God and Nature Summer 2020
letter from the editors |
|
By Sy Garte and Aniko Albert
Welcome to the Summer 2020 special issue of God and Nature, dedicated to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As Christians and scientists, ASA members have been highly engaged with both the scientific/medical and the philosophical/theological aspects of this unprecedented crisis in our lifetimes. The disease itself remains quite mysterious in many ways, especially regarding why there is such a wide diversity of reactions to this coronavirus. Even more disturbing from a social science perspective are some of the bizarre political and cultural reactions to the situation, including a refusal among some Americans to wear masks, a general downplaying of the seriousness of the pandemic by many national leaders, and the politicizing of the biomedical science concerning the disease and the appropriate response from many directions, especially in the US.
And, of course, we are all faced with so many disruptions of what we call normal life that stress, depression, anxiety, and fear are ever-present dangers. Those of us with high risk factors (over 60, with various underlying health conditions) try to maintain a safe way of life, which means a high degree of isolation and extreme caution when it comes to personal interactions or even touching surfaces outside our homes. Sometimes it seems we have suddenly found ourselves in the midst of one of those dystopian or apocalyptic science fiction films, but we cannot skip ahead to see how it ends.
Our world has moved online to an amazing extent. Our own church has Sunday worship as well as daily prayer services and several Bible study and book discussion groups via Zoom. We get to see and hear our church brothers and sisters from a distance, and we pray for those who are ill or in trouble, substituting smiles and waves for handshakes and hugs. And isn’t it fun to see everyone’s coffee mugs and zoom in on the titles on the bookshelves behind them?
Despite the stress, many of us have gotten sort of used to this way of life that a few months ago seemed surreal or intolerable. As many of us work from home and eschew restaurants, plays, sports events, church attendance, travel, and so on, we can only ask the same question asked by so many throughout history: How long, Lord?
Back in April, a long time ago (or maybe yesterday—our sense of time is one of those things that has radically changed), in an online meeting with Vicki Best and John Wood, we decided to try to devote part of this issue to contributions from ASA members about their experiences—biomedical, theological, or just ordinary life—with the COVID-19 pandemic. We sent a message out to the membership, and the response was gratifying—we received enough material to devote the entire issue to this topic. As a result, we postponed publication of several other submitted essays until the next edition.
In this issue, we present four full-length essays on COVID-19 and nine shorter reflections on living and working in these times. The full-length essays include two from veteran contributors Gareth Jones and Lucas Mix, both moving and penetrating analyses of what this disease is all about. Jonathan Warner and another veteran contributor, Oscar Gonzalez, present different takes on what the spread of this virus means in terms of creation care and God’s interaction with His people.
The nine reflections range from a picture of what’s its like to be the one in charge of calling patients’ families on a newly set up COVID ward (Mike Pyle MD) to how cooking can help bring a family together during this period of unusual stress (Kristine Johnson). Paul Arveson writes about using 3D printing to produce needed PPE; Brent Peterson speaks of how the closure of his lab led him into new fields of COVID-related research; Effat Zeidan reflects on the changes needed in mentoring in a virtual world of education; Paul Carr deals with theological implications for how we care for each other and the planet; Angie Cornwell gives us a fresh perspective on what “bucket list” dreams and goals should look like in these times; and Dana Oleskiewicz and Judith Nierman use images of dragonflies and squirrels, respectively, in their evocative pieces on living as Christ followers in the midst of these troubling times.
Given the the somber mood of most of the material here, we thought it would offer some relief to include a couple of lighter and spiritually uplifting photography pieces. Kristine Johnson’s photos of the Star Wars-themed recipes her family made is found between the full length essays and the reflections, and regular photoessay columnist Cheryl Bostrom gives us a soul-soothing look at nature through the simple yet wonderful plant we call grass.
Finally, columnist Mike Clifford, who has already addressed COVID-19 in the previous issue from Across the Pond, has contributed another insightful piece along with a marvelous poem.
We are both proud and humbled to be able to present this special issue with its rich content of passion, wisdom, and information to the ASA membership, and we hope that readers will share this magazine with others.
In closing, we would like to share a personal experience we had back in March, when lockdowns were first beginning and we were all just starting to change our lives and enter a new virtual reality. We have seen many virtual musical performances since then—they’re almost common now—but back then this video looked like a miracle to us: about fifty singers from Nashville, all performing remotely yet together, in perfect harmony, one of our favorite hymns: “It is well with my soul.”
We were so moved by this inspiring demonstration of the brotherhood, technical ingenuity, and sheer beauty of our people in facing adversity and rising above it to give glory to the Lord that we felt a surge of hope and joy that has since been confirmed in so many ways. Not the least of these are the wonderful, heartfelt, and generous works to be found in this issue of God and Nature. Blessings to all.
Sy Garte Ph.D. Biochemistry, is Editor-in-Chief of God and Nature. He has been a Professor of Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences at New York University, Rutgers University, and the University of Pittsburgh. He was also Associate Director at the Center for Scientific Review at the NIH. He is the author of five books, over 200 scientific papers, and articles in PSCF, God and Nature and The BioLogos Forum. Sy is Vice President of the Washington DC ASA Chapter, and a fellow of the ASA. He is the author of "The Works of His Hands: A Scientist's Journey from Atheism to Faith."
Aniko Albert grew up in Budapest, Hungary, and is a graduate of Eötvös Loránd University. A serial migrant, she taught English as a Foreign Language in her hometown, high-school Spanish in Kingston, Jamaica, and English and various subjects in Alameda, California. She is currently the Managing Editor of God and Nature, and Co-Chair of Rockville Help, an emergency assistance charitable organization in Rockville, Maryland.
