Viewing all items in Resource Category: God in the Sciences

PCR tests are a fact of life for most of us at the moment. As a biologist who was doing this procedure long before most people had heard of it, I take secret delight in people’s use of the acronym. Let me open the laboratory door and share the wonders it conceals. The swab that...

 What is the difference between a cathedral and a physics lab? Are they not both saying: ‘Hello’? – Annie Dillard Scientists often speak of a reality beyond the objects they are studying, and for some this is encountered in powerful – if rare – episodes of wonder and awe. The Christian writer J.W. Sire quotes...

Some time ago a scientist was invited to speak at the Dewsbury Women’s Institute. He spoke about his research on polymers, hoping that the women of this Yorkshire mill town would connect with his desire to develop new fibres. One person in particular, a woman called Betty who had worked in a mill since the...

You show your majesty In every star that shines, And every time we breathe. Your glory, God revealed From distant galaxies To here beneath our skin. These words from the song Magnificent by Matt Redman and Jonas Myrin speak volumes to me as a scientist. Redman is an astronomy geek who has ‘an appreciation for...

After the bright beam of annunciation fused heaven with dark earth His searing sharply-focused light went out for a while eclipsed in amniotic gloom: His cool immensity of splendour His universal grace small-folded in a warm dim female space This extract from Luci Shaw’s poem Made Flesh captures something of the wonder of the moment when...

How do you feel about science after more than 18 months of pandemic: tired or interested, impressed or cynical – or a bit of everything? The response to COVID-19 has demonstrated how ideology or worldview are hugely influential in our interpretation and use of scientific data – and at times in the process of experimentation...

Every person was once a sperm and an egg. Those two unique germ cells fused together, and in nine months they turned into a living, breathing, human being. One of the most important stages of this process is when each section of the body, from head to rump, takes on its identity. In this context,...

Alister McGrath is well-known as a theologian, but he started out as a scientist. After becoming a Christian as a student, he wanted to learn about his new faith so he studied theology at the same time as completing his PhD in molecular biophysics. He has not lost touch with science, but has continued to...

At the age of 48 the Cambridge Professor John Polkinghorne decided he’d done his bit for physics and that it was time for a different sort of adventure. Resigning his academic position, he trained for ordination in the Church of England. In an interview 40 years later he said, “It’s one thing to go to...

It’s important to have debates about science and Christian faith and to dig into the hot topics, but we can’t exist solely on a diet of controversy. I find it helpful, at times, to simply enjoy the wonders revealed by science and the big questions they raise about meaning and purpose. What’s the universe for?...

What are the best metaphors we could use to describe biological things? You might be used to hearing phrases like “your genetic blueprint” or “survival of the fittest”, but are they helpful or even accurate? Some of these words fail to capture the wonder and joy of understanding something new about the nature of living...

The question of suffering comes up regularly in discussions about science and faith. I once visited a school to speak to some of the older teenagers. One of the pupils had sadly passed away from cancer a few weeks before and his classmates asked, “How God could let this happen?” Of course, these young people’s...