In my role as a campus minister over the last 15 years, I’ve had the privilege of helping students embrace the value of simple, flexible, and defined spiritual disciplines.Read more…
Science Corner: Subtraction by Addition
Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park was in the science news last week, which caught my eye because I had recently read Sean B. Carroll’s The Serengeti Rules. (Scientist/authors are rare, and yet biologist Sean B. Carroll must distinguish himself from physicistRead more…
Living Mid-Story (Lent 2019)
If we are going to live appropriately, we must be aware that we are living in the middle of a story that was begun and will be concluded by another. And this other is God. – Eugene H. Peterson, Run with the HorsesRead more…
April 1: Christians in Chemistry Meetup at ACS in Orlando
Christians in Chemistry will gather again informally at the semi-annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, in Orlando, Florida. Read more…
Science Corner: Lent 2019
Since [Pope Francis] is a scientist and a theologian, I thought he would be a good point of reference [on Lenten practice].Read more…
Awe and Humility (Growing Spiritually in the Academic Life Series)
Humble awe brings us back to the original reason we chose to be academics in the first place—an amazing God and an amazing world of knowledge.Read more…
Science Corner: “It was easier to know it than to explain why I know it.”
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth”–surely a familiar quote to anyone who has spent time with Sherlock Holmes.Read more…
Science Corner: When All Else Fails, Quote a British Prime Minister
Listening to the recent debate between human debating champion Harish Natarajan and IBM’s Watson-derived Project Debater, I was amused to hear the AI conclude her remarks with a Benjamin Disraeli quote.Read more…
Discipled by One’s Discipline While Growing in Faith
The deeper one gets involved in one’s academic discipline, the more one is shaped by that discipline and discipled into a certain way of being and thinking.Read more…
Heading to Grad School in 2019? Join ESN Connect
Heading to grad school in Fall 2019? Know someone who is? Invite them to our ESN Connect program for connections to local Christian grad school groups, tips on making a strong transition, and a special videochat on how to choose a school and prepare once you’re accepted.Read more…
Science Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants Ch 7-9
We’re on our final week discussing the English translation of Stefano Mancuso’s The Revolutionary Genius of Plants, a colorful and wide-ranging survey of recent developments in our understanding of plant biology. Mancuso is particularly interested in what sets plants apartRead more…
Faculty and Administrative Job Openings at Trinity Western University
Faculty openings in English, chemistry, political studies, mathematics and computer science, and more. Read more…
Science Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants Ch 4-6
In chapter 4, [Mancuso] brings up what I thought was the most intriguing difference: plants stay put. OK, maybe that’s obvious, but what’s intriguing are the implications Mancuso teases out from it.Read more…
Cultivating Humility (Growing Spiritually in the Academic Life Series)
A major “spiritual occupational hazard” for an academic is thinking too much of yourself. This can show itself as pride and arrogance . . .Read more…
Science Book Review: The Revolutionary Genius of Plants Ch 1-3
Mancuso has a lot to say about the uniqueness of plants, how they can expand our understanding of life, and how the features of plants can be harnessed to address challenges faced by humans.Read more…
Faith and Reason, Part 5: Hume
David Hume (1711–1776) was a Scottish philosopher and historian well known for his arguments against traditional Christian theism that had a great impact on the Enlightenment. Read more…
Science Book Review: Programming the Universe
Although Lloyd was not overtly concerned with any religious intersections, I found the discussion of the universe as a quantum computer relevant to a couple of issues that come up in science & faith conversations.Read more…
Call to Faithful Witness in 2019
As we press into the daily grind of 2019, set aside time to join me in checking / resetting our compass by prayerfully considering: Who is this Jesus I / we follow? Is Jesus my / our first love — receiving primary allegiance? Do I / we “trust and obey” — placing hope (short / long term) in Jesus? How do I / we share the love of Jesus with others in our messy context?Read more…
This is not our final destination. . . .
“While we should enjoy God’s good creation, and while we should make the most of our time here, this is not our final destination.” — Paul Louis Metzger, The Gospel of John: When Love Comes to Town Read more…
Science Corner: Nectar of the Plant Overlords
While we don’t have evidence of plant intelligence here on Earth, we may still have underestimated our local flora and overlooked their capacity to communicate.Read more…
ESN News: A Leadership Transition
With both sorrow and joy, we announce that Tom Grosh IV will be transitioning to a new role as an area director with CMDA (Christian Medical and Dental Association) in South Central Pennsylvania, and I will be carrying on the vision and mission of ESN. Sorrow, because Tom is an amazing colleague who has grown ESN into a vibrant ministry with a strong model, and I will miss him immensely. Joy, because Tom is moving on to another wonderful opportunity to serve Christ and still plans to do some volunteer writing with ESN, and joy also because I am deeply excited to grow the vision, mission, and model Tom has built at ESN.Read more…
Equipping Christian Scholars at Urbana 18: The ESN Urbana Fellows Program
One of my [Hannah] most vivid memories of Urbana 15: sitting at a table of emerging scholars passionately discussing what it means to be missional in a humanities field, as the loudspeaker above blared regular announcements such as, “Those in the green area, you should be finishing your salad now. Those in the red area, you should be clearing your tables now.”Read more…
Living in relationships with immigrants, refugees, and other low-income people . . .
What is my main takeaway for those of us in the context of higher ed? Royce’s conclusion summarizes the book’s call to prayer, knowing and learning from immigrant neighbors, serving, giving, educating our churches and communities/advocacy, and addressing the root issues. Read more…
Science Corner: Watching the Special Features
…understanding the chemical and physiological reactions that generate emotions can enrich rather than impoverish my relationship to music and art.Read more…