Welcome to the Summer 2020 special issue of God and Nature, dedicated to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
As Christians and scientists, ASA members have been highly engaged with both the scientific/medical and the philosophical/theological aspects of this unprecedented crisis in our lifetimes. The disease itself remains quite mysterious in many ways, especially regarding why there is such a wide diversity of reactions to this coronavirus. Even more disturbing from a social science perspective are some of the bizarre political and cultural reactions to the situation, including a refusal among some Americans to wear masks, a general downplaying of the seriousness of the pandemic by many national leaders, and the politicizing of the biomedical science concerning the disease and the appropriate response from many directions, especially in the US.
And, of course, we are all faced with so many disruptions of what we call normal life that stress, depression, anxiety, and fear are ever-present dangers. Those of us with high risk factors (over 60, with various underlying health conditions) try to maintain a safe way of life, which means a high degree of isolation and extreme caution when it comes to personal interactions or even touching surfaces outside our homes. Sometimes it seems we have suddenly found ourselves in the midst of one of those dystopian or apocalyptic science fiction films, but we cannot skip ahead to see how it ends.
Our world has moved online to an amazing extent. Our own church has Sunday worship as well as daily prayer services and several Bible study and book discussion groups via Zoom. We get to see and hear our church brothers and sisters from a distance, and we pray for those who are ill or in trouble, substituting smiles and waves for handshakes and hugs. And isn’t it fun to see everyone’s coffee mugs and zoom in on the titles on the bookshelves behind them?
Despite the stress, many of us have gotten sort of used to this way of life that a few months ago seemed surreal or intolerable. As many of us work from home and eschew restaurants, plays, sports events, church attendance, travel, and so on, we can only ask the same question asked by so many throughout history: How long, Lord?
Back in April, a long time ago (or maybe yesterday—our sense of time is one of those things that has radically changed), in an online meeting with Vicki Best and John Wood, we decided to try to devote part of this issue to contributions from ASA members about their experiences—biomedical, theological, or just ordinary life—with the COVID-19 pandemic. We sent a message out to the membership, and the response was gratifying—we received enough material to devote the entire issue to this topic. As a result, we postponed publication of several other submitted essays until the next edition.
In this issue, we present four full-length essays on COVID-19 and nine shorter reflections on living and working in these times. The full-length essays include two from veteran contributors Gareth Jones and Lucas Mix, both moving and penetrating analyses of what this disease is all about. Jonathan Warner and another veteran contributor, Oscar Gonzalez, present different takes on what the spread of this virus means in terms of creation care and God’s interaction with His people.
The nine reflections range from a picture of what’s its like to be the one in charge of calling patients’ families on a newly set up COVID ward (Mike Pyle MD) to how cooking can help bring a family together during this period of unusual stress (Kristine Johnson). Paul Arveson writes about using 3D printing to produce needed PPE; Brent Peterson speaks of how the closure of his lab led him into new fields of COVID-related research; Effat Zeidan reflects on the changes needed in mentoring in a virtual world of education; Paul Carr deals with theological implications for how we care for each other and the planet; Angie Cornwell gives us a fresh perspective on what “bucket list” dreams and goals should look like in these times; and Dana Oleskiewicz and Judith Nierman use images of dragonflies and squirrels, respectively, in their evocative pieces on living as Christ followers in the midst of these troubling times.
Given the the somber mood of most of the material here, we thought it would offer some relief to include a couple of lighter and spiritually uplifting photography pieces. Kristine Johnson’s photos of the Star Wars-themed recipes her family made is found between the full length essays and the reflections, and regular photoessay columnist Cheryl Bostrom gives us a soul-soothing look at nature through the simple yet wonderful plant we call grass.
Finally, columnist Mike Clifford, who has already addressed COVID-19 in the previous issue from Across the Pond, has contributed another insightful piece along with a marvelous poem.
We are both proud and humbled to be able to present this special issue with its rich content of passion, wisdom, and information to the ASA membership, and we hope that readers will share this magazine with others.
In closing, we would like to share a personal experience we had back in March, when lockdowns were first beginning and we were all just starting to change our lives and enter a new virtual reality. We have seen many virtual musical performances since then—they’re almost common now—but back then this video looked like a miracle to us: about fifty singers from Nashville, all performing remotely yet together, in perfect harmony, one of our favorite hymns: “It is well with my soul.”
We were so moved by this inspiring demonstration of the brotherhood, technical ingenuity, and sheer beauty of our people in facing adversity and rising above it to give glory to the Lord that we felt a surge of hope and joy that has since been confirmed in so many ways. Not the least of these are the wonderful, heartfelt, and generous works to be found in this issue of God and Nature. Blessings to all.
Sy Garte Ph.D. Biochemistry, is Editor-in-Chief of God and Nature. He has been a Professor of Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences at New York University, Rutgers University, and the University of Pittsburgh. He was also Associate Director at the Center for Scientific Review at the NIH. He is the author of five books, over 200 scientific papers, and articles in PSCF, God and Nature and The BioLogos Forum. Sy is Vice President of the Washington DC ASA Chapter, and a fellow of the ASA. He is the author of "The Works of His Hands: A Scientist's Journey from Atheism to Faith."
Aniko Albert grew up in Budapest, Hungary, and is a graduate of Eötvös Loránd University. A serial migrant, she taught English as a Foreign Language in her hometown, high-school Spanish in Kingston, Jamaica, and English and various subjects in Alameda, California. She is currently the Managing Editor of God and Nature, and Co-Chair of Rockville Help, an emergency assistance charitable organization in Rockville, Maryland.