I know the world faces a lot of weighty issues right now. Some of you may be on college campuses with recent or ongoing police activity, cancelled or disrupted commencement events and other types of disturbances to what is usually a celebratory season. And all of that stems from events in Israel and Palestine, where staggering numbers of lives have been lost and many more irreversibly altered. I might wish science could offer answers to the uncertainty, but clashes of values are not readily adjudicated by its methods. … [Read more...] about Science Corner: I Wan’na Be Like You
healing
Healing…Fiction…Connectedness [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]
All that Gilead puts to us is the plain reminder goodness is not enough. Goodness, self-defined and self-contained, is something which will be poisonous if we're not careful. Without the wound, the openness, the crack that connects us to reality, to one another, and to God, healing doesn't happen. The “good“ can so easily come to believe that healing is natural and simple. But revelation tells us that healing is indeed the restoration of a broken nature, but precisely because our nature is broken, this healing must be … [Read more...] about Healing…Fiction…Connectedness [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]
Science Corner: The Time Stone Heals All Wounds?
This post contains spoilers for Avengers: Endgame; it is difficult to discuss the film's themes in any depth without spoiling at least some elements. For all the secrecy surrounding Avengers: Endgame, many of the film's best moments feel inevitable, the fulfillment of promises made in earlier installments. So I especially enjoyed the genuine surprise of seeing the word "Five" appear on the screen, then a very knowing pause, then "Years Later." The film initially meets expectations by picking up right where Avengers: … [Read more...] about Science Corner: The Time Stone Heals All Wounds?
Science Corner: Prayers and Placebos
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States, a time for gratitude and community. Intangible qualities like these challenge science, since they don't lend themselves as readily to quantifying or to controlled investigation. Much easier for a scientist to tackle topics like tryptophan in turkey--no, that's not what makes you drowsy after dinner--because we have better tools for studying molecules. That doesn't mean gratitude or community aren't real or significant to our lives, just that we need different tools to study … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Prayers and Placebos
Healing
Heather Walker Peterson began ESN's 2018 Lenten devotionals with reflections on Lent as Healing Time. Today Mark Eckel shares a story of healing. To God be the glory! Note: For ESN's posts tagged Lent, follow this link. … [Read more...] about Healing