God & Nature Magazine
  • 2025-#1 Issue
    • Letter from Editors 2025-1
    • Schrotenboer, Lying Dormant
    • Strauss, God Laughs & Smiles
    • Carr, Creation Stories
    • King, Falleness Physical World
    • Colon, A Hike
    • Thuraisingham, Identity
    • Bostrom 251 Every 6 Steps
    • Clifford 251, Just Starting Out
    • Johnson 251
    • Eyte, Touch
    • Budek-Schmeisser, Quitting
  • 2024-#4 (Fall) Issue
    • Letter from the Editors F24
    • Madison, 5 Smooth Stones
    • Dickenson, Genesis & Evolution
    • Berg, Is Genesis History?
    • Pinkham, Cells and Organs
    • Mitchell, Questions for AI
    • Taskinen, Alexander Grothendieck
    • Bostrom, On Camera F24
    • Clifford, Across the Pond F24
    • Johnson, Food for the Soul F24
    • Strand, Morning Prayer
    • Budek-Schmeisser, Sonrise
  • 2024-#3 (Summer) Issue
    • Letter from Editors Summer 24
    • Horst, Death through Adam
    • Bradley, Game Theory & Theology
    • Defoe, Science and Faith
    • Pickett, Wonder & Miracle
    • Touryan Wonder of Math
    • Wright, In The Beginning, God
    • Clifford Sum24
    • Johnson,, Summer 24
    • Eyte, Kaleidoscope
    • Budek-Schmeisser Bohemian Gravity
  • Past Issues
    • Spring 2024 Issue >
      • Editor's Letter Spring 2024
      • Miller, Sense of Place
      • Quick, Georg Cantor
      • Niemeyer, Research to Thriller
      • Carpenter, Creationism Inter-Textual
      • Defoe, Wittenberg Circle
      • Madison, Buttercups
      • Bostrom, Birds' Eye View
      • Clifford, What's the Use
      • Budek-Schmeisser, The Choice
      • Anderson, Van Gogh's Sunflowers
      • Lange, Summer Meadow
    • Winter 2024 Issue >
      • Garte and Albert W24
      • Fagunwa, Origen: Black Scientist
      • Gonzalez, Being Human
      • Defoe, A Pastor/s Journey
      • Curry, Birds of New Zealand
      • Lin, Environmental Problems
      • Garte, Genetics of Race
      • Pohl, Third Culture in Church
      • Bostrom, Mentors
      • Clifford, Hidden Figures
      • Albert; Poem. A Goldfish Sings a Tentative Psalm
      • Ardern Contact Points
    • Fall 2023 Issue >
      • Letter from Editors Fall 23
      • Owen, Mystery of the Trinity
      • Albert, Denialsim: A Case Study
      • King, Elements in the Bible
      • Carpenter, When was Day One?
