Category Archives: Genetics

Science and Faith in Canada (May 11–14, 2018 Conference at Trinity Western University, Langley, BC)

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The Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation is holding a conference dealing with science and Christianity in Canada, co-hosted by Trinity Western University, on May 11–14, 2018. This conference will include Canadians in science, speakers dealing with issues relevant to the theme, and talks on science and Christian faith in general.

I will be one of the keynote speakers (on “Human Distinctiveness and the Origin of Evil in Biblical and Evolutionary Perspectives”), along with University of British Columbia president Santa Ono (on “Science And Faith: Servant Leadership and the Secular University”), Dennis Danielson (on “Copernicus and the Structure of the Universe”), Robert Mann (on “The Edge: Physics and Theology”), Kathryn Hayhoe (on “Christians, Climate Science, and our Culture”), and Janet Danielson (whose musical piece “Six Pieces of a Reverberant Cosmos” will be performed). There will also be the screening of a movie by Loren Wilkinson (professor emeritus at Regent College), called “Making Peace With Creation” followed by a panel discussion.

Breakout Sessions

Fifty breakout sessions are scheduled on topics like artificial intelligence, creation care, origins, and more. There is even a session entitled “A Physicist, Geographer, and a Biologist Go Into a Church, and” (which I’d like to hear).

I happen to know a number of the presenters, including Gord Carkner, who will be speaking on “Scientism and the Search for an Integrated Reality,” Doug Harink, whose talk is entitled “The Burning Bush, the Theotokos, and the Theology-Science Relationship,” and Janet Warren (president of the Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation), who will be addressing “Addiction: Discomfort and Denial.”

Sky Gala

There is a “Sky Gala” on Saturday evening, which is open to the public. The evening features a talk by renowned climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe (Texas Tech) and a cosmos-themed concert by Janet Danielson (Lecturer and Instructor, School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University) and the Isotone Ensemble (Oakridge, Tennessee). The evening will conclude with a reception featuring hors d’oeuvres.

Conference Schedule

The conference, running from Friday dinner through Monday lunch, will include morning devotions and a Sunday morning worship service.

You can download the entire conference schedule of keynote speakers and breakout sessions here.

Registration

For further conference details, including registration, see the CSCA conference website.

You can see a video with registration instructions here.

Early-bird rates end March 31.

For those unable attend the entire conference, single-day tickets are available, and the Saturday evening gala can be attended as a stand-alone event. The conference fees are low to moderate, with discounted on- and off-campus lodging options. Those who also attend the nearby Regent College Pastors’ Conference (May 9-11, ending with lunch) will receive a 25% conference registration discount for both conferences.

Scholarships

Scholarships are available to cover student attendance & travel. Registration includes meals.

For questions, please email Mark McEwan.

Plenary Presenters


Dennis Danielson, Ph.D.
(Professor and Former Chair, Department of English, University Of British Columbia)

Janet Danielson, M.F.A.
(Lecturer and Instructor, School for the Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University)

Katharine Hayhoe, Ph.D.
(Director, Climate Science Center, Texas Tech University)

Robert B. Mann, Ph.D.
(Professor of Physics & Astronomy, University of Waterloo)

J Richard Middleton, Ph.D.
(Professor of Biblical Worldview & Exegesis, Northeastern Seminary)

Santa J. Ono, Ph.D.
(President & Vice-Chancellor, University of British Columbia)

What Makes Us Human? Lessons From Genetics And Genesis

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Praveen SethupathyOn April 8, 2018 I will be giving a joint-talk at West Chester University, in West Chester, PA, with Praveen Sethupathy, a Christian geneticist from Cornell University. Our topic is how science and faith can function as co-laborers in the pursuit of truth, in particular the question of what makes us human.

Whereas he will draw on his expertise as a scientist, I will bring my expertise in biblical studies to bear on the question. We will both speak out of our perspective as committed Christians.

Together we will examine what genomic science and the creation accounts in Genesis teach us about the intimate connection between humans and other species, while recognizing the distinctiveness of the human calling to image God.

Praveen and I have done this sort of joint talk before, at the Trinity Forum in Washington, DC and at Brown University in Providence, RI.

SNT Quick Link image

The talk is part of a series called “Sunday Night Theology,” sponsored by The Journey Church of West Chester, PA.

While most of the talks in the series are held at The Journey Church, this particular talk will take place at West Chester University, in the Philips Autograph Library, 5:00pm – 6:30pm, on April 8, 2018.

If you are in the area, you’re invited to join the discussion.

My Recent Participation in the Science-Faith Dialogue

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I recently participated in two separate events of science-faith dialogue. Both were sponsored by evangelical organizations with Trinity in the name. And both had a significant BioLogos presence.

EVENT #1: The Dabar Conference on “Affirming the Doctrine of Creation in an Age of Science” (June 14–17, 2017)

Two weeks ago I participated in the Dabar conference of the Henry Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, near Chicago (Dabar is Hebrew for “word”).

