Dialogue with Reasons to Believe | Fuz & Darrel

This is Part 1 of our dialogue with Reasons to Believe. 

For many years BioLogos and Reasons to Believe have been having a dialogue about faith and science. The two organizations agree about the scientific conclusions on the ancient age of the Earth, but disagree on the science of evolution. But we have built a fruitful relationship together. In the first half of our live dialogue, Fuz Rana and Darrel Falk talk about how this relationship developed and then discuss how they have come to such different conclusions when working with the same data.

Fuz Rana is the Vice President of Research and Apologetics at Reasons to Believe. Darrel Falk is the previous president of BioLogos and is Emeritus Professor of Biology at Point Loma Nazarene University.

To learn more about the views of BioLogos and Reasons to Believe you can find an in depth conversation in the book Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

This article is referenced in the episode: Understanding Randomness by Kathryn Applegate

Part 2 of our dialogue with Reasons to Believe with Deb Haarsma and Hugh Ross is available in your podcast feed now. 

Find a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos forum

Help support the work of BioLogos and this podcast with a charitable donation at biologos.org/give.

Dialogue with Reasons to Believe | Hugh & Deb

This is Part 2 of our dialogue with Reasons to Believe

For many years BioLogos and Reasons to Believe have been having a dialogue about faith and science. The two organizations agree about the scientific conclusions on the ancient age of the Earth, but disagree on the science of evolution. But we have built a fruitful relationship together. In the second half of our live dialogue, Hugh Ross and Deb Haarsma talk about how a background in astrophysics led them to their current work as leaders of Christian organizations. They also talk about how their faith might hold up to new scientific discoveries.

Hugh Ross is the President and Founder of Reasons to Believe. Deb Haarsma is the President of BioLogos.

To learn more about the views of BioLogos and Reasons to Believe you can find an in depth conversation in the book Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation: Discussing Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos

Part 1 of our dialogue with Reasons to Believe with Fuz Rana and Darrel Falk is available in your podcast feed now. 

Find a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos forum.

Help support the work of BioLogos and this podcast with a charitable donation at biologos.org/give.

Science Mike | Intimate Mysticality

Mike McHargue, aka Science Mike, is the cofounder of The Liturgists podcast and host of the podcast Ask Science Mike. In this episode he shares the story of his own faith journey, which involves leaving the church and eventually finding his way back after a mystical experience. Since then, he has made an effort through his podcast and writing to help others going through faith transitions. 

In this episode, Jim and Mike discuss the trends of faith transitions in the United States and how science can be both fallible and trustworthy at the same time. Near the end of the episode Mike shares a powerful personal story of how he has found a personal God in a world of scientific explanations.

Oliver Crisp | Truth Apt Truth Aimed

Theology is a tool we use to better understand God. But how does it work? How do we know when a theological claim is true? Jim asks these questions to professional theologian Oliver Crisp. Oliver’s search for theological truths has led him think and write about topics like Adam and Eve, sin, and the fall and he talks to us about how other disciplines, including science, have informed this theological work. 

Oliver Crisp is professor of analytic theology at University of St Andrews in Scotland.He was born and raised in West London, England, and educated at Wimbledon School of Art; the University of Aberdeen (BD, MTh); and King’s College, London (PhD). He is the author of nine books as well as over 80 articles and essays. His most recent publications are Deviant Calvinism: Broadening Reformed Theology (Fortress, 2014), and Jonathan Edwards Among the Theologians (Eerdmans, 2015).

Join a discussion about this episode at the BioLogos Forum. 

This interview was made possible as part of the TheoPsych Project, hosted by Fuller Seminary’s office of Science, Theology, and Religion.

Adam & Eve

Jim Stump is joined by BioLogos president Deb Haarsma to talk about one of the perennial science and faith topics—Adam & Eve. They lay out some of the different perspectives on Adam & Eve and also some of the problems that come along with each perspective, bringing in science where it’s appropriate but also finding that science won’t lead us to definitive answers on many of the questions that arise. 

