Jesus did not share in any way the DNA of either Mary or Joseph. Otherwise he would have shared in original sin. A friend of mine asked for my take on this statement from a sermon he heard online. I certainly appreciate why, theologically speaking, one would want to make this kind of distinction in order to clarify Jesus' relationship to original sin. I also appreciate the effort to engage with a scientific understanding of inheritance. Given the testimony of scripture, I can't entirely rule out the possibility that … [Read more...] about Science Corner: His Mother’s Son
original sin
Science Reader Question: Which Came First, the Sinner or the Sin?
In the previous installment of my ongoing series on evolutionary biology questions, I shared my conversation with Mike Stell about original sin within the context of an evolutionary natural history. That topic leads naturally to a related question about who the original sinners were. Actually, both the blog commenter whose questions inspired this series and Mike Stell independently asked me very similar questions. What exactly does evolutionary biology say about the first humans? … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: Which Came First, the Sinner or the Sin?
Science Reader Question: Original Sin Goes Viral?
This series on evolutionary biology (1st post, 2nd post, 3rd post, 4th post) was prompted by some reader questions on the blog, but in parallel I was discussing some of the same issues via e-mail with theologian Mike Stell. Mike is an ESN contributor. He and I met in person at last summer's BioLogos conference, and we struck up a correspondence on some of the topics that came up at that meeting. Last week's post covered our conversation on humanity's creation in God's image. This week is our exploration of original sin. … [Read more...] about Science Reader Question: Original Sin Goes Viral?
Science Corner: BioLogos Conference Recap, Pt 1
Earlier this summer, I had the privilege to attend BioLogos' Evolution & Christian Faith conference. It was easily the best experience I've had at an academic conference. Every day began and ended with a time of worship, singing the kinds of hymns you can really dig into, with the kind of accompaniment that encourages everyone to join in. I usually have a hard time talking to people at conferences, but everyone was very gracious and friendly so I got to have a lot of great conversations with new people. It was … [Read more...] about Science Corner: BioLogos Conference Recap, Pt 1