This was the second Dabar conference that I attended. These conferences are part of a three-year research project on creation that I’ve been involved in. The Creation Project aims to help the evangelical church develop a robust creation theology that can interact fruitfully with contemporary scientific understandings of the world.

Last year (2016) the topic was interpreting Genesis; this year (2017) the focus has been on the doctrine of creation; and next year (2018) it will be on what it means to be human.

The Dabar conference is held each June as the highlight of the year’s theme, and is attended by about 80–100 theologians, biblical scholars, philosophers, scientists, and pastors.

The keynote papers weren’t read at this year’s conference, but were circulated to the participants in advance and we were expected to have read them all and to come with our questions.

The author of each keynote paper gave a five minute summary of their paper, which was followed by two short response papers, then by the author’s reply. After that it was open to the audience for Q&A. To see the list of speakers and topics, click here.

Each afternoon, we met in small groups to discuss the ideas raised in the papers and to see what the range of our opinion was on matters of creation theology and the science of origins.

There was a lot of very engaging discussion.

This year two of the main speakers (Deb Haarsma and Jeff Schloss) and two the respondents (Jim Stump and myself) were associated with BioLogos. Deb Haarsma is president of BioLogos, and Jim Stump is senior editor at BioLogos. Jeff Schloss and I are part of BioLogos Voices (the BioLogos speakers bureau).

There were lots of other BioLogos folks at the conference, who often raised excellent questions in the discussions.

This is the second year that I presented a response to one of the keynote papers.

My response this year was to philosopher William (Billy) Abraham‘s paper on “God as an Agent.” I was able to draw on my background in philosophy and my expertise in Old Testament to address the topic of how the Bible speaks of God.

For those interested, you can read my response to Billy Abraham here.

EVENT #2: An Evening Conversation on “Genes, Self, and Soul” (June 26, 2017)

Just a few days ago I was one of two speakers at an evening event in Washington, DC on science and faith, sponsored by the Trinity Forum.

The Trinity Forum was founded by Os Guinness (who had been an associate of Francis Schaeffer), along with others interested in fostering significant dialogue between Christianity and major intellectual issues of our time.

By a strange coincidence, I actually quoted Os Guinness (from his first book, The Dust of Death) in my response paper at the Dabar conference.

The June 26 event, on the topic of “Genes, Self, and Soul,” was the second in a series of four Evening Conversations on “Discovery and Doxology” that the Trinity Forum is currently co-sponsoring with BioLogos.

According to the Trinity Forum website, this series “features renowned scientists, philosophers, and theologians in conversation on the ways that scientific discovery and spiritual knowledge are complementary and together contribute to a greater sense of wonder and worship.”

Both speakers on June 26 (geneticist Praveen Sethupathy and myself) were members of BioLogos Voices.

Praveen, who is is also on the Board of Directors for BioLogos, is associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University. For his presentation he drew on his perspective as a Christian who does genome research, to suggest what science can and can’t tell us about what makes us human.

Then it was my turn, as a biblical scholar, to explore how the Bible might contribute to an understanding of our biological nature, which we share with other animals, and to our distinctive human calling or vocation to image God .

Given the topic for the evening (“Genes, Self, and Soul”), both Praveen and I made the same distinction between 1) our biological composition (which includes our genetic makeup) and 2) our human calling as the image of God (which distinguishes us from other creatures). This distinction between biology and the image of God was an attempt to address the words  “genes” and “self” in the title of the event.

But what about “soul”?

While “soul” is often a synonym for “self” in modern discussions, I suggested that what the Bible means by “soul” (Hebrew nephesh; Greek psyche) has to do with what we have in common with other animals, rather than anything distinctive to human beings. Here I drew on the use of “soul” in the early chapters of Genesis and how the apostle Paul uses the term.

I told the audience that if they expected the Bible to mean by what we mean by “soul” they should “get used to disappointment.”

For those in the know, I was quoting the Man in Black (Westley a.k.a the dread pirate Roberts) in The Princess Bride.

As is often the case, here the Bible challenges our received wisdom.

The entire Evening Conversation can be viewed by clicking on this link.  The video includes a brief introduction by Deb Haarsma (the president of BioLogos) and then by Cherie Harder (the president of The Trinity Forum), followed by the presentations by Praveen and myself, and the discussion afterwards.

Event #3: Possible Joint-Lecture at Brown University by Sethupathy and Middleton (Fall 2017)

Praveen and I may be speaking together again in the Fall on the topic of evolution and Christian faith at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Our joint- talk, sponsored by a campus ministry organization called Christian Union, would explore evolution from the points of view of a scientist and a theologian; it would be geared to interested students and faculty, both Christian and secular.

Although the details still have to be worked out (including the date), I am looking forward to this possibility since I have a lot of respect both for Praveen and for the Christian Union; I got to know this campus ministry organization when I gave a talk five years ago for them at Columbia University (in NYC) on what it means to be made in the image of God.