Language of God

Deb Liu, the CEO of Ancestry, and Francis Collins, the previous director of the NIH and leader of the Human Genome project, delve into the fascinating world of genetic science, exploring its implications on our understanding of human identity, ancestry and health. Throughout the conversation they also share stories and reflections on how their Christian faith motivates their work and sheds light on the ethical and moral considerations that arise when navigating the complex world of genetic research and its applications. 

The episode was recorded in front of a live audience in San Francisco in late April 2023. 

Additional Resources

All of Us Research Program
Take Back Your Power by Deb Liu
Ancestry.com

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Jason Fileta didn’t start out as an environmental activist. His first passion was to alleviate the suffering of the poor and hungry. As he met and heard the stories from those struggling with poverty and hunger he often asked them the question: if we could get a million Christians in North America to raise their voices on an issue that impacts your community, what would it be? He was surprised when a farmer in Uganda said climate change. But then he started to hear story after story of how climate change has made the lives of people harder, and this has led Jason to understand the deep connection between our caring for the planet and the lives of the poor and hungry around the world. 

This episode original aired on September 30th, 2021.

Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

***Learn about or register for the BioLogos Creation Care Summit on October 7th here.***
Podcast listeners can use the promo code LOG at checkout for a 15% discount on registration. 

***We’re going to be discussing the book Braiding Sweetgrass on the podcast on October 7th.*** 
If you’d like a copy to read along, podcast listeners can get free shipping at milkweed.org. Enter the code LOGPROMO.
We also made a free discussion guide which you can download here.

When the wind is just right, on a small beach in Titusville, Florida, horseshoe crabs crawl out of the water and onto the beach to lay their eggs. Jim and Colin joined up with two marine biologists—Bob Sluka who works with A Rocha, a Christian conservation organization and Margaret Miller, a coral biologist who works with SECORE International—and three A Rocha interns to survey the horseshoe crabs. That experience began an exploration into paying attention to many of the creatures that surround us, extending hospitality, and learning from the creatures, even from the ocean itself, about how we might better worship the creator of it all. 

Additional Resources:

Learn about A Rocha
Do your own nurdle hunt
Atlantic Article about Synthetic alternatives to LAL
Radiolab Episode about Horseshoe Crabs

Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

***Learn about or register for the BioLogos Creation Care Summit on October 7th here.***
Podcast listeners can use the promo code LOG at checkout for a 15% discount on registration. 

***We’re going to be discussing the book Braiding Sweetgrass on the podcast on October 7th.*** 
If you’d like a copy to read along, podcast listeners can get free shipping at milkweed.org. Enter the code LOGPROMO.
We also made a free discussion guide which you can download here.

When Kyle Meyaard-Schaap joins a climate march or calls a senator to talk about his concerns about climate change, he sees it as an act of evangelism. His new book Following Jesus in a Warming World: A Christian Call to Climate Action tells the story of how he came to understand that acting on climate is necessary and urgent and that it fits within the call to follow Jesus. He tells some of his story here and also talks about parenting, imagination, and the role a pastor can play in bringing about the change we hope to see. 

Learn more about Kyle's book, Following Jesus in A Warming World.
Check out Evangelical Environmental Network at creationcare.org
Check out Young Evangelicals for Climate Action at yecaction.org

Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

***Learn about or register for the BioLogos Creation Care Summit on October 7th here.***
Podcast listeners can use the promo code LOG at checkout for a 15% discount on registration. 

***We’re going to be discussing the book Braiding Sweetgrass on the podcast on October 7th.*** 
If you’d like a copy to read along, podcast listeners can get free shipping at milkweed.org. Enter the code LOGPROMO.
We also made a free discussion guide which you can download here.

Over the season of lent we’ve been reading excerpts from Gayle Boss’ Book Wild Hope. In this episode we talk to Gayle about where the book came from and about how the stories of wild and imperiled creatures can help us into the story of Christ and his journey to the cross. 

Find out More about Wild Hope and Gayle's other books.

Thanks to Paraclete Press which gave permission for the experts from Wild Hope throughout lent. www.paracletepress.com

Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

***Learn about or register for the BioLogos Creation Care Summit on October 7th here.***
Podcast listeners can use the promo code LOG at checkout for a 15% discount on registration. 

***We’re going to be discussing the book Braiding Sweetgrass on the podcast on October 7th.*** 
If you’d like a copy to read along, podcast listeners can get free shipping at milkweed.org. Enter the code LOGPROMO.
We also made a free discussion guide which you can download here.

As a sociologist, Brandon Vaidyanathan has been studying what scientists think about beauty. Some people might be surprised that scientists think much about beauty at all, but for many scientists, beauty is an important reason for why they do the work that they do. Brandon talks about his research and the different ways scientists understand beauty to be a part of understanding the world and also tells the story of his conversion to Christianity and how he found his way to sociology. 

Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

This Lent we’re reading reflections from Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing, by Gayle Boss. We’ll end with an interview with Gayle Boss in the last week of Lent. 

The reflections from Wild Hope are grouped into five different weeks, with four creatures in each week, through the season of Lent and four more during Holy Week. Week five is "the Hunted" and the story is about the hawksbill turtle.

Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss, illustrated by David G. Klein
Copyright 2020:  text by Gayle Boss, illustrations by David G. Klein
Used by permission of Paraclete Press www.paracletepress.com

In the debut of a new podcast Book Club feature we take on the novel Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi about a young PhD candidate in neuroscience struggling with questions about mental health, the problem of evil, and how to reconcile the evangelical faith she grew up with and her career in science. We asked three guests to join us to discuss the book. Lynette Strickland recently finished a PhD in biology, Rachel Wahlberg is a neuroscience graduate student herself, and Christina Bieber Lake is a literature professor. 

Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

This Lent we’re reading reflections from Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing, by Gayle Boss. We’ll end with an interview with Gayle Boss in the last week of Lent. 

The reflections from Wild Hope are grouped into five different weeks, with four creatures in each week, through the season of Lent and four more during Holy Week. Week four is "the Poisoned" and the story is about the olm.

Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss, illustrated by David G. Klein
Copyright 2020:  text by Gayle Boss, illustrations by David G. Klein
Used by permission of Paraclete Press www.paracletepress.com

This Lent we’re reading reflections from Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing, by Gayle Boss. We’ll end with an interview with Gayle Boss in the last week of Lent. 

The reflections from Wild Hope are grouped into five different weeks, with four creatures in each week, through the season of Lent and four more during Holy Week. Week three is "the Homeless" and the story is about the North Atlantic right whale.

Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss, illustrated by David G. Klein
Copyright 2020:  text by Gayle Boss, illustrations by David G. Klein
Used by permission of Paraclete Press www.paracletepress.com