In just over two weeks, we celebrate the 10th anniversary of Francis Collins’ BioLoguration post, which marked the beginning of the public web presence of BioLogos. We have a few articles planned for this, but wondered if any of you – the BioLogos Forum hive mind – have any reflections on these past 10 years?
A few of you have been around a long time, what do you remember from the early days? How have things changed?
Some of you have logged many, many hours on the Forum; why do you do it? What keeps you coming back?
For any of you now here, what have been some of the highlights of your time on the Forum?
Depending on what we get in response to this, maybe we’ll pull some selections and make a blog post out of it. If nothing else, it will make for some interesting reading.
This is a community for me. There aren’t enough people within physical / or scheduling proximity to me that I can carry on discussions of matters of the mind and soul very often. But this forum community offers all of that in a way that a person can check in whenever they want, respond whenever they want, or just percolate on what others have brought. This hive has a wealth of both sharp and crackpot minds, with the line dividing those two qualities running through each of us - at least a little bit. I refuse to divulge which side is the “little bit” in my own case. But whatever state my “sharp side” may be in, it is the part that receives nurture from my accumulation of time here.
Mervin brings up the main reason I hang around with his mention of community. I live in a semi-rural conservative area, and even those I know who agree with EC in my church are reluctant to discuss it for fear of conflict. I have also seen kids grow up in the church then leave when they realized the young earth beliefs taught them were false, and rejected the church along with them.
In addition, I have learned a lot about science from scientists just hanging around here, as well an broadening my experience with the international community who participate on the forum.
Even outside the world of science, questions regarding theology are openly discussed, as well as the difficult questions that church tends to sweep under the rug.
I haven´t been here for too long and I can´t relate with any experience here with YECs. But Christianity in Germany has taken a big hit in the last few decades and reasons for the christian faith are barely offered in the denominations here, at least in a public context. I have found nothing which could compare with the work that BioLogos has done in order to give young religious and scientifically interested people the tools to fit both under one hat. I am grateful for that. Although I disagree with several aspects on the philosophical side here I particularly enjoy the perspectives presented on scientific topics from a deeply christian background. I think it has proven its worth in a time where antitheistic people have been the media´s shootingstars.
I have been interested and invested (off and on) in the creation/evolution debate since I was about 10 years old, and BioLogos was the perfect resource for me when I started questioning some of the standard “answers” I’d grown up with.
I’m in a rural area and a less “churchy” part of the country, so it’s pretty rare that the topic of EC comes up, and when it does it’s usually not in a situation where I’d feel comfortable engaging. I really appreciate having the homeschool section here too because that’s another community that leans heavily toward YEC (at least from what I’ve seen), so it’s great to have a place where I can ask questions I can’t ask anywhere else, and also listen to others’ questions and discussions. I have really enjoyed learning about and from the other people here – those with scientific expertise as well as those who are lay people like me. It’s especially nice when someone asks a question I didn’t even know I also had.
Aside from some of my Calvin grad and Catholic partners, YEC is an article of faith in Christians in my region, as much as is firm belief that all pain, evil and death come from The Fall (West Michigan is a very fundamentalist part of the country). I appreciate the ability to talk about science in a safe place with those who are willing to treat each other kindly, despite deep feelings about things we even may disagree on. It’s iron sharpening iron at its best, with the moderators ensuring we use the iron appropriately. --while we explore science and faith together.
I came to BioLogos three years ago to research the same trend that prompted Dr. Collins to found the organization – young people abandoning the faith. While the overall problem has many facets (see Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church), the false dichotomy between faith and science is causing untold damage to the church in the United States. Within the next four or five years, “No Religion” will be the largest religion in the country. How many millions have lost faith because they were taught a lie, because they were told they had to choose between evolution and the Bible? That is the thought that keeps me coming back, and also keeps me awake at night.
I’m relatively new here. I’m here because I appreciate the level of sincerity people bring to what they write, at least in the great majority of instances.
I’m not really religious but I recognize something of value in a believer’s feeling of connectedness and rapport with something beyond themselves. Though I’ve lost belief in a literal God, I haven’t lost that sense of connection. I justify that by identifying a natural basis for God belief which is beneficial with or without a supernatural element. On atheist websites I think the emphasis on being rational and in control at all times and on all levels often drives conversations into the shallow end of the pool.
I also have a layperson’s appreciation of science and greatly enjoy discussions which bring me up to date on current discoveries. That so many with the appropriate background are willing to take the time to break things down for the rest of us is a real bonus.
There are a good number of posters whose thinking I respect a good deal and who I simply like as people. I know it takes a lot effort to ‘police’ a website to the degree necessary to ensure respectful dialogue. This site has many who do it well and give generously of their time.
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“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” -Colossians 4:6
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--while we explore science and faith together.