Perhaps you saw the headlines last week about a research paper that claimed to locate the origins of modern humans in a region of what is now Botswana. Many outlets reported the conclusions as stated in the paper. Some coverage, like this BBC article, acknowledges skepticism but not necessarily in great detail. More specifically, the claim is that our collective ancestors first became Homo sapiens in an area centered in modern Botswana from around 200,000 years ago until 130,000 years ago when they began migrating … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Family Reunion in Botswana?
origins
Science Corner: It’s Life Jim, But Not As We Know It
In a week when some pretty high profile stories got some less notable corrections (no, cell phones are not giving young people skull horns and no, we have not convincingly transmitted autism to mice via microbiome transplants), I thought it might be a good idea to try to get ahead of the curve on a new story. This one involves a topic likely to be of greater interest to the science & faith community: life on Mars. Last week, the Curiosity rover detected a plume of methane on Mars in a higher concentration than … [Read more...] about Science Corner: It’s Life Jim, But Not As We Know It
Faith and Reason, Part 5: Hume
Frequent ESN contributor and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA Graduate & Faculty Ministries Staff Mark Hansard explores David Hume's ideas in Part 5 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, Part 3 engaged with the thought of Aquinas, and Part 4 addressed John Locke. Image: Sculpture of David Hume. … [Read more...] about Faith and Reason, Part 5: Hume
How did God Create? Different Views Christians Hold (STEAM Grant Series)
Image: Threshold, a sculpture that looks different from different angles, by James Hopkins. Photo courtesy of Jan Polák at Wikimedia Commons page for sculpture. You can see this sculpture as the numeral 1, 2, or 3 depending on which angle you view it from. Christians often see the same creation story in Genesis from different angles. 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 … [Read more...] about How did God Create? Different Views Christians Hold (STEAM Grant Series)
STEAM Grant Series: How can we engage origins questions well?
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/history of science to explore those questions in this series at the ESN blog. We will then publish these posts as a booklet curriculum for campus groups. You can find previous posts in the series and related posts … [Read more...] about STEAM Grant Series: How can we engage origins questions well?