Because this is a complex topic with many different perspectives, we asked several experts to join us in this episode and to respond to some of the different viewpoints on Adam and Eve. You’ll hear William Lane Craig, Ken Keathley, Anjeanette Roberts, Andrew Torrance and Dennis Venema who each provide their own take on some of these different Adam and Eve perspectives.

We have lots of resources on this topic at our website. Just search “Adam and Eve” in the search bar. Or here’s a couple places you could start:

The Common Question, “Were Adam and Eve Historical Figures?”

Or check out the series by Dennis Venema called “Adam and Eve and Human Population Genetics”

Finally, join in a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos Forum

Marcelo Gleiser | Oceans of the Unknown

Jim Stump and Templeton Award winning physicist, Marcelo Gleiser dive into the ocean of the unknown, discussing the nature of science and how we know what we know. Since he was a child, Gleiser has been fascinated by the biggest questions about life and existence. Those questions led him to physics and cosmology and he has spent a significant part of his career communicating science to the general public. While Gleiser considers himself a religious agnostic, he has consistently pushed back against the extreme scientism views that leave no place for religion. Jim and Marcelo find some disagreement about their understandings of faith, but find that a conversation across disagreement can be fruitful and productive.

Marcelo Gleiser a professor of natural philosophy physics and astronomy at Dartmouth College. He is a frequent contributor to the 13.8 blog at Orbiter Magazine and his most recent book is The Simple Beauty of the Unexpected: A Natural Philosopher's Quest for Trout and the Meaning of Everything. Gleiser was named the Templeton Prize winner for 2019, which is awarded annually to a person who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life’s spiritual dimension.

Find Marcelo Gleiser’s writing at Orbiter Magazine’s 13.8 Blog

Find a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos Forum.

Rick Lindroth | Hope in a World of Wounds

The question of faith and science has often been posed in only one direction—how does faith affect science? As Christians, this question is more comfortable because it plants our religious beliefs in the center, keeping them untouched. But what about when the question is flipped—when science affects faith? Rick Lindroth joins producer Colin Hoogerwerf to describe how this latter question has played an important role in his life. They also discuss the dangerous reality of insect collapse and the lonely grief of the ecologist.

Find a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos Forum.

Read more about the insect collapse here.

BONUS | Identifying Hope

In this bonus episode, Language of God Producer Colin Hoogerwerf brings a short reflection on finding hope in the outdoors. 

Find more articles and resources about caring for creation at biologos.org or join a discussion about this episode at the BioLogos Forum, A good place to start is Why Should Christians Care for Creation?

Lynette Strickland | Finding Beetles with God

On today’s episode, Lynette Strickland joins Jim and producer Colin Hoogerwerf to ruminate on her love for creation. Lynette shares how her childhood curiosity in the natural world grew into a passion for doing science, why variation in a species could help it adapt to changing environments, and how studying beetles has helped her understand God’s creation. 

Lynette Strickland is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute PreDoctoral Fellow. She received her B.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A&M. Her research, focusing on how ecological factors and genomic factors shape a naturally-occurring color polymorphism in a species of Neotropical tortoise beetle, has been published in journals including Science and Hereditary.

Find a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos Forum.

Aaron Niequist | Learning to Swim

Growing up in the church, Aaron Niequist never imagined he would experience a faith crisis—until he did. On this episode, he recalls this time of doubt and what helped him through it. Aaron and Jim also discuss reviving liturgy and the seeing faith in light of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Aaron Niequist is a liturgist, writer, and pastor. After growing up in a Plymouth Brethren community, he led worship at Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, MI and Willow Creek Church in Barrington, IL. Recently, he has shifted his focus to creating ‘A New Liturgy’—a series of modern liturgical recordings.

Find a conversation about this episode at the BioLogos Forum.

Check out the video of A New Liturgy: Creation.

Find out more about Aaron's book—The Eternal Current—on his website.

Music in this episode is from Joseph McDade.