A weekly dose of science for the church

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Raising Our Spirits Together: Q&A with Dr. Addie Weaver

Addie Weaver, assistant professor of social work at the University of Michigan, believes churches can be part of the solution to our mental health crisis. For her, the delivery of mental health care to underserved groups, particularly those in rural areas, is a justice issue.

The Neuroscience of Teaching Christian Formation

Our human brains are made to grab onto knowledge that we can both apply in our lives and that is also efficacious—it makes a difference. It strikes me that too often when I’ve mentioned science and faith, people tell me, “That’s too heady for me,” which can mean that it seems abstract and academic, not related to the lives we actually live 24-7. Applicability and efficacy seemed like antidotes.

Conflicted about the Conflict

This has me conflicted about the conflict between science and religion. How do we extract it from our churches, especially those that witness the ways science works alongside the Christian faith? Will it go away if we focus on the cooperation and don’t give voice to the opposition? Or must we acknowledge the conflict and work to reframe it?

The Priesthood of All Bridge Builders

The Priesthood of All Bridge Builders

We need Christians whose vocations have called them to science and technology to be bridge builders with those who have left the church and who believes that science is one huge roadblock to faith.

Scientists, Your Work Matters to God

Scientists, Your Work Matters to God

In preparation for this newsletter, I emailed a good friend who’s a biologist. I posed a fairly simple question, expecting a succinct response. Instead, he poured out his heart in a long email, which started with this: “How was I treated in the church as a scientist? Man, that’s a trigger question for me…”

A Recipe for Enduring Success

A Recipe for Enduring Success

What’s the recipe for lasting change in discussing thorny topics in general, but especially those in faith and science—whether origins, climate change, or racism?

Keeping the Change

Keeping the Change

Can a leopard change its spots? (Jeremiah 13:23). Can people really shift their views, or do they ultimately snap back to where they started? This is the problem of persistence and change. We tend to go back to old patterns unless we keep working at change.

Tools for a Divided Nation

Tools for a Divided Nation

While faith and science debates—such as the Intelligent Design paradigm, an old vs. young Earth, or a literal Adam and Eve—seem peripheral to our political division, the experience of having those conversations offer us tools that translate to our current predicament.

Readers’ Choice

Readers’ Choice

We’re always curious to know what interests you, and one way to figure that out is by noting which newsletters receive the most views. These are your top choices for 2020, beginning with (in my opinion) the most provocative question of the year.

Prepping for the Exam

Prepping for the Exam

As Science for the Church wraps up its first full year, we hope you’ve learned something about us. Are you ready for the test? Not to worry, here’s a handy study guide.

COVID Christmas and the Wilderness of Grief

COVID Christmas and the Wilderness of Grief

The present moment finds us still in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic. We face the harsh reality that the world as we once knew it has indeed already passed. We remain unsure of what or when the world to come will arrive.  And so we now live within a liminal space between the “what was” and the “next….” How, then, are we to navigate our present circumstances as people of faith?  By entering into the wilderness of grief.

Prepare the Way for a COVID Christmas

Prepare the Way for a COVID Christmas

If you are anything like me, you are feeling a general uneasiness as we enter Advent. We’re still isolated and beginning to ponder the likelihood of a virtual (or at least socially distanced) Christmas Eve. How can we remember when we are not gathered, telling the stories of young Mary and John the Baptist? What is lost when we don’t light candles and sing Silent Night, Holy Night?