I was fortunate to grow up within visiting distance of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. One item stands out in my memories from periodic visits: the blue whale. Not a live one, of course; it’s a museum, not an aquarium. Even as an inert model, the blue whale was striking to little-boy-me–which is saying something since it shares a home with numerous dinosaur skeletons. Of course, that cohabitation only helps to underline just how much bigger blue whales are than even the biggest dinosaurs or their aquatic contemporaries. Setting aside the highly exaggerated depiction in Jurassic World, even the Mosasaurus that previously occupied the blue whale’s ecological niche was only about 2/3s the size. So of course I was curious about a news story on the genes of how whales, blue and otherwise, get so big.
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Science and Faith
Science Draws Me Closer to God
Join ESN for a conversation with Ciara-Reyes Ton and Andrew Rick-Miller, co-director of Science for the Church for a conversation on science, faith and a better conversation between scientists and the church. The conversation is on Wednesday January 25 at 4 pm ET. Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/ESNSciFaith.
Science draws me closer to God. It didn’t always though. At first it seemed irrelevant. Science inhabited a different domain than things of the spirit and scripture. I kept them compartmentalized, in part because I didn’t see a need for them to interact.
Connecting with Christian community in the sciences, however, helped me discover that science can enrich our spiritual practice and lives, and that science doesn’t have to intimidate or threaten our faith. Science and faith can and should interact, especially for people of faith. I truly want to help others see how considering science alongside scripture can be awe-inspiring, wonder-inducing and lead to deeper worship of God our Creator.
As a biologist and Christian, I often find myself looking to the natural world to better understand scripture. In part, because the things of science come more naturally to me than things of the spirit. Whether it’s reflecting on what cells can teach me about calling and vocation or considering what the biology of seeds and soil has to say about the spiritual condition of my heart, reflecting on what I do understand, helps me make sense of what I don’t yet fully understand.
While we may see many things dimly in this life, one day the mysteries and wonders of this life will be fully revealed to us (1 Cor. 13:12). Until that time comes, I truly believe that we can use the tools of science, which are a gift from God, to seek out revelation in nature and scripture.
This idea isn’t a new one. Early thought leaders in church history helped form the Two Books metaphor, which says that God reveals himself through two books, the Book of scripture and the Book of Nature, or rather, God’s words and God’s works.
A beautiful thing to me is that you don’t have to be a trained scientist or theologian to study both books or apply the principles of one to the other. I used to teach intro biology to non-majors at the college level, and half the challenge was helping my students overcome their intimidation of science or lack of interest. My job as their instructor was to deliver the content in an engaging, relevant and accessible way to them and show them that science is for everyone and that anyone can be a scientist.
Of course, we should rely on the work of experts and credible sources to guide our inquiry to prevent misinterpretation or spreading misinformation, but anyone really can and everyone truly should access both books. If God is revealed in both, we only know in part to some extent because we are looking at one and not the other.
While these are two different kinds of books, they complement and enrich each other. The more we read God’s Word, the more we invite the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the evidence of his glory all around us, and convict us of our role in its redemption. The more we experience God’s works, directly by immersing ourselves in it or indirectly by benefiting from advances in science and medicine, the more we encounter God in profound ways.
I often find myself putting God’s Word in conversation with his works because he is revealed in both, and I want to know him better and more fully. God can speak to us through his creation, and I want to hear what he is saying. This is in part what inspired me to write a science and faith devotional book called, “Look Closely! The Life of Christ: from Dividing Cells to Resurrecting Corals.†It explores the life of Christ, from birth to death and resurrection with the help of science. It is written for anyone who wants to explore scripture and science side by side, bringing them into conversation to deepen our understanding of God.
For example, dividing cells hold important lessons on waiting that resonate with the arrival of the long-promised and prophesized Savior. Actively dividing cells spend the majority of their lives in a “waiting†period called interphase where they take the necessary steps to prepare to divide. Waiting is more than just a preoccupation with busyness—work and preparation are involved that are important for the fidelity of the process and for the overall health of the organism. As we navigate our own seasons of waiting, we can take comfort in the promise and fulfillment of Christ’s birth, which brought hope to a weary and anxiously waiting world. And consider what the very cells that make us up might teach us about waiting well.
