A weekly dose of science for the church
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The Standard Model (of Particle Physics)
The Standard Model is the fundamental starting place for anyone trying to understand the stuff within God’s creation. Or to quote Kepler, the Standard Model is one of many ways we are now “thinking God’s thoughts after Him.”
Conversations, Connections, and even Conversion: A Ministry Profile of UCC Vermillion
What started as a joke – what happens when a pastor grabs a beer with a herpetologist? —ended with what could be a Science for the Church newsletter clickbait lede—“Church’s faith and science program inspires former president of student secular society to become a pastor.”
Following the Eastern Star of Epiphany
Many people have proposed different theories about the astronomical events that led the Magi to Jesus. While we might not ever definitely know the scientific event itself, there is enough scientific data to support the idea of a God that can use physical phenomena to accomplish his salvific purposes.
Staff Picks
We have arrived at the final edition of 2021, which means it’s the time of year for staff picks!
I’ve put together the pieces that the Science for the Church team particularly enjoyed. You may have missed some of these, and that’s something we didn’t want to let happen.
Little Big
We’ve had this remarkable evening, year after year, on which we come together for a little while to sing songs, to pray in hopes of feeling connected, to hear a story of a little place that comes out big, of a fleeting moment that turns out to be eternal, of an event that seems insignificance in a world of big plans and big ideas and big struggles, but that becomes the beginning of the most potent, meaningful, and world-changing story of all.
Advent Devotional: God’s Real Presence
We were not left alone to navigate the disagreements between those gifted in recognizing the workings of the Spirit and others inclined toward materialism. God knew there are doubting Thomases among us who need to see, touch, and even be touched.
Advent Devotional: Lessons on Waiting from Dividing Cells
It’s hard to wait, especially when you know something exciting and life-changing is just around the corner. A cell’s life, much like our own, is characterized by moments of excitement and action and moments of monotony and waiting.
No Ordinary Joe
What’s weird about the assertion that Joseph and others were gullible because they weren’t scientific is that the assertion ignores what we read in the Bible: Joseph was shocked by Mary’s pregnancy.
Thanksgiving, Advent, and the New Year
Our timing was not great. Launching a new endeavor only a few months before a global pandemic was unfortunate. Our central emphasis—forging relationships between church leaders and science professionals as a means of strengthening the church—was difficult in a time of social distancing, remote everything mediated by screens, and communal stresses few of us saw coming.
The Giving in Thanksgiving
Once again, the Bible and science agree. It is the cycle Jesus succinctly summarized in Matthew 10:8–freely we receive, so much so, that out of gratitude we are inspired to freely give.
Grateful for Gratitude
I’m grateful for gratitude because, when we practice it, life is better. Paul reminds us, in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, that even when life is hard, we’d do well to “be thankful [grateful] in all circumstances” (NLT). I’m grateful for gratitude because it leads to praising life and to praising God for life.
John Wesley and Science: Using Science to Serve the Poor
Outside of holiness circles, John Wesley’s contributions to our theological understanding, his approach to social action leading to transformation, and the use of science as a tool for social improvement have gone unnoticed or altogether ignored. As this introduction hints, my approach to theology is decidedly Wesleyan and, in the same way Greg Cootsona circles back to St. Clive when he writes, I cannot help but talk about St. John Wesley and his contributions to Christian thought.