It strikes me as noteworthy that our culture is taking recourse in the grandeur and scope of words that only theological language can supply. Responding to climate change is at the place where our Christian tradition meets science meets Christian spirituality. We need to recover the biblical language of “stewardship” for this beautiful creation.
We often link brain power to intelligence or some innate talent. Things like memory, creativity, mathematical ability certainly are amazing capacities of the human brain. But I think the most amazing thing the brain does is change. It’s the power of those synapses and neurons and axons to recreate the pathways necessary for change.
Many churches already support caregivers—with prayer and visits, welcoming them when they can participate in the life of the church and trying to bring church to them when they cannot. This week I want to look at some of the research around caregiving—an expansive field looking at numerous dimensions of delivering and receiving care—and challenge you and your church to think about ways this research can strengthen your ministry to those giving and receiving care.
Collins is the voice par excellence of faith and science integration. How to summarize his work? I can’t adequately. Instead, I turn to two of his most memorable quotations (which, admittedly, I often use in science and faith talks when I’m searching for something wise to say)…
This week (and next) I’m focusing on a pair of your highest rated thinkers from our summer audience survey: N.T. Wright and Rachel Held Evans. Their thoughts on science and religion have shaped our imaginations and clearly some of yours as well.
This week I want to unpack how negative stereotypes, caused in part by the church, undermine efforts for Christians in the sciences to bridge faith and science. If the church is to aide Christians to pursue STEM vocations, as I suggested last week, we need to understand this threat and address it.