Language of God

Denis Alexander has been writing about science and religion for over 40 years. That work eventually led him to found the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom. He tells of his scientific career and his faith upbringing, which brings to light some differences in the relationship between science and religion in the United Kingdom and the United States. He also discusses the topic of scientific determinism which has been the focus of some of his more recent work and ends with some advice to young Christians pursuing a career in the sciences. 

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Read Stump's Travel Log to keep up with Jim's adventures during his sabbatical.

In this conversation with acclaimed Stanford neuroscientist Dr. Bill Newsome, we hear about his journey to becoming a neuroscientist, how hundreds of millions of neurons enable the fantastic emergence of a unified visual world, and how free will might operate in relation to the seemingly infinite causal chains which bring us all to this moment. Along the way, Dr. Newsome shares his own experiences with science and faith and why biological explanations should not be seen as weapons beating back the claims of Christianity. 

This episode originally aired on May 27, 2021

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Water is mysterious. It is cleansing, it is dangerous, and it is life-giving. In our everyday life we can tend to overlook just how fascinating and important water is. Water is interesting both scientifically and biblically, so it’s only fitting that we explore it. And in this episode we do just that. Because this is a complex topic, we asked several experts to join us in this episode. You’ll hear from Kent Frens, Jenni Brandon, Sandra Postel, and Ben McFarland who each talk about water through their areas of expertise.

Here’s some fun Ocean Facts

Check out Applied Ocean Sciences

This episode originally aired on April 23, 2020

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The science of evolution in general has been solidified for a long time now, but there are still plenty of new discoveries and implications being drawn out of the specific details of how our world evolved. Among the scientists doing fascinating work in these areas is Simon Conway Morris, who has become relatively famous both in and outside the professional scientific community for his work on fossils from the Burgess Shale, the Cambrian Explosion, and convergent evolution. Morris’ new book, From Extraterrestrials to Animal Minds: Six Myths of Evolution, draws from a number of these areas to make its claims. In this episode, we chat about the book, some of the well-established tenets of convergent evolution, and even some more controversial hypotheses on human uniqueness among animals and extraterrestrial intelligent life. While not all scientists agree with the conclusions Morris comes to, our conversation still brings clarity to the obscure limits of science and what these limits mean for us as Christians.

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Medicine is an amazing gift from God. But there are limits to what medicine can do, and when we forget those limits, we forget that God is acting both when bodies are healed and when bodies deteriorate. Todd Billings shares his depth of thought on healing, medicine and chronic disease, which is informed by his own experiences with cancer. 

Music in this episode by Joseph McDade.

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How should we respond to a problem that seems unsolvable? This is the question we ask in a series about the environmental crisis as we explore the fine line between hope and despair. After having delved into the hard reality of the environmental crisis for the previous two episodes, we spend this episode with our focus on hope. We explore what exactly hope is, how it relates to optimism, and how, when we find hope, we might also find repentance, forgiveness, joy, and love. 

This is the last of three episodes in the Creation Groans series.

Check out the list of related resources from this series here.

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How should we respond to a problem that seems unsolvable? This is the question we ask in a series about the environmental crisis as we explore the fine line between hope and despair. In this episode we allow ourselves to fully contemplate the woundedness of the planet and we reach into the Christian practice of lament as a way to find hope in the midst of the suffering we see around us. The episode ends with a guided lament liturgy. 

This is the second of three episodes in the Creation Groans series. 

Check out the list of related resources from this series here.

Liturgy music is by Brian Mulder. (Spotify)

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How should we respond to a problem that seems unsolvable? This is the question we ask in a series about the environmental crisis as we explore the fine line between hope and despair. In this episode we explore some of the wounds to the planet that often go unseen and we realize that the path to hope begins with the acknowledgement that the wounds are deep and troubling. 

This is the first of three episodes in the Creation Groans series. 

Check out the list of related resources from this series here.

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Ever since he was a kid, Jeff Hardin has been fascinated by the natural world. His long standing avenue for connecting with creation has been science, whether old nature documentary series like Wild Kingdom or exploring the early development of nematode worms in his lab in Wisconsin. Jeff's work as a scientist, exploring the intricate details of life’s origin, has only enriched his wonder toward the God who created it all, an awe which feeds back into his teaching and research. 

Find out more about Jeff’s lab’s research on the website.

Read Jeff’s article on cloning and genome editing.

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Traditional homeschooling and hybrid models have seen a huge uptick in the last couple of years, and, unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge driver of this migration. But the virus and various school and government responses to it are not the only factor causing parents to consider alternative education options. Contentious discussions of which histories and sciences are taught in the classroom continue to cause worry for parents all over the political spectrum. 

Our guest today is historian and educator Susan Wise Bauer. A respected and well known name in the homeschooling world, Susan has spent much of her career developing reliable resources and curricula for homeschoolers. She walks us through her own experiences with, emerging trends in, and the biggest issues facing the homeschooling world today. A Christian, Susan also reflects on the reciprocal relationship between devout theistic faith and careful science.

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Check out the BioLogos faith & science curriculum, Integrate, here.

Find out more about The Well Trained Mind on their website.