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<strong>Series:</strong> Understanding Randomness

Series: Understanding Randomness

In this series, Kathryn Applegate addresses the concern that randomness implies the absence of God's activity and involvement in the natural world. She begins by clearing up some common misconceptions about the concept of "randomness", and later focuses on the mechanisms of the immune system to demonstrate that God works through random processes to preserve life. Far from being an indication of a "godless" universe, one might conclude that randomness is one of God’s favorite mechanisms for creating and sustaining life!
Mar 23, 2013 
Kathryn Applegate 
Divine Action & Purpose, Randomness, Evolution - How It Works
<strong>Series:</strong> God and Creation

Series: God and Creation

In this four part series, David Opderbeck explores the interesting relationship between God and his creation. He first looks at his transcendence over the material world. In one respect, God is completely distinct from all creation, yet he is also immanent, or present within all creation. Another aspect of God reflected in creation is his Triune nature. Just as love, fellowship, and delight exist within the Trinity, so these characteristics are present in the world, and experienced by humans. He completes his thoughts with a discussion about God’s interaction with humans.
Mar 01, 2013 
David Opderbeck 
Divine Action & Purpose, Human Origins
<strong>Series:</strong> Recent Discoveries in Astronomy

Series: Recent Discoveries in Astronomy

In this excerpt from the book Delight in Creation: Scientists Share Their Work with the Church, astronomer Deborah Haarsma shares her excitement about recent findings about our universe from a Christian perspective.
Sep 21, 2012 
Deborah Haarsma 
Earth, Universe & Time, Astronomy & Physics
Did David Hume

Did David Hume "Banish" Miracles?

“I flatter myself,” Hume triumphantly proclaimed, “that I have discovered an argument . . . which, if just, will, with the wise and learned, be an everlasting check to all kinds of superstitious delusion, and consequently, will be useful as long as the world endures.”
Sep 05, 2012 
Rick Kennedy 
Divine Action & Purpose, Miracles
22
<strong>Series:</strong> Divine Action in the World

Series: Divine Action in the World

In this talk, Professor Plantinga addresses the fact that many contemporary thinkers—including many theologians—believe that God cannot perform miracles, providentially guide history, or interact in the lives of people, as these activities would be contrary to science. Plantinga, on the other hand, makes the case that this popular view is mistaken; excluding divine action in the world is not a central feature of natural science itself, but a philosophical or theological preference that has been added on to science (and can just as readily be removed). Plantinga concludes that it is completely logical to accept the miracles of the Bible and support contemporary science.
Sep 04, 2012 
Alvin Plantinga 
Divine Action & Purpose, Miracles, Atheism & Scientism
What is the Higgs Boson?

What is the Higgs Boson?

At a press conference on July 4, 2012, and with 99.99994% confidence (5 sigma), CERN announced the discovery of a particle consistent with that of a Higgs boson (a.k.a. “the God particle”). This is very exciting for elementary particle physicists. But what is the Higgs particle, and what is its meaning?
Jul 11, 2012 
Gerald Cleaver 
Earth, Universe & Time, Astronomy & Physics
20
Naming 'the God Particle'

Naming 'the God Particle'

The discovery of the Higgs boson would certainly be a breakthrough for particle physics and cosmology, but would such a finding also radically redefine theology’s understanding of God or challenge the existence of such a deity? Is there actually any theological or religious significance in Higgs physics at all?
Jul 10, 2012 
Faith Tucker 
Earth, Universe & Time, Atheism & Scientism, Astronomy & Physics
25
<strong>Series:</strong> The God Who Acts: Robert John Russell on Divine Intervention and Divine Action

Series: The God Who Acts: Robert John Russell on Divine Intervention and Divine Action

Does God need to supernaturally "intervene" in order to bring about the diversity of life that we observe today? Is that kind of action different from God’s ordinary action? We begin our three-part series with Robert John Russell’s description of how views of divine action have changed throughout history, excerpted from his book Cosmology: From Alpha to Omega. Part 2 addresses why “intervention” in the natural world is a problem philosophically, theologically, and scientifically; and Part 3 explains Russell’s own theory of divine action in the natural world.
May 25, 2012 
Robert John Russell, Thomas Burnett 
Divine Action & Purpose, Miracles
<strong>Series:</strong> Randomness and God’s Governance

Series: Randomness and God’s Governance

In this three-part series from Pruim’s chapter in the book Delight in Creation: Scientists Share Their Work with the Church, mathematician Randall Pruim explains what scientists and mathematicians mean when they speak of something being “random”. He also addresses God's use of apparent randomness in creation as a part of his sovereign rule.
May 21, 2012 
Randall Pruim 
Divine Action & Purpose, Randomness
<strong>Series:</strong> The Wonder of the Universe

Series: The Wonder of the Universe

BioLogos is pleased to share excerpts from Karl Giberson’s book The Wonder of the Universe: Hints of God in a Fine-Tuned World. It presents a two-part argument: in the first section Giberson outlines the history of our understanding of the universe, emphasizing the reliability of our knowledge of its properties and its history. In particular he outlines the remarkable evidence of design. In part two of the book, however, he discusses the complexities of drawing inferences from the design of the universe, cautioning against arguments that fine-tuning of the universe proves the existence of God.
May 15, 2012 
Karl Giberson 
Worship & Arts, Earth, Universe & Time, Design, Astronomy & Physics
A BioLogos Response to William Dembski, Part 1

A BioLogos Response to William Dembski, Part 1

We think that God created all living organisms, including humans, through the evolutionary process. But acceptance of creation through evolution does not mean that we reject the notion of a miracle-working God. On the contrary...
May 02, 2012 
Darrel Falk 
Divine Action & Purpose, Miracles, BioLogos
5
<strong>Series:</strong> Universe and Multiverse

Series: Universe and Multiverse

Baylor University Physicist Gerald Cleaver describes the changing state of our understanding of the cosmos and suggests ways that Christians can make theological sense of a theoretical Multiverse.
Apr 23, 2012 
Gerald Cleaver 
Earth, Universe & Time, Astronomy & Physics
<strong>Series:</strong> Science as an Instrument of Worship

Series: Science as an Instrument of Worship

In this brief series (taken from a 2009 paper), Jennifer Wiseman uses an excerpt from the famous hymn “How Great Thou Art,” to explain why the study of God’s creation can lead Christ’s followers into meaningful worship and overcome the obstacles which impede true praise. Creation as encountered through our senses is pondered by our minds, which flows into wonder-filled songs from the soul. She further explains how knowledge of creation will help Christians to address the moral dilemmas of science, and she encourages all to see the process of scientific inquiry as a means to discover God’s truth.
Mar 19, 2012 
Jennifer Wiseman 
Worship & Arts, Science as Christian Calling, Astronomy & Physics, Creation Care
Evolution: Is God Just Playing Dice?

Evolution: Is God Just Playing Dice?

With his standard panache, the late Harvard paleontologist Stephen J. Gould argued strenuously that evolution had no inherent directionality. We are mere accidents; a "tiny twig on an improbable branch of a contingent limb on a fortunate tree".
Oct 11, 2011 
Matt J. Rossano 
Divine Action & Purpose, Evolution - How It Works, Randomness, Atheism & Scientism
154
God's Use of Time

God's Use of Time

I find that when many Christians think about the way God created our universe, they often bring a static expectation similar to what we bring to an ordinary statue. It’s as if we assume the physical realm were merely a rigid three-dimensional sculpture, immovable with time.
Aug 19, 2011 
Matthew Blackston 
Earth, Universe & Time, Age of the Earth, Astronomy & Physics
30
<strong>Series:</strong> John Polkinghorne on Natural Theology

Series: John Polkinghorne on Natural Theology

Polkinghorne discusses the origins and aims of natural theology in this series. It does not offer truth, but rather a “best explanation” for the world, answering primarily meta-questions. Two such questions asked by Polkinghorne are, “Why is science possible at all?” and “What makes the universe so special?” To explore the answers, he looks at the ability of human minds to penetrate mysteries of the natural world as well as the fine-tuning of the universe necessary to produce the fruitfulness of life.
Jan 15, 2011 
John Polkinghorne 
Design, ID Movement, Astronomy & Physics
Uncertainty is Uncomfortable

Uncertainty is Uncomfortable

Scientists become fairly comfortable with a certain level of uncertainty within scientific data, notes Kathryn Applegate, but that is not the case for most people, especially where faith is concerned
Nov 03, 2010 
Kathryn Applegate 
Divine Action & Purpose, Randomness
104
<strong>Series:</strong> Miracles and Science

Series: Miracles and Science

In this five section series, Ard Louis explores the relationship between science and miracles. He indicates the self-imposed limitations of science to discover knowledge while warning against the God-of-the-Gaps explanations. Then, he explains the two types of miracles seen in Scripture: those that are divine timing and those that are violations of the natural. Overall, God sustains natural processes, but, as the master composer, he has the ability to perform miracles as well.
Jul 24, 2010 
Ard Louis 
Divine Action & Purpose, Miracles, Atheism & Scientism
Crabby Christians or Nebulous Data?

Crabby Christians or Nebulous Data?

Scientists who confront Bible-believing Christians with the physical evidence of theologically-challenging views like old-earth geology or common ancestry are usually incredulous when their well-crafted and well-supported arguments fall on deaf ears. How can something so obvious to one person be so easily dismissed by another?
Dec 11, 2009 
Gordon J. Glover 
Earth, Universe & Time, Astronomy & Physics
59
Multiple Lines of Evidence for an Old Universe

Multiple Lines of Evidence for an Old Universe

Astronomers have many different methods for measuring the age of various objects in the universe, and they all support ages of billions of years, not thousands. Even if the assumptions of one or two methods were faulty, it is highly unlikely that all of the methods would be affected.
Apr 26, 2013 
Deborah Haarsma, Haarsma, Loren 
Earth, Universe & Time, Astronomy & Physics
20
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