Items included on this page come from a variety of sources. The perspectives conveyed may or may not express a Lutheran ethos. They can serve our instruction as discussion-starters, examples (positive and negative), and illustrations of intersections between God’s two kingdoms, intersections sometimes characterized by tension, sometimes by congruence. Inclusion does not imply endorsement.
How Science Became a Weapon in the Mommy Wars: In the shifting battle lines of the mommy wars (nursing, vaccination, gender), scientific studies have become a common weapon. Discerning pseudo-science from bona fide science takes work–research isn’t as straightforward as we might hope. Science is a messy pursuit for understanding, but learning a bit more about the […]
How Does Molecular Action In The Brain Make Thoughts? — Consciousness is among the BIG problems in biology, psychology, and and philosophy. This brief essay sets out that problem for students along with the opportunity to share or dispute the writer’s hint of optimism for solving it.
After 75 years, evangelicals in science still debate Darwin, Bible and evolution: Richard Ostling provides an overview on the ASA, its history, its conferences, its journal, Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, and the science-and-religion issues that the ASA addresses.
Donation and Mutation: This 60 min. audio clip from RadioLab (advance 20 minutes from the start) presents a helpful and listen-able update on CRISPR gene technology. These simple genetic techniques are now on the cusp of radically changing how we think about the effect of scientific advancements on humanity. The program effectively broaches the ethical […]
A New Culture Of Cooperation In Academia Is Emerging: Students can gain a big-picture perspective from this brief essay. “Questions that span the curriculum (for a wide sample, go here) are essential to both scientific and humanistic research, having broad social implications. To a large extent, they are at the core of a liberal arts curriculum, […]
Research Fraud: the Temptation to Lie — Most scientists and medical researchers behave ethically. However, in recent years, the number of high-profile scandals in which researchers have been exposed as having falsified their data raises the issue of how we should deal with research fraud. We need to start to look more deeply into who engages in […]
Why Conservation Is a Gospel Issue: Christians who care about conservation are still too rare a species. Peter Harris of A Rocha, the largest international Christian conservation organization, files this report from the World Conservation Congress. Many conservation professionals and scientists, particularly but not at all exclusively from the Global South, have a living Christian faith. Integrating […]
For those monitoring the emerging research on the nature and nurture issues of LGBT matters, see the Fall edition of the New Atlantis, Special Report–Sexuality and Gender, and responses such as those from Warren Throckmorton at Grove City College, “The Editor of The New Atlantis Responds to My Critique of the Mayer and McHugh Article.” The […]
The NPR blog on Cosmos and Culture has entered in juxtaposition these two columns on the culture of science. Each is brief, and students can compare and contrast them to gain some perspective on different postures that informed people take both inside and outside the church. When Science Stands Up to Creationism The Porous Boundary […]
Life on Other Planets? What Does This Mean??? Concordia Sem Prof Charles Arand offers some observations and reflections on this intriguing topic about which Christians can agree and disagree. The topic prompts helpful discussion on the biblical themes of creation, anthropology, and even soteriology. Instructors in astronomy, earth science, science and society, faith and life, […]
True Paradox: How Christianity Make Sense of Our Complex World by David Skeel (Veritas Books IVP, 2014)
David Skeel teaches corporate law at the UofPenn Law School. This book calmly presents five chapters in 160 pages that explain the Christian account of life to a skeptical, distracted, yet still-interested society. No simple answers here to human complexities. Rather, Skeel discusses how these complexities point us toward Christ.