      • Spaulding, Guided Differentiation
      • Greuel, Vision for the ACB
      • Bostrom, Lady Bugs
      • Clifford, Small Things
      • Gentleman, 30/80 Anno Domini
    • Summer 2023 Issue >
      • Letter from Editors Summer 23
      • Touryan, Feathers
      • Stenerson, Horseshoe Crabs
      • Hull, Evolving Scotus
      • Silva, Younger Ages
      • Williams, Dense Obscurity
      • Bostrom, Water Cries
      • Clifford, To Church Repair
      • Craig, Heavenly Lights
      • Valerius, Nothing to Something
      • Pinkham, Wisedrop
    • Spring 2023 Issue >
      • Letter from Editors Spring 2023
      • Rummo Lewis and the Cross
      • Pagan Biodiversity
      • Funck Assembly Theory and Life
      • Williams Thus Far
      • Mitchell Making Mistakes
      • Phillippy Living in Paradox
      • Bostrom Rain Shadow
      • Clifford Sustainable Cooking
      • Budek-Schmeisser, Completion
    • Winter 2023 Issue >
      • Letter From the Editors
      • Braden, A Modern Bestiary
      • Garte, Assembly Theory
      • Defoe, The Heavens Declare
      • Greenberg, Bonding
      • Barrigar, God's Big Story
      • Phillippy, Overcoming Paradox
      • Bostrom, Near
      • Clifford, Hidden Figures
    • Fall 2022 Issue >
      • Letter Fall22
      • Curry, Attentiveness
      • Russo, Deconstruction
      • Touryan, Four Forces
      • Mittchell, Three Words
      • Philippy, Math Theology Fall 22
      • Bostrom, Goodbyes
      • Clifford FAll 22
      • Linsley, Mystic Exile
      • Hall, A Call to Arms
    • Summer 2022 Issue >
      • Letter Summer 2022
      • Engelking, Neurotheology
      • Kelley, Environmentalism
      • Garte, Sandpipers
      • Madison, Cultivating Contentment
      • Collins, Answers on Evolution
      • Touryan, Tentmakers
      • Oord, Ever-Creative God
      • Bostrom, Mentors
      • Clifford, Carbon and Sin
      • Campbell, Just, In Time
    • Spring 2022 Issue >
      • Letter from the Editors Spring 2022
      • Curry, Knowldege and Truth
      • Pinkham, On a Car Emblem
      • Murray, Candling the Egg
      • Carr, Music, Math, Religion
      • Smith, Wonder and Longing
      • Linsky, Cyber Service
      • Bostrom, Buteo
      • Obi, Coincidences
    • Winter 2022 Issue >
      • Garte &Albert Letter Winter 2022
      • Thuraisingham Pondering Invisible
      • Cornwell Mediations from Molecular Biologist
      • Fagunwa Blsck Scientist & Church Father
      • Garte A Dialogue
      • Gonzalez Being Human
      • Klein Naturalist in Two Worlds
      • Bostrom Creeds
      • Clifford Winter 2022
      • Ardern Contact Points
      • Cooper Imagine No Christmas
    • Fall 2021 Issue >
      • Garte &Albert Letter Fall2021
      • Johnson, God Winks
      • Cottraux, Ancient Aliens
      • Arveson, Anti-Vax Email
      • Gammon, Evolutionary Insights
      • Mitchell, No One Told Me
      • Rummo, Faith in the Invisible
      • Bostrom, Fall Furrows
      • Lemcio, A Franciscan Weekend
      • Funk, Plant Haiku
      • Robinson & Lim, Who is God?
    • Summer 2021 Issue >
      • Garte &Albert Letter Sum2021
      • Warren, Immunization and Salvation
      • Defoe, Bernard Ramm
      • Cornwell Canine to Divine
      • Mix, Running with Nature
      • Pinkham, Scuba Divers
      • Cao, Physics and Bible
      • Bostrom, Sugar Birds
      • Clifford Sum21
      • Oostema, Evolution of Faith
      • Hall, Generation upon Generation
    • Spring 2021 Issue >
      • Garte and Albert Letter Spring 2021
      • Loikanen, Divine Action
      • Madison, Humus and Humility
      • Lappin, Puddles and Persons
      • Cornwell, God's GPS
