John W. Burgeson (Burgy@Compuserve.com)
This is a guide to LISTSERVs which deal, at least
from time to time, with issues of:
Science/Christianity
Origins
Ethics
It is not an inclusive list; it contains information
known to me in the summer of 1997.
On Compuserve, there is a forum called RELIGIOUS ISSUES. Within
that forum is a section on Science & Religion, which I host.
However, it is available only (at present) to Compuserve
subscribers. This may, or may not, change in the future.
This is the current list of LISTSERVs:
ASA
EVOLUTION
NTSE
SCICHR
WESTSR
ASA is primarily for members of the American Scientific Affiliation,
although
anyone may subscribe. Origins issues comprise about 50% of the traffic.
There
is much overlap with origins issues discussed in EVOLUTION. Most of the
members are University/College professors.
EVOLUTION is for anyone; it deals almost exclusively with origins issues.
Most of the members (but not, by any means all) are theists. Many are
University/College professors.
NTSE is for anyone. It began after the conference in Austin, Texas, in
February, 1997, on "Naturalism, Theism and the Scintific Enterprise."
Most of the members were attendees at that conference. The
focus of this group is, specifically, the arguments for,
and against, "intelligent design" and "theistic science." The
books and papers by Phillip Johnson are discussed, as are the
ongoing research efforts by Paul Nelson and others on ID. Behe's book
(Darwin's Black Box" is discussed. Most if not all members of the NTSE
LISTSERV are from academic settings; there seem to be more
philosophers here than in ASA or EVOLUTION. Theists appear to be
in the majority; there are non-theists as well.
SCICHR is a closed LISTSERV which deals with all science/Christianity
issues. One must be both a scientist and a Christian to join it. It is
run by a professional geologist.
WESTSR is a new LISTSERV just coming on line, hosted by CTNS, the Center
for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley. I suspect it
will be a very high level discussion group.
Now the detail I have on these LISTSERVs:
ASA and EVOLUTION are hosted by Calvin College. The Calvin College URL is:
The Evolution list is available through their archive page:
http://www.calvin.edu/~grayt/mailevolution/
The mission of the ASA LISTSERV is:
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This list seeks to complement and expand the work of the Americian
Scientific Affiliation, Box 668, Ipswich MA 01938. While membership in the
ASA and affiliated organization the Canadian Scientific & Christian
Affiliation is not essential for participation it is understood that our
purpose is congruent with the goals of these organizations.
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To subscribe to this list send email to majordomo@calvin.edu with the
words "subscribe asa" (no quotes) in the body of the message.
Posts to this list should be sent to asa@calvin.edu.
An archive of this list is available via World Wide Web at the URL:
http://www.calvin.edu/~grayt/mailasa/
Terry Gray is managing this list. He can be contacted by email at
grayt@calvin.edu
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INFORMATION ABOUT THE AMERICAN SCIENTIFIC AFFILIATION
What exactly is the American Scientific Affiliation?
----------------------------------------------------
The American Scientific Affiliation (ASA) is a fellowship of men and women
of science and disciplines that can relate to science who share a common
fidelity to the Word of God and a commitment to integrity in the practice
of
science. ASA was founded in 1941 and has grown significantly since that
time.
The stated purpose of the ASA is "to investigate any
area relating Christian faith and science" and "to make known the results
of such investigations for comment and criticism by the Christian community
and by the scientific community."
How do I join the ASA?
----------------------
Anyone interested in the objectives of the Affiliation may have a part in
the ASA. Full, voting membership is open to all persons with at least a
bachelor's degree in science who can give assent to our statement of faith.
Science is interpreted broadly to include anthropology, archeology,
economics,
engineering, history, medicine, psychology, and sociology as well as the
general recognized science disciplines. Philosophers and theologians, who
are interested in science, are very welcome. Full member dues are
$55/year.
Next, the EVOLUTION LISTSERV:
Mission of EVOLUTION
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A commitment to theism is shared by most participants in the group, but
there is a wide range of opinions under that rubric including people who
would call themselves young earth
creationists, intelligent design proponents, progressive creationists, and
theistic evolutionists (or evolutionary creationists). Some of the
participants prefer to remain unlabelled and maybe are agnostic with
respect
to the latter categories. While the group is not off-limits to critics of
theism, we are not interested in the sort of creationist-bashing that
occurs in other contexts; however, good-faith questions and relevant
observations are welcome from those critics.
************************************************************************
To subscribe to this list send email to majordomo@calvin.edu with
the words "subscribe evolution" (no quotes) in the body of the message.
Posts to this distribution list should be sent to evolution@calvin.edu.
An archive of this list is available via World Wide Web at the URL:
http://www.calvin.edu/~grayt/mailevolution/
Terry Gray is managing this list. He can be contacted by email at
grayt@calvin.edu
*************************************************************************
Q.. Is there an archive of messages sent to evolution@calvin.edu?
A. Yes. You may see any messages on the World-Wide Web, if you
know how to do so, using the URL:
http://www.calvin.edu/~grayt/mailevolution/
Next -- the NTSE LISTSERV:
Owner is Gerald Eichhoefer <eichhoefeg@william.jewell.edu>
Manager is Robert C. Koons <koons@jeeves.la.utexas.edu>
How to subscribe:
>
>Send e-mail to listserv@listserv.jewell.edu with the message body:
>SUBSCRIBE NTSE YOURNAME
>Getting archives:
>To get a list of available archives send e-mail to
>listserv@listserv.jewell.edu with the body:
>GET INDEX NTSE
>To order an archive, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.jewell.edu with
>the body:
>GET NTSE archivename
About SCICHR:
To join SCICHR, contact the owner, Steven Schimmrich, at:
Steven Schimmrich, INTERNET:s-schim@students.uiuc.edu
The homepage for the Science & Christianity mailing list is at URL:
http://www.students.uiuc.edu/~s-schim/scichr/scichr.html
The Science & Christianity mailing list, SCICHR, is a closed mailing list
providing a forum for Christians in the sciences to discuss issues relating
science and Christianity.
The primary purpose of this list is to allow ecumenical discussions on
the
role of Christians in the scientific community and, conversely, the role of
scientists in the Christian community.
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Anyone is free to read the Science & Christianity mailing list archives
and there are several other similar mailing lists, listed on the SCICHR web
page, which are open to all who desire to participate.
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About WESTSR:
I don't know yet if this one will be open or closed.
The owner/manager is:
Peter M. J. Hess, INTERNET:pmjhess@ctns.org
He is the Templeton Western Region Director
The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences
Berkeley, California
Burgy