Vancouver area talks by Andrew Davison

TWU• Corpus Christi College • UBC

In November, Andrew Davison will give three talks in the Vancouver area.

One of the founders of the Cambridge Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe, Andrew Davison is the Starbridge Professor of Theology and Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge, and Fellow in Theology and Dean of Chapel at Corpus Christi College. He is the author of many books, including Participation in God: A Study in Christian Doctrine and Metaphysics and Astrobiology and Christian Doctrine: Exploring the Implications of Life in the Universe (both Cambridge University Press).

Talks 1 and 2 are the same; Talk 3 is different.

Trinity Western University

Until 1993, we could not be sure whether there were planets around any other stars. We now know that there are billions of billions. That science is new, but thinking about what life beyond Earth would mean for Christianity is not, with more or less continual theological interest stretching back to the middle of the fifteenth century. In this talk, Professor Davison will introduce the science of astrobiology, tell some of that Christian theological story, and ask what the implications of other life in the universe would be for some of the main pillars of the faith, including creation, revelation, Christology, and sin and salvation.

Co-sponsored by Trinity Western University (Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences) and the Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation

Corpus Christi College

Until 1993, we could not be sure whether there were planets around any other stars. We now know that there are billions of billions. That science is new, but thinking about what life beyond Earth would mean for Christianity is not, with more or less continual theological interest stretching back to the middle of the fifteenth century. In this talk, Professor Davison will introduce the science of astrobiology, tell some of that Christian theological story, and ask what the implications of other life in the universe would be for some of the main pillars of the faith, including creation, revelation, Christology, and sin and salvation.

Co-sponsored by Corpus Christi College, Society of Catholic Scientists (Vancouver chapter), Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation

University of British Columbia

Widespread scientific confidence in there being a natural origin of life, rather than a supernatural one, is a latecomer in the history of thought, held back as much by scientific considerations as by belief that this is more the purview of religion. Yet, over the course of the past century, a natural origin has become the default position. Surprisingly little theological thought has been given to that, with the mainstream churches taking a natural origin for granted, while some more conservative traditions hold out against the possibility. In this talk, Professor Davison will sketch this history, and argue that while Christian theology can take a natural origin to life in its stride, that deserves more attention than it often gets.

Co-sponsored by the UBC Graduate and Faculty Christian Forum and the Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation