons.org.
Apr. 19–22. "Health Care Ethics in
the 21st Century," Providence Health Care Ethics Seminar, Vancouver, BC.
Details at www.providencehealthcare.org/ethics_services/health-ethics-seminars.html
May 6–7. “Spirituality: The
Invisible Ingredient in Health and Healing,” Providence Health Care of
Vancouver, BC. Coast Plaza Hotel. To register call (919) 660-7556, Center
for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Duke U. dukespiritualityandhealth@gmail.com
May 8. “Examining Arguments for a Young
Earth,” Reasons to Believe Chicago chapter, Wheaton, IL. Information at Chicago@reasons.org.
June 16–18. Third Annual Meeting of the
Society for Spirituality, Theology and Health, R. David Thomas Executive
Conference Center at Duke U. Preconference presentations on June 15. Call (919)
660-7556 or go to www.spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/
July 6–17. International Academy of
Apologetics, Evangelism & Human Rights, Strasbourg, France. A unique
opportunity to defend historic biblical faith in an increasingly secular age
devoid of a solid basis for human rights. Details at www.apologeticsacademy.eu
July 7–11. “God and Physics”
and celebration of John Polkinghorne’s 80th birthday. Oxford,
UK. Robert Russell will be one of the speakers. Sponsored by the Ian
Ramsey Centre and the International Society for Science and Religion. See http://users.ox.ac.uk/~theo0038/Conferenceinfo/General.html.
Contact: ian-ramsey-centre@theology.ox.ac.uk
July 11–17. Summer Vacation Seminar at
St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN.
July 30–Aug. 2. ASA Annual Meeting.
“Science, Faith, and Public Policy,” Catholic U. of America,
Washington, DC. Details at www.asa3.org
Aug. 5–8. “The Idea of a
University: From John Henry Newman to the Multiversity and Beyond.”
Symposium sponsored by the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research led by Oskar
Gruenwald, at the Hilton Hotel, Pasadena, CA, www.JIS3.org/symposium2010.htm
Sept. 20–Oct. 2. Biblical Archaeology Society
tour: “In the Footsteps of Paul.” Call 1-800-221-4644, ext. 208 for
complete information.
Oct. 21–Nov. 5. Biblical Archaeology Society
tour “From Petra to Palmyra: Visiting Syria, Antioch and Jordan.”
Where Paul traveled in Turkey. See contact information above.
Nov. 19–21. Bible and Archaeology Fest XIII, Atlanta, GA
Welcome New Members!
December 2009–January 2010
Beisner, E. Calvin –Pembroke Pines, FL
Bowen, Robert –Ottawa, ON
Buchanan, J. Scott –Lambertville, NJ
Cartolano, Melinda S. –Hawthorn Woods, IL
Congdon, Robert –Roseburg, OR
Cox, Aimie –Waco, TX
Dube, Benjamin –St Davids, PA
Haan, Stanley –Grand Rapids, MI
Heese, Jason P. –Plover, WI
Heo, Eui Seon –Shindorim-dong Guro-gu, Seoul, Korea
Hollett, Brian –Rochester Hills, MI
Injeti, Elisha R. –Cedarville, OH
Kim, Hannah –Glen Ellyn, IL
Kunz, Kyle T. –Wheaton, IL
Macdonald, Parry –MoonTwp, PA
MacDonald, Don –Seattle, WA
Manning, James O. –Corbin, KY
Mekhail, Mina –Montreal, QC
Muir, Donald G. –Las Vegas, NV
Nichols, Norma H. –Walterboro, SC
Robinson, John M. –Kenosha, WI
Rosario, Pedro M. –San Juan, PR
Russell, Robert J. –Berkeley, CA
Sankaran, Kamesh –Spokane, WA
Sonnenburg, Larry –Lake Forest, CA
Tam, David S. –Hamilton, MA
Thomas, Jesse –Murrieta, CA
Tour, James M. –Houston, TX
Vanderploeg, Jessica L. –Hamilton, ON
White, Michelle S. –Fort Wayne, IN
Yamada, James T. –Hon, HI
Zauderer, Bevin A. –Roswell, GA
Congratulations, Long-time ASA Members!
Celebrating 45 years of membership
Gordon E. Brown
Marilyn R. Graves
Stuart F. Hayes
Gordon R. Lewthwaite
Myron A. Mann
Jennie E. Master
James R. Moore
Kenneth C. Olson
Peter Rüst
Albert J. Smith
Robert J. Werking
L. William Yoder
(News from ASA local chapters)
The Wheaton/Naperville ASA chapter featured James Sire
as its Jan. 21 speaker. A 50-year member of the ASA, Jim has
degrees in English and in chemistry. His best-selling book, The 
Universe Next Door,
deals with worldviews. It has been translated into 19 languages and is used as
a text at many colleges. Originally published in 1956, it has recently been
updated in its fifth edition.
With that in mind, Sire talked about “The Development of the Universe (Next Door),” discussing how the various editions of the book had changed—responding both to new scientific and cultural developments, and to the maturation of his own thinking. As examples, the first edition had followed the convention of using masculine pronouns to include both genders. In the second edition, he avoided the clumsy his/her phraseology by using “we” and “us” instead of “he.” In the third edition, he began answering Dawkins.
It wasn’t until the fourth edition that he arrived at what he now considers an adequate conception and definition of worldview. He called it
a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of propositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or unconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.
Worldview has an intellectual component, but the Bible is more in the form of a story than in intellectual propositions. Jim distinguished between reincarnation and resurrection: You are resurrected as you, but reincarnated as someone else.
Up and Down Escalators
As his understanding of worldviews was developing, Sire recognized that the trajectory of prevalent worldviews had been downward. Christian theism descended into deism by truncating God into merely a force. When deism abandoned belief in God, naturalism took over, and it in turn degenerated into nihilism, with no clear path to truth, an intellectual dead end. New Age blends existentialism and eastern religion, with the self becoming God. He described its intellectual incoherence as “Drag Velcro across a culture and believe whatever sticks.”
Both scientists and theologians rely on certain assumptions. They often talk past each other, with an attitude of “You are a [scientist/theologian]; you wouldn’t understand.”
July 30–August 2, 2010
The Catholic University of America
Washington, DC
July
29–August 1, 2011
North Central College
Naperville, IL
Jointly hosted by North Central and Wheaton Colleges
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Editors: David Fisher, Margaret Towne
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