Driving along the Pennsylvania Turnpike this weekend, I experienced quite the assortment of billboards and DIY roadside messages. One that stood out "loudly" proclaimed that carbon dioxide is essential for life. By itself, that statement seems banally accurate. We could of course hypothesize that life elsewhere in the universe (or multiverse?) employs different sorts of chemistry; silicon is a popular first choice for a possible carbon substitute, although it is far from a direct replacement. But life as we know it, and … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Are We There Yet?
epistemology
Science Corner: What If We Could Experience Counterfactuals?
Twenty years on, apparently the Y2K bug has gotten a reputation in some circles as much ado about nothing. At least to the point that articles have been commissioned to explain that, no, really, actual problems existed that needed to be solved. For those who didn't live through it, the year 2000 represented a challenge for computer systems programmed to use only two digits to store the year to save space; turns out that knowing whether it is 1900 or 2000 can be pretty important. Billions of dollars were spent hunting … [Read more...] about Science Corner: What If We Could Experience Counterfactuals?
Faith and Reason Part 4: Locke
Frequent ESN contributor and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA Graduate & Faculty Ministries Staff Mark Hansard explores John Locke's ideas in Part 4 of his series on faith and reason. As you may remember, Part 1 took a brief look at a Scriptural basis for using reason and logic, Part 2 discussed St. Augustine's ideas about faith and reason, and Part 3 engaged with the thought of Aquinas. If you're looking for Advent content this week, check out our Resources for Advent post from last week, and plan to … [Read more...] about Faith and Reason Part 4: Locke
How should Christians in the sciences choose an epistemology? (STEAM Grant Series)
ESN is currently creating a Faith/Science curriculum for young adult small groups. We've partnered with InterVarsity graduate student discussion groups to identify faith/science questions that are important to emerging scholars, and we're commissioning thoughtful Christians in science or theology/philosophy to explore those questions in this series at the ESN blog. We will publish these posts as a booklet curriculum for campus groups. Today, we're delighted to welcome Jim Stump on the topic of epistemology. This … [Read more...] about How should Christians in the sciences choose an epistemology? (STEAM Grant Series)
Reasons: Why I am a Christian
"How can you believe in God and science at the same time?" Even though I am rarely asked this question so plainly, it is often implied in conversation. Many atheistic advocates think that there is a conflict between the two. They may suspect that a belief in the supernatural is used primarily to explain the physical world with non-physical means and to "fill in the gaps" for conundrums for which there is no better or more reasonable determination. They may believe that beliefs are driven by a search for meaning … [Read more...] about Reasons: Why I am a Christian