Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

religious beliefs

Science and Faith: Navigating the Unwarranted Divide

Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience by Malcolm Jeeves. InterVarsity Press, 2013. Note: For additional ESN blog posts on this title explore this tag.

Editor’s note: Yesterday, Katelin reviewed Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience. Today she shares a few reflections stimulated by Minds, Brains, Souls and God:

  • Science and Faith
  • A God That is Bigger Than Our Own Understanding
  • Our Dual Mission Field.

As always, please do not hesitate to share your questions, insights, and musings with us. To God be the glory! ~ Thomas B. Grosh IV

Science and Faith

Too often scholars of faith find themselves caught between two misunderstood worlds, trying to navigate a divide that in reality is entirely unwarranted. We need not fear of our own cognitive capacity.

The apprehension that some Christians show toward scientific advancement is discouraging. If God is who we claim He is, then we do not have to protect Him from Truth (nor would we have the capacity to do so, of course). Christian reticence to engage on a scientific level hurts our witness to a thinking world. How many of our academic colleagues have been reluctant to explore Christianity, fearing they will have to give up the habits of critical thinking? Is Christ not for them as well? Perhaps many more academicians would believe if they felt such rich examination was allowed, even welcomed. [Read more…] about Science and Faith: Navigating the Unwarranted Divide

Asking Jeeves

Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience by Malcolm Jeeves. InterVarsity Press, 2013. Note: For additional ESN blog posts on this title explore this tag.

There is a pressing need for healthy dialogue regarding the psychology, and biology, of faith. Do humans have free will? What are the respective roles of the mind, the soul, and the brain? Are reports of supernatural experiences evidence for or against the existence of Heaven? Are we pre-conditioned to seek out a divine being? These are not questions from which Christians should not shy away. In fact, I’m convinced that by leaning into the discussion, our faith will be deepened and enriched.

Dr. Malcolm Jeeves’s latest book, Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience [1], offers a first step into encounters with questions of psychology and faith. Jeeves’s long and esteemed career in psychology gives him a wealth of knowledge from which to draw.  Presented in the form of email dialogue between a freshman psychology student and an emeritus scholar, Jeeves’s book presents both current and historical scholarly perspectives on our existence as physical, intellectual, and spiritual beings. Accessing these deeply seasoned perspectives in such an approachable manner is a rare opportunity for the lay public.

I confess it took me a while to settle into this text. Jeeves is careful to orient uninitiated readers to the academic frameworks discussed, but many of the topics of most interest personally were found in the later chapters. [Read more…] about Asking Jeeves

Can Science ‘Explain Away’ Religion?

Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience by Malcolm Jeeves. InterVarsity Press, 2013.

In Chapter 18 of Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods: A Conversation on Faith, Psychology and Neuroscience (InterVarsity Press, 2013), Malcolm Jeeves[1] discusses the question “Can Science ‘Explain Away’ Religion?” with his fictional psychology student “mentee”. Have you wrestled with this question? How have you addressed it? Do you concur with what Jeeves offers?

Can Science “Explain Away” Religion?

Malcolm,
Your emails have pointed out that the same evidence is often interpreted in very different ways. For example, some Christians point to the evidence that certain parts of the brain are active during prayer, and they try to use that as proof for the existence of God. Others understand the same evidence as showing that praying to God is “nothing but” the selective activity of specific brain areas. Can you help me understand how to properly relate scientific findings to Christian beliefs? [Read more…] about Can Science ‘Explain Away’ Religion?

Science in Review — January 2013

After a holiday hiatus, I am resuming my “director’s cut” look at one of my weekly Facebook posts. Look for this feature on the last Wednesday of the month.

Not if I were the last man on Earth to be unvaccinated.
“Not if I were the last man on Earth to be unvaccinated.” (Public domain)

The most discussed topic of the past month was mandatory flu vaccines for healthcare workers. In the midst of a more-severe-than-usual flu season, there have been several stories about nurses losing their jobs for declining the vaccine. We discussed an incident in Indiana reported here and here, and a case from Missouri covered here. In both instances, the nurses cited religious beliefs as contributing to their refusal, with some mention of safety concerns. They felt that they had a right to decide what went into their bodies, and that mandatory vaccination policies conflicted with that right and their religious freedoms.

The Facebook discussion was fairly positive in favor of vaccination. There was a consensus that vaccinating healthcare workers was an important measure for protecting patients and minimizing the spread of disease in healthcare settings, although some folks did stop short of endorsing blanket mandates. One participant noted that these policies are sometimes applied across all hospital departments regardless of the amount of contact with patients; many transcriptionists, chart coders and other administrative personnel work offsite.

[Read more…] about Science in Review — January 2013