      • Touryan, Contolled Fusion
      • Russo, Vaccine and Salvation
      • Bostrom, Short-eared Owl
      • Redkoles, Expect Unexpected
      • Clifford, Boring
      • McFarland, Imposition of Carbon
      • Lemcio, Manis Mastodon
    • Winter 2021 Issue >
      • Winter 2021 Contents >
        • Garte and Albert Letter from the Editors
        • Burnett How iit All Started
        • Isaac Director's Corner
        • Ruppel Herrington, First Editor
        • Burnett Origin of Lire
        • Hearn Balance
        • Middleton Natural Theology
        • Story Antibodies and Randomness
        • Lamoureux I Sleep a Lot
        • Warren Overloaded Brains
        • Isaac Knowledge of Information
        • Bancewicz Wonder and Zebrafish
        • Oord Photoessay
        • Albert Hope in Winter
        • Clifford Storytelling & Drama in Teaching
        • Pohl The Column (Poetry)
    • Fall 2020 Issue >
      • Letter from Editors
      • Pohl, Panpsychism and Microbiome
      • Reyes, Communion During Loss
      • Griffin, Hands On
      • Azarvan, Science and Limits
      • Cornwell, Search Engines for God
      • Thuraisingham, Duality of Humans and Particles
      • Touryan, Prayers of Petition
      • George, Perfect Vision
      • Declare the Glory, Green: Awe
      • Bostrom Purpose
      • Oord, Theological Photoessay
      • Clifford, Food, Water, Waste
    • Summer 2020 Issue >
      • Summer 2020 Contents >
        • Editors Letter Summer2020
        • Jones, Science Faith Duopoly
        • Mix, God and the Virus
        • Warner, COVID-19 and Goodness of Creation
        • Gonzalez, Pandemic and Groaning of Creation
        • Johnson, Star Wars Food
        • Pyle, It Takes a (Medical ) Village
        • Arveson, Use for 3D Printers
        • Peterson, Pandemic and Research
        • Zeidan, Mentorship Online
        • Oleskeiwicz, Dragonfly on Water
        • Carr, COVID-19 and Climate Change
        • Nierrman, The Squirrel
        • Cornwell, COVIS-19 Bucket List
        • Bostrom, Grass Thoughts
        • Clifford, Summ20 Conflict
    • Spring 2020 Issue >
      • Letter from the Editors SP20
      • AD
      • Murphy, Nature and Calvary
      • Dickin, The Flood and Genesis 1
      • Gruenberg, Empiricism and Christian Spirituality
      • Ungureanu, Science, Religion, Protestant Tradition
      • Russo, How does it End?
      • Siegrist, Problems with Materialism
      • Ohlman, 20/20 in 2020
      • Warren, Rock Frogs
      • Edwards, Sanctuary
      • Bostrom, Clothed
      • Clifford, The Lent of Lockdown Spring 2020
      • Hall, 1:30 AM on a Tuesday (Poem)
    • Winter 2020 Issue >
      • Letter from the Editor Winter 2020
      • AD
      • Wimberly Inheritance, Meaning and Code
      • Defoe; A Pastor's Journey
      • Mix The Ends of the World
      • Pevarnik Limits of Physics
      • Greenberg "Godly" Science
      • Pinkham Teleological Thinking
      • Alexanian How to Witness
      • "Declare the Glory" Neal, Cross, Gait
      • Clifford "Across the Pond" Winter 2020
      • Oord "Theological Photoessays" Winter 2020
      • Salviander The Objective Man (Poem)
      • Ohlman Orphan of the Universe (Poem)
      • Lemcio Grey's Anatomy (Poem)
    • Fall 2019 Issue >
      • Letter from the Editor Fall 2019
      • Phillippy Mathematics and God
      • Pohl & Thoelen Databases
      • Garte Limits of Science
      • Mitroka Healthy Lifestyle
      • Sigmon Science and Revelation
      • Mariani Compatibility Creation and Evolution
      • Anders Theistic Evolution
      • Touryan Are we alone
      • Johnson Purpose and Source
