February 2013
Searching for Motivated Belief: Understanding John Polkinghorne, Part 1
Since science cannot provide the answers, [the New Atheists] proclaim, the questions themselves are meaningless; therefore, our efforts to answer them cannot produce evidence for God’s existence. I beg to differ.
A Plea to My Shepherds
... I would exhort these, my fellow conservative evangelical shepherds and thinkers, to set aside all reticence and fear, emerge from anonymity, and storm the forum of discourse, engaging this most pressing matter with vigor, equanimity, and humility. In doing so, know upfront that there will be few handrails to guide; you will not be building upon an extensive precedence of published conservative thought.
Science and Scientism in Biology: The Origin of Morality
The problem is that as human beings, we know that goodness exists, so it must be accounted for, and if one is a staunch believer in scientism, it must be accounted for scientifically.
Evangelicalism and Adaptation
I look my students dead straight in the eye and tell them that no matter what, debate within the intellectual sphere cannot and should not take away or diminish the importance of the personal nature of their faith. The intellect, to use a scientific phrase, while necessary for the faith, is not sufficient
Evolution Basics: Evolution as a Scientific Theory
In common English usage, “theory” means something like “guess” or “hunch”. It means something speculative, uncertain. In science, however, the meaning is almost exactly the opposite. In science, a theory is an idea that has stood the test of time. This difference between the common usage and the scientific usage of the word is a frequent source of confusion for nonscientists.
A Faith Journey in a Medical Science Career, Part 4
I would like to conclude my essay with a plea. Readers of BioLogos are well aware that many Christians working in science (whether as scientists, physicians, engineers, or as science teachers in our children’s schools) read the site to connect with others who also believe that there is no issue reconciling their scientific discipline with their faith.
A Faith Journey in a Medical Science Career, Part 3
In the first part of my essay, I made the argument that one can be a scientist, physician, pastor, or layperson and have no problems with evolution, an ancient universe, or other scientific ideas in respect to one’s Christian faith. I now want to explore some of the interesting aspects of my work as a clinical pediatric gastroenterologist.
Denis Alexander on Understanding Creation Theology
In this video Conversation, Denis Alexander asserts that contemporary Christians are not taking the early chapters of Genesis seriously enough.
Searching for Motivated Belief: Introducing John Polkinghorne
Several times in my series of columns about “Science and the Bible,” I briefly discussed a few ideas from John Polkinghorne, one of the leading Christian thinkers of our time. Although I presented him mainly as a representative of the “Theistic Evolution” (TE) view, much of his published work is about other topics, several of them largely or entirely unrelated to TE. It’s time we got better acquainted with him.
Evolution and Christian Faith Grantees Announced
Congratulations to the 37 winners of the Evolution & Christian Faith (ECF) grants competition! ECF is a new BioLogos program designed to support projects and network-building among scholars, church leaders, and parachurch organizations.
A Faith Journey in a Medical Science Career, Part 2
Here is the issue that keeps me up at night: I have been an active church member for many years, but I fear for the future of the church and its youth. As a member of several churches during my moves across the country, I have seen ignorance and fear of science in many congregations.
A Faith Journey in a Medical Science Career, Part 1
In particular, I was interested in pursuing a career in paleontology or ecology, and I became even more convinced in college, that I had to make a profound choice – either I chose a career in science and reject YEC claims that had no basis in reality, or I would have to abandon a science career all together.
Evolution, the Enlightenment, and Worldviews
In this video conversation, N.T. Wright discusses how the Enlightenment worldview -- which clearly separates God from the world -- has impacted our view of Scripture, and why cleaning the "spectacles" through which we view the world can help us see both Scripture and the world more clearly.
Evolution Basics: A New Introductory Course on Evolutionary Biology
The goal of this course is straightforward: to provide evangelical Christians with a step-by-step introduction to the science of evolutionary biology. This will provide benefits beyond just the joy of learning more about God’s wonderful creation. An understanding of the basic science of evolution is of great benefit for reflecting on its theological implications.
A Scientific Commentary on Genesis 7:11
Although committed to the principle of sola Scriptura, Calvin recognized that the Bible would have been written in terms its original recipients would have understood. Calvin inherited the medieval cosmology of his time, a way of viewing the world heavily influenced by Greek thought and one which was about to receive shocks from astronomers such as Copernicus and Galileo. But not just yet.
A Tale of Two Worldviews: Being a Biology Teacher in a Christian School
The first challenge for me at the beginning of each school year is to clarify the students’ understanding of evolution as it has been taught in their Bible and pre-requisite science courses. Invariably, they come back with the same answer: “Evolution is a lie,” to which I respond with, “Which aspects of evolution are you talking about?”
Where are the Transitional Fossils?
A common argument leveled against the theory of evolution is that scientists have not been able to produce transitional fossils that show the change of one species into another. In this podcast, we address a common misconception about what transitional fossils actually are.