Viewing all items in Resource Category: God in the Sciences

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...

Science tells us how the world works, and technology offers applications of that knowledge, but neither can tell us what we ought to do. All scientific discoveries or new technologies can be used to either help or harm others. For example, a smartphone can be used to stay in touch but also enables bullying. It...

We may all have rather mixed feelings on reaching March this year. On the one hand, it is lovely to see the onset of Spring, and vaccinations and better weather may make handling the pandemic a little easier. On the other hand, marking a year from the start of the first UK lockdown will be...

I find that watching buds swelling on trees and plants during the winter months gives me a tremendous sense of hope. We may all need some need extra hope for 2021, after the events of 2020. By the time you read this a number of us may have been fortunate enough to receive a COVID...

I want to share a message of hope that Christians in the sciences around the world can bring to the church. Dr Francis Collins, who leads medical research in the US, spoke earlier in the pandemic about his faith and his hope in God to help us through this time. He expressed the grief that...