      • Declare the Glory Curry, Smith, Best
      • Clifford "Across the Pond" Fall 19
      • Oord "Theological Photoessays Fall 19
      • Eyte Cross Cascade "Poem"
    • Summer 2019 Issue >
      • Letter from the Editor Summer 2019
      • Arveson Is There a “Theory of Everything”
      • Anderson The History and Philosophy of Science and Faith
      • Tolsma Science in Church
      • Salviander Black Holes and Atheism
      • Johnson Practical Problems for Literal Adam
      • Hall God and the Assumptions of Scientific Research
      • Linsky Overcoming Misconceptions
      • Wilder Sanctity of Creation
      • Clifford "Across the Pond" Summer19
      • Oord "Theological Photoessays" Summer 2019
      • Flaig Time and Me (Poem)
    • Spring 2019: Creation Care and Environment >
      • Letter from the Editor Spring 2019
      • Bancewicz;Sustainability Pledge: Why the Environment is My Problem
      • Lin; Environmental Problems as a Place for Compromise and Dialogue
      • Garvey; Where the Fall Really Lies
      • Lewis; Solar-Powered Life: Providing Food, Oxygen and Protection
      • Garte; Time and Human Impact on the Environment
      • Mays; Reforming Science Textbooks
      • Carr; Cosmic Energy First, Then Matter: A Spiritual Ethic
      • Kincanon; The Young Earthers and Leibniz
      • Declare the Glory Gauger
      • Clifford "Across the Pond" Spring 2019
      • Oord; Photoessay. Theological Photo Essays
      • Rivera; Photoessay. Digital Artwork: Images of Jesus
      • Albert; Poem. A Goldfish Sings a Tentative Psalm
      • Armstrong; Poem Holy Sonnet XI
    • Winter 2019: Education and Outreach 2 >
      • Letter from the Editor, Winter 2009
      • Applegate; Project Under Construction: Faith Integration Resource for High School Biology
      • LaBelle; Sidewalk Astronomy Evangelism - Taking it to the Streets!
      • Reed; Speaking to the Heart and Mind of Students about Evolution and Creation
      • Marcus; The Conflict Model
      • Rivera; The Implicit Assumptions behind Hitchen's Razor
      • Russo; Redeeming Bias in Discussion of Science and Faith
      • Fischer; Origins, Genesis and Adam
      • Clifford Column, Winter 2019
      • Gait; Photoessay - Stripes
      • Lee; Poem. In Chaos and Nothingness
    • Fall 2018: Education and Outreach 1 >
      • Letter from the Editor Fall 2018
      • Glaze; A Walk within Two Worlds: Faith, Science, and Evolution Advocacy
      • Johnson; Teaching the Controversy in Texas
      • Cootsona; Mere Christianity, Mainstream Science and Emerging Adults
      • Kindstedt; Creating a Third Culture
      • Zeidan; An Effective Way to Integrate Supportive Communication and Christian Belief into Virtual Classrooms
      • Marshall; A New Model of Causation
      • McClure; Nothing in the Bible Makes Sense Except in the Light of Grace
      • Frank; Christianity, Science and Teamwork
      • Assad/Reyes; Interview. Discovering a Renewed Sense of Awe and Wonder about God
      • Clifford Column Fall 2018
      • Menninga; Photoessay. What do These Stones Mean?
    • Summer 2018: Judgment and Peer Review >
      • Letter from the Editors Summer 2018
      • Jones; Peer Review: Avoiding Judgmentalism
      • Arnold; Discovering Spiritual Information Through Peer-Reviewed Science
      • Peterson; Peering at Double-Blind Peer Review
      • Smith; A Philosophical Influence from the Scientific Revolution on Scientific Judgment
      • Mix; The Poetry of Probability
      • Mobley; Randomness vs. the Providence of God?
      • Gordon; Chances are Good: Design and Chance in Genesis 1
      • Siegrist; But the Multiverse...!
