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Does Evolutionary Psychology Explain Why We Believe in God? Part 1

Does Evolutionary Psychology Explain Why We Believe in God? Part 1

When we look across times and cultures and find very similar beliefs concerning the nature of physical, biological, and psychological reality, those similarities cry out for some explanation. Since these different individuals have a very diverse range of experience, something other than common experience alone just might account for the similarities of belief. In some cases we can fairly conclude that there is a common nature – some fundamental similarity in how human cognition works – that underlies broadly shared beliefs.
May 21, 2013 
Michael Murray, Schloss, Jeff 
Brain, Mind & Soul
0
<strong>Series:</strong> Evolution Basics

Series: Evolution Basics

Written by BioLogos Fellow of Biology Dennis Venema, this series of posts is intended as a basic introduction to the science of evolution for non-specialists.
May 17, 2013 
Dennis Venema 
Genetics, History of Life, Evolution - How It Works
Biological Evolution: What Makes it Good Science? Part 2

Biological Evolution: What Makes it Good Science? Part 2

The Galápagos Islands were not a distinct “center of creation,” but a workshop for evolution in which an ancestral species made it to the yet uncolonized island and underwent a massive degree of speciation to adapt to the environment of the island. This is precisely what one would expect if the species of islands had arisen by evolution.
Apr 16, 2013 
Michael Buratovich 
Genetics, History of Life
10
Meet Jimmy Lin, “Medical and Scientific Doxologist”

Meet Jimmy Lin, “Medical and Scientific Doxologist”

In our current culture, we’re defined by our jobs. It’s having a vocation. I wanted to shift away from that. I didn’t want to be a doctor first and foremost, or a scientist, but one who praises God.
Mar 25, 2013 
Jimmy Lin, Ruppel, Emily 
Genetics, Science as Christian Calling
2
Genes, Cells, and the Changing Face of Technology, Part 1

Genes, Cells, and the Changing Face of Technology, Part 1

Right on this tabletop, you could make materials that by current manufacturing processes would otherwise cause a great amount of environmental hazard … In 50 years, we should be able to do things in ways we don’t do them now, that will be cheaper, less toxic, less polluting, more efficient, and so forth…
Mar 12, 2013 
Doug Lauffenburger, Ruppel, Emily 
Genetics
1
Where are the Transitional Fossils?

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.
Feb 01, 2013 
Kelsey Luoma 
History of Life, Evolution - Evidence, Fossils
166
<strong>Series:</strong> The Human Fossil Record

Series: The Human Fossil Record

In this series, James Kidder provides an intriguing study on transitional fossils and the evolutionary history of modern humans. He begins by discussing the fossil record, explaining how new forms are classified. He then explains the physically distinguishing trait of humankind—bipedalism. From the discovery of Ardipithecus, the earliest known hominin, to the australopithecines, the most prolific hominin, Kidder focuses on the discovery, the anatomy, and the interpretation of these ancestral remains.
Jan 21, 2013 
James Kidder 
Human Origins, Evolution - How It Works, ID Movement, Young Earth Creationism, Fossils, Evolution - Evidence
<strong>Series:</strong> Made in the Image of God: The Theological Implications of Human Genomics

Series: Made in the Image of God: The Theological Implications of Human Genomics

This series by Denis Alexander reflects on advancements in genomics as well as their theological implications. He focuses on the relatedness of hominin genomes, arguing that this does not interfere with the image of God in humans. The image of God depends more on the capacity for relationship and covenant, not on a list of particular physical qualities. He then discusses why the recent studies of genomics provide “no grounds for genetic determinism.”
Jan 15, 2013 
Denis Alexander 
Genetics, Image of God, Atheism & Scientism
Surveying George Murphy's Theology of the Cross

Surveying George Murphy's Theology of the Cross

If God himself is willing to die, particularly in such a gruesome way, then perhaps we should at least consider the possibility of God allowing the death of other creatures, too. But would this really be compatible with what we know of God through Scripture?
Dec 04, 2012 
Thomas Burnett 
Christ & New Creation, ID Movement, Young Earth Creationism, Fossils
3
<strong>Series:</strong> Behe, Lenski and the “Edge” of Evolution

Series: Behe, Lenski and the “Edge” of Evolution

In this series, we reexamine the claim made by Intelligent Design proponent Michael Behe to have found a limit to “Darwinian” evolution in light of recent results from the laboratory of Richard Lenski.
Nov 29, 2012 
Dennis Venema 
Genetics, ID Movement, Evolution - How It Works
<strong>Series:</strong> Shaping the Human Soul

