FREE PUBLIC EVENT: Trinity Western University’s Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences and CSCA’s Vancouver chapter present an in-person / online book launch lecture by Dennis R. Venema (Professor of Biology, Trinity Western University) on his latest book, Biology, Religion, and Philosophy: An Introduction (Cambridge University Press, 2021). This event is funded by a Supporting Structures grant from Scholarship & Christianity In Oxford) and CSCA.
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Note: As per BC public health order, vaccination status will be verified at the door for the in-person event and proper face-coverings are required to be worn by all for the entire event. No food or drink will be permitted during the event. The only exception will be if one of our speakers requires water.
Evangelicals and Science Skepticism: Can Philosophy Help?
“The Gospel of John tells us that the Word who was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of glorious grace and truth, was also the Word through whom all things — all phenomena in nature, all capacities for fruitful interaction, all the kinds of beauty — were made. To honor that Word as he deserves to be honored, evangelicals must know both Christ and what he has made.”
— Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
With increasing science skepticism among evangelicals, the church faces pastoral and missional pressures that science alone is not capable of addressing. Despite current trends, an understanding of the deeper and richer history of Christianity, science, and epistemology may provide signposts to a better future. This talk will survey some areas of evangelical science skepticism and discuss how philosophy might help the church navigate these issues.
More about Biology, Religion, and Philosophy: An Introduction from the publisher:
The intersection of biology and religion has spawned exciting new areas of academic research that raise issues central to understanding our own humanity and the living world. In this comprehensive and accessible survey, Michael L. Peterson and Dennis R. Venema explain the engagement between biology and religion on issues related to origins, evolution, design, suffering and evil, progress and purpose, love, humanity, morality, ecology, and the nature of religion itself. Does life have a chemical origin – or must there be a divine spark? How can religious claims about divine goodness be reconciled with widespread predation, suffering, and death in the animal kingdom? Peterson and Venema develop a philosophical discussion around such controversial questions. The book situates each topic in its historical, scientific, and theological context, making it the perfect introduction for upper-level undergraduates, graduate students, scholars, and the interested general reader.
This evening will include a lecture from Dennis, and a response from Myron A. Penner (Professor of Philosophy, Trinity Western University).
Dennis R. Venema (Ph.D. University of British Columbia) is Professor of Biology at Trinity Western University and past Fellow of Biology for the BioLogos Foundation. He is co-author, with Scot McKnight, of Adam and the Genome: Reading Scripture After Genetic Science (Brazos, 2017). His research focuses on the genetics of pattern formation using the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. He also writes and speaks widely on the intersection of evolutionary biology and Christian faith.