      • Reyes; The Community Table: Interview with Marianne Johnson
      • Clifford Column Summer 2018
      • Hill; Poem. Synthesis
      • Lemcio; Poem. I Could See Where This was Going
      • Oord: Photoessay
    • Spring 2018: Chance & Design >
      • Letter from the Editors
      • Bishop; God, Love and Chance
      • Bonham; Quantum Reflections
      • Spaulding; God as Designer
      • Garte; Teleology in Evolution
      • Hall; God, Chance and Buridan's Ox
      • Pohl; Why We Need a Third Culture in Church
      • Dorman; Liturgical Brain
      • Warren; Galapagos
      • Blanchard; On Christian Science
      • Touryan; The Cross as a Cosmic Filter
    • Winter 2018: Race & Inheritance >
      • A Note from the Editors
      • Essay: “Some Pastoral Considerations of CRISPR CAS 9 Gene Editing” by Mario A Russo
      • Essay: “The Genetics and Theology of Race” by Sy Garte
      • Essay: "Grieve the Segregation of Science" by S. Joshua Swamidass
      • Poem: "Cardboard Man" by Ciara Reyes
      • Featured Interview: “Love Is Risk” with Carolyn Finney
      • Essay & Poem: “Abortion Languages: Love, fear, confusion and loss”
      • Essay: "Why the Church Needs Intersectional Feminism" by Emily Herrington
      • Essay: “Elected to Salvation (and other things?)” by Bill Leonard
      • Essay: “Local Colour: A reflection on family, history, and heritage” by Mike Clifford
      • Interview: Corina Newsome, environmentalist and animal keeper
      • Essay: “Spiritual Kin Selection” by Steve Roels
      • Photo Essay: "Trouble in Paradise: Plastic pollution in the Bahamas" by Grace Swing & Robert D Sluka
      • Essay: “Race & Inheritance: Personal reflections and annotations” by Walt Hearn
      • Interview: Carla Ramos, molecular biologist
      • Clifford Column; Discipine Hopping
      • Lemcio; Waves
      • Harris Artwork
      • Hearn; Eulogy - Beyond Science,
    • Summer 17: Cosmology & Theology >
      • Letter from the Editors: Summer 2017
      • Essay: "The News from My Home Galaxy" by Walt Hearn
      • Interview: "Deep Incarnation & the Cosmos: A Conversation with Niels Henrik Gregersen" by Ciara Reyes & Niels Henrik Gregersen
      • Photo Essay: "Breath & Dust" by Kathleen Eady
      • Essay: "Why the Eagle Nebula Just Doesn’t Do It For Me" by Mike Clifford
      • Essay: "The Cosmos in My Hand" by Lucas Mix
      • Interview: “What is Life? On Earth and Beyond” with Andreas Losch
      • Artwork by Missy Pellone
      • Essay: "When God & Science Hide Reality" by Davis Woodworth
      • Essay: "​In Search of Wonder: A Reflection on Reconciling Medieval and Modern Cosmology" by Monica Bennett
      • Essay: "If Christianity and Cosmology Are in Conflict, Whose Side Is Philosophy on?" by Vaughan Rees
    • Winter/Spring 17: "Flesh & Blood" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Winter/Spring 2017
      • Essay: "Probiotics, Prebiotics, Synbiotics: On microbiomes and the meaning of life" by John F. Pohl
      • Essay: "With All Your Mind" by Paul S. Kindsedt
      • Essay: "The Stuff of Life" by Mike Clifford
      • Essay: "Experiencing God’s Love in a Secular Society: A Christian experience with socialized medicine" by Alison Noble
      • Poem: "The Problem with Pain" by Eugne E. Lemcio
      • Essay: "Thoughts of Death in a Cruel World: Job’s suicidal ideation and the “right” Christian response to depression" by Jennifer Michael Hecht and Emily Herrington
      • Essay: "Tissues at Issue" by Walt Hearn
      • Essay: "The Dilemma of Modern Christianity" by Tony Mitchell
      • Poem: "Light" by Billie Holladay Skelley
      • Essay: "Some Theological Implications of Science: Revisiting the Ant" by Mario A. Russo
    • Summer/Fall 16: "Stewardship of Words" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Summer 2016
      • Levity: "Walt Being Walt: Excerpts from the ASA newsletter" by Walt Hearn (compiled by Jack Haas & Emily Ruppel)