Series: Shaping the Human Soul

In Washington DC, Church of the Advent teamed up with The Trinity Forum to offer a series of lectures exploring the synergy between modern science and Christian Faith. This presentation by psychiatrist Curt Thompson and philosopher James K.A. Smith addressed the process of Christian discipleship and spiritual formation through the lens of neuroscience.
Oct 04, 2012 
Curt Thompson, James K.A. Smith 
Brain, Mind & Soul
<strong>Series:</strong> Decoding ENCODE

Series: Decoding ENCODE

The BioLogos Foundation explains to the findings of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project and responds to the claims that its discoveries challenge the theory of evolution, especially regarding so-called "junk DNA".
Sep 26, 2012 
Stephen Mapes, Dennis Venema 
Genetics, Evolution - Evidence, ID Movement
<strong>Series:</strong> Biblical and Scientific Shortcomings of Flood Geology

Series: Biblical and Scientific Shortcomings of Flood Geology

Gregg Davidson and Ken Wolgemuth seek to remove the stumbling block of the Genesis flood in this four part series. Though many believe in an ancient world-wide flood, the evidence given does not hold up to geological scrutiny, but points rather to something regional instead. It is their hope that Christians will not walk away from faith in Christ simply because a global flood is not supported by science. Looking at natural phenomena like the Grand Canyon, salt beds, and fossil deposits, they reveal reasons for these deposits and structures while showing that their origin did not stem from a violent flood that covered the planet.
Sep 15, 2012 
Gregg Davidson, Wolgemuth, Ken 
Earth, Universe & Time, Young Earth Creationism, Fossils, The Flood
Denisovans, Humans and the Chromosome 2 Fusion

Denisovans, Humans and the Chromosome 2 Fusion

The Denisovans, an extinct hominid group that interbred with modern humans, made the news again lately with the publication of a more detailed study of their genome. One of the many interesting findings was that the Denisovans share the same chromosome 2 fusion that modern humans have.
Sep 06, 2012 
Dennis Venema 
Genetics, Human Origins, Evolution - Evidence
52
Dispatches From the Physicalist Frontier, Part 1

Dispatches From the Physicalist Frontier, Part 1

I’m a physicalist when it comes to human persons. I believe, in other words, that we are wholly physical objects. I don’t believe there are non-physical souls in the natural world. So I don’t believe that we are or have such non-physical souls as parts. I believe we are through-and-through physical.
Aug 20, 2012 
Kevin J. Corcoran 
Brain, Mind & Soul
15
Rediscovering Human Beings, Part 1

Rediscovering Human Beings, Part 1

That we are animals is something we hardly needed Darwin to tell us. It is obvious from the fact that, like other animals, we have stomachs and skin, eyeballs and ears, limbs and teeth, muscles, brains, and other organs. Yet it doesn’t follow that we are mere animals.
Aug 18, 2012 
Edward Feser 
Brain, Mind & Soul
23
Body and Soul, Mind and Brain: Pressing Questions

Body and Soul, Mind and Brain: Pressing Questions

“Bit by experimental bit,” writes philosopher P. Churchland, “neuroscience is morphing our conception of what we are.” For many, this includes dispensing with the “soul” in favor of biologically anchored processes.
Aug 16, 2012 
Joel Green 
Brain, Mind & Soul
16
Becoming Human: New Insights from Genome-wide Functional Genomics

Becoming Human: New Insights from Genome-wide Functional Genomics

We live in exciting times for a geneticist: more and more genomes are being sequenced, and more and more novel genome-wide analyses are being performed to shed light on what all those newly-determined sequences mean.
Jul 27, 2012 
Dennis Venema 
Genetics, Evolution - How It Works
29
Hominids Lived Millions of Years Ago, but How Can We Tell? (Videocast)

Hominids Lived Millions of Years Ago, but How Can We Tell? (Videocast)

This BioLogos videocast addresses the age of recently discovered hominid fossils and how scientists are able to obtain those dates.
Jul 26, 2012 
Joy Walters 
Human Origins, Fossils
12
The Fossil Record

The Fossil Record

There are two opposite errors which need to be countered about the fossil record: 1) that it is so incomplete as to be of no value in interpreting patterns and trends in the history of life, and 2) that it is so good that we should expect a relatively complete record of the details of evolutionary transitions within all or most lineages.
Jul 13, 2012 
Keith Miller 
History of Life, Fossils, Evolution - Evidence
8
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