I’m excited to report that today’s issue of the leading scientific journal Nature mentions BioLogos! Below is an excerpt from the brief “Correspondence” piece by computational biologist and Christian S. Joshua Swamidass. Josh recently attended our ECF Conference and describes the work of BioLogos to forge a middle ground in a polarized landscape.
Many scientists (of all religions) are deeply concerned about science education, so Josh uses that as a hook. Even for scientists who aren’t religious themselves, most are concerned about students who struggle in the classroom because of their religious background. Many high schools—both public and private—do a poor job of educating students on the topic of evolution. Now, recent surveys have demonstrated that Evangelicals actually love science in general and see science and faith as cooperating rather than at war. Yet Evangelicals are much more likely than the general public to reject the scientific evidence for evolution.
We hope that many scientists will hear about BioLogos for the first time through this piece and be intrigued enough to take a closer look at evolutionary creation. We pray for those scientists who may be seeking a deeper connection with God—may they come to see that science is not a barrier to faith and that their scientific discoveries proclaim the glory of God the Creator.
Initiatives to bridge faith and scienceTwo initiatives aim to increase awareness and acceptance of science by US Christian communities, some of which resist science-education efforts.
BioLogos (https://biologos.org) was founded in 2007 by Francis Collins, then leader of the Human Genome Project, to encourage other Christians to accept evolution in the context of their faith. Trust and respect for Collins has been key to its success. Its grant programme has so far disbursed a total of US$3.9 million to 37 faith– science partnerships. In fostering such dialogue between theologians and scientists who are Christians, BioLogos is forging a middle ground between presentations of science that are antagonistic towards faith and faith that will not accommodate science. Last month, for example, a BioLogos conference of scientists, theologians and pastors helped to articulate the overlap between theology and evolutionary theory (see http://go.nature.com/ovnpwb).
A programme by the American Association for the Advancement of Science takes a different approach in partnership with the Association of Theological Schools (www. scienceforseminaries.org). Their pilot project has helped ten seminaries since 2013 to integrate science into the curriculum for training religious leaders. [...]
>Science education is a public good that we as scientists should help to reinforce across all faiths with partnerships such as these.
This excerpt is reprinted with permission.
Deborah Haarsma serves as the President of BioLogos, a position she has held since January 2013. Previously, she served as professor and chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Gifted in interpreting complex scientific topics for lay audiences, Dr. Haarsma often speaks to churches, colleges, and schools about the relationships between science and Christian faith. She is author (along with her husband Loren Haarsma) of Origins: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Intelligent Design (2011, 2007), a book presenting the agreements and disagreements of Christians regarding the history of life and the universe. Haarsma is an experienced research scientist, with several publications in the Astrophysical Journal and the Astronomical Journal on extragalactic astronomy and cosmology.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://biologos.org/blog/biologos-in-the-leading-journal-nature