      • Poem: "A Prayer Tribute to Walt and Ginny Hearn" by Paul Fayter
      • Essay: "Authentic Science & Authentic Christian Faith" by Paul Arveson
      • Essay: "On Modern-Day Saints & Epistles" by Emily Ruppel
      • Essay: "​Mathematics and the Religious Impulse" by Karl Giberson
      • Poem: "The Wasteful Gene" by Eugne E. Lemcio
      • Three Poems by Dan Eumurian
      • Excerpts from: "The Dictionary of Daily Life in Biblical and Post-Biblical Antiquity" by Edwin Yamauchi
      • Essay: "A Comprehensible Universe: The blessing from God that makes science possible" by Bob Kaita
      • Poem: "The Epistolarian" by Emily Ruppel
    • Spring 16: "Brain Science" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Spring 2016
      • Essay: "Ancient Q, Modern A (?)" by Walt Hearn
      • Essay: "Souls, Brains and People: Who or what are we?" by Gareth D. Jones
      • Essay: "A Functional Theology of Psychopathology" by Edgar Paul Herrington IV
      • Three Poems by Richard Gillum
      • Essay: "Thoughts of Death in an Unkind World: Job’s suicidal ideation and the “right” Christian response to depression" by Jennifer Michael Hecht
      • Short Story: "Malefic" by Jeffrey Allen Mays
      • Essay: "An Engineer Visits a Mindfulness Workshop" by Mike Clifford
      • Essay: "Traces of Trauma in the Body of Christ: The case of The Place of Refuge" by Elizabeth Hernandez
      • Essay: "Did God ‘Create’ Science? Christianity and the uniqueness of the human brain" by William H. Church
    • Winter 16: "Quantum Physics/Epigenetics" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Winter 2016
      • Essay: "God and the New Evolutionary Biology" by Sy Garte
      • Essay: "Quantum Mechanics and the Question of Divine Knowledge" by Stephen J. Robinson
      • Essay: "Creation Out of... Physics?" by Joshua Scott
      • Essay: "Of Books and Bosons" by Mike Clifford
      • Essay: "Words, Words, Words" by Walt Hearn
      • Poem: "Encountering Ernst Haeckel’s 'Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny'" by Eugene Lemcio
      • Essay: "The Extended Evolutionary Synthesis: New conversations and theological questions at the horizons of modern science" by Michael Burdett
      • Poem: "The Difference" by Emily Ruppel
      • Essay: "Maupertuis's Ghost: Finding God in 'action'" by Colin C. Campbell
    • Fall 15: "Technology" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Fall 2015
      • Essay: "‘Braving the New World (Wide Web): Mapping Theological Response to Media" by Justin A. Bailey
      • Poem: "Entropy and Enthalpy" by Glenn R. McGlaughlin
      • Essay: "‘How Proactive Should Christians Be in Learning about Emerging Biomedical Technologies?" by D. Gareth Jones
      • Essay: "‘Can We Fix It? Erm..." by Mike Clifford
      • Poem: "To My Dear Parents" by Sarah Ruden
      • Essay: "‘Which Side, Lord?" by Walt Hearn
      • Poem: "The Column" by John F. Pohl
      • Essay: "‘Technology and the Church" by Derek Schuurman
      • Poem: "On the Shores of Oroumieh" by Emily Ruppel
      • Essay: "‘Technology as Discipline" by Johnny Wei-Bing Lin
    • Summer 15: "Doubt" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Summer 2015
      • Essay: "‘The Road Not Taken’: A personal reflection on careers, counterfactuals and callings" by Tim Middleton
      • Essay: "The Gift of Doubt in My Life" by Rev. Paul Herrington
      • Poem: "The Marsh Birds" by Sarah Ruden
      • Essay: "On St Brendan and the Pendulum of Postgraduate Study" by Mike Clifford
      • Essay: "Doubt: The Invisible Conversation" by Karl W. Giberson
      • Essay: "Doubt, Faith, and Crevasses on My Mind" by Peter M. J. Hess
      • Poem: "Magdalene" by Leonore Wilson
      • Essay: "Breaking Barriers, Ministering in Relationships, and Exemplifying the Gospel" by Stephen Contakes, et al.