Another example includes unpacking the miracle of Jesus walking on water by putting it in conversation with the chemical and physical properties of water. For me, understanding the necessary physical parameters that would’ve needed to be met in order to make such a miracle possible, can help me better understand and grasp the impossible, making it more tangible and real, without attempting to constrain or explain away the miracle. Jesus walked on water, and while we can’t, looking to other organisms that can, like the basilisk lizard helps illuminate my understanding and blows my mind in ways that make God even more amazing.
Science truly is a gift, and the tools of science can be used to make the works of God’s hands more visible, helping us uncover his glory at all levels of creation.
For me nature isn’t just material—I believe that the natural world is deeply spiritual as well because of who created it. May we seek out God and know him and the fullness of his power by consulting both books at our disposal, his Word and Works.
American Scientific Affiliation Winter Symposium: Scientists and the Church
The Emerging Scholars Network has partnered closely with the American Scientific Affiliation on Early Career Tracks at the ASA annual meetings and at other ASA events. Christians who are scientists often experience a “double loneliness.” Colleagues are sometimes suspicious of their Christian commitments and fellow church members are suspicious of their science. This conversation between a scientist and a church leader is a great opportunity to explore how we may foster a better conversation as scientists with those in our churches.
WHEN:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 10:00 AM PST/1 PM EST
COST: Free (a free-will donation is suggested)
SPEAKERS: Walter Kim, President, National Association of Evangelicals and Jessica Moerman, Vice President of Science and Policy, Evangelical Environmental Network
TITLE: Scientists and the Church
Genetic Engineering. Climate Change. Artificial Intelligence. Vaccines. Any one of these contemporary topics involves science and scientists. Many of these scientists are faithful members of our congregations. How do these church members experience discussions within their faith communities when nonscientists attempt to understand these issues from their faith perspective? And how can churches better engage Christians who are scientists in serving the church?
BIOS:
Walter Kim became the president of the National Association of Evangelicals in January 2020, after serving as a pastor for 15 years at Boston’s historic Park Street Church and four years at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. He has spent nearly three decades preaching, writing, and engaging in collaborative leadership to connect the Bible to the significant intellectual, cultural, and social issues of the day. He serves on the boards of Christianity Today and World Relief. Kim received his PhD from Harvard University in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, his MDiv from Regent College in Vancouver, and his BA from Northwestern University, and he is a licensed minister in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference.
Jessica Moerman is a climate and environmental scientist, pastor, educator, and advocate. She serves as Vice President of Science and Policy at the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). Jessica is also cofounding pastor at Grace Capital City church, which she planted in 2016 with her husband Chris in Washington, DC. Prior to joining EEN, Jessica was a AAAS Science and Technology Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy. She received her PhD in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences from Georgia Institute of Technology and has held research positions at Johns Hopkins University, the University of Michigan, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, where she researched how climate has changed throughout Earth’s history. She regularly speaks on issues related to climate change, pollution, children’s health, the clean energy transition, environmental stewardship, and the intersection of science and faith. She has appeared on national media outlets, including the NBC TODAY Show, Good Morning America, and the Christian Broadcasting Network.
This symposium is open to the general public. Please help us spread the word by inviting your church, pastor, friends, family, students, and colleagues to attend too. You can do so by forwarding this flyer or posting the event on your social media pages. The event is free to attend, but donations to support programming are appreciated.
Science Corner: New Genes for a New You
For the new year, let’s look at where new genes come from. Many genes around today have pedigrees going back billions of years. Humans can find analogues of most of their genes in chimpanzees and other primates, suggesting our common ancestor millions of years ago had comparable genes. At the same time, many species including humans have genes found in no other species. As with so many things–to-do lists, spreadsheets, computer code, building plans–there are two main ways to get new ones: copy and modify something existing, or start from scratch. A newly published paper by Ni A. An et al (covered in this news article, if you prefer) explores in substantial detail the pathway by which some human-specific genes came about via the “from scratch” or de novo method. The twenty co-authors further demonstrated that one of these genes could play a role in how human brains came to be larger than chimpanzee brains.
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Science Corner: The Case of a Curious Christmas
Among the holidays widely observed in the United States, Christmas strikes me as the one most concerned with curiosity. Several Christmas songs are posed as questions: “What Child is This?” and “Do You See What I See?” and “Mary, Did You Know?” OK, that last one has a real ‘more of a comment than a question’ energy, but still. There are the magi on a quest of discovery. There is the mystery and anticipation of a wrapped gift. And so I thought the science of curiosity would be an apt topic for this Advent season.
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