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Featured speakers Greg Cootsona and Ben McFarland

Webinar: Science and Faith in Times of Crisis

29April
Date and Time:April 29, 2020 — 12:00 AM to 1:00 PM undefined
Location:, Webinar, ,
Organizer:Upper House
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29April

BioLogos Voices speaker Ben McFarland and BioLogos advisor Greg Cootsona will present “Science and Faith in Times of Crisis” on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 from noon-1:00 PM (central) via webinar.

“In the COVID-19 pandemic, good scientific information is at a premium. For Christians, so too is confidence in God’s faithfulness. Upper House is hosting a virtual conversation between two experts at the intersection of science and faith, exploring the complementary roles the two can play in this time of crisis. Ben McFarland, Professor of Biochemistry at Seattle Pacific University and a public commentator on the evolving COVID-19 situation, will be in dialogue with Greg Cootsona, Professor of Religion and Humanities at Chico State and author of Negotiating Science and Religion in America (Routledge, 2020). Together, they will discuss how to interpret science through a theological lens—from the science of chemical evolution to the science of viral transmission and disease.”


Featured speakers

Greg Cootsona

Greg Cootsona

Greg Cootsona is Lecturer in Religious Studies and Humanities at California State University at Chico and directs Science and Theology for Emerging Adult Ministries (or STEAM), a $2 million grant funded by the John Templeton Foundation and housed at Fuller Theological Seminary. STEAM is designed to catalyze the engagement of faith and science in Christian ministries with 18-30 year olds. His books include  Creation and Last Things: At the Intersection of Theology and Science (Geneva, 2002), C. S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian (Westminster John Knox, 2014), Mere Science and Christian Faith: Bridging the Divide with Emerging Adults (InterVarsity, 2018), and Negotiating Science and Religion In America: Past, Present, and Future (Routledge, 2020). He is also co-director of Science for the Church, an initiative that brings the resources of science to enhance the effectiveness of Christian congregations. Greg studied comparative literature at U.C. Berkeley and theology at Princeton Theological Seminary (M. Div.), the Universities of Tübingen and Heidelberg, as well as Berkeley’s Graduate Theological Union (the latter where he received his Ph.D.) He has just finished 18 years as Associate Pastor for Adult Discipleship at Bidwell Presbyterian Church in Chico and Fifth Avenue Presbyterian in New York City. Greg has written for several periodicals such as Zygon, Theology and Science, as well as the Wall Street Journal and Christianity Today. He has been interviewed by CNN and The New York Times, and has appeared on the Today Show three times. He and his wife, Laura, live in Chico, California and have two daughters (18 and 21). Besides hanging out with his family, he loves to bike, read (and write), and drink good coffee.
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Ben McFarland

Ben McFarland teaches biochemistry and chemistry at Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington. He grew up near Kennedy Space Center and wanted to be a paleontologist in the second grade. He received a dual B.S. in Chemistry and Technical Writing from the University of Florida and a Ph.D. in Biomolecular Structure and Design from the University of Washington. His research uses the rules of chemistry to redesign immune system proteins. In 2013 he received an Evolution and Christian Faith (ECF) grant from BioLogos to write A World From Dust: How the Periodic Table Shaped Life (Oxford University Press, 2016). He lives near Seattle with his wife Laurie and his children Sam, Aidan, Brendan, and Benjamin.