      • Poem: "On the Extinction of Matter Near a Black Hole" by Ruth Hoppin
      • Essay: "Sometimes I Doubt..." by Walt Hearn
      • Essay: "The Risks of Love and Life's Big Questions" by Thomas Jay Oord
    • Spring 15: "Animals/Imago Dei" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Spring 2015
      • Essay: "50 Years of Wilderness: a Christian perspective" by Peter van der Burgt
      • Essay: "All Creatures Great and Small " by Walt Hearn
      • Essay: "Let There Be Less: A Christian musing on nature, faith, and farmers’ markets" by Emily Ruppel
      • Poem: "The New Plant and Animal Kingdoms" by Steve Roels
      • Essay: "Of Wonder and Zebrafish" by Ruth Bancewicz
      • Essay: "The Lion, the Spider and the Image of God" by Mike Clifford
      • Cat Poem 1: "Lullaby for Stomp the Cat" by Sarah Ruden
      • Cat Poem 2: "Letting the Dog In" by Emily Ruppel
      • Cat Poem 3: "Reading on the Couch" by Carol Ruppel
      • Essay: "Angry Discussions: A Wrong Way to Stand for Creation Care or Science Advocacy " by Oscar Gonzalez
      • Essay: "Ethical Eating on a Catholic Campus: Some thoughts from a student of environmental studies" by Grace Mican
    • Winter 15: "Information" >
      • Letter from the Editor: Winter 2015
      • Essay: "What Does it Mean to Know?" by Mark Shelhamer
      • Essay: "Knowledge of Information" by Randy Isaac
      • Photo Essay: "Being Here" by Carol Ruppel
      • Essay: "Truth Anyone?" by Walt Hearn
      • Poem: "Transformation" by Ruth Hoppin
      • Interview: "Unpacking Chance, Providence, and the Abraham's Dice Conference" by Olivia Peterson
      • Essay: "On Knowledge and Information–Tales from an English childhood" by Mike Clifford
      • Poem: "Space Travel" by Ruth Hoppin
      • Essay: "Resuming the Science/Faith Conversation" by Jamin Hubner
    • Archives >
      • Past Contributors
      • Fall 14: "History of Science & Christianity" >
        • Letter from the Editor: Fall 2014
        • Essay: "Orchids: Why the founders of modern science cultivated virtue" by Ruth Bancewicz
        • Essay: "Science Falsely So Called: Fundamentalism and Science" by Edward B. Davis
        • Essay: "The Other 'Atom' in Christianity and Science" by Karissa D Carlson
        • Poem: "The Hermit" by Ciara C. Reyes
        • Essay: "Players" by Walt Hearn
        • Essay: "Using Storytelling and Drama in Engineering Lectures" by Mike Clifford
        • Essay: "Is There Anything Historical About Adam and Eve?" by Mike Beidler
        • Essay: "Finding Harmony in Controversy: The early years of the ASA" by Terry Gray and Emily Ruppel
        • Levity: "Fish n' Chips" by Mike Arnold
        • Essay: "Stories" by Walt Hearn
      • Summer 14: "Christian Women in Science" >
        • Letter from the Editor: Summer 2014
        • Essay: "I Really Did That Work: A brief survey of notable Christian Women in Science" by Lynn Billman
        • Essay: "He + She = We" by Walt Hearn
        • Photo Essay: "The Faces of Nature" by Susan Limone
        • Essay: "On Grass that Withers: Overloaded brains and spiritual discernment" by Janet Warren
        • Interview: "Ancient Humans and Modern Choices" with Briana Pobiner
        • Essay: "Crystallographer, Quaker, Pacifist, & Trailblazing Woman of Science: Kathleen Lonsdale’s Christian Life 'Lived Experimentally'” by Kylie Miller and Stephen M. Contakes
        • Artwork: "Eden, Zion" by Harold Sikkema
        • Essay: "Asking the Right Question" by Dorothy Boorse
        • Interview: "Not So Dry Bones" with Mary Schweitzer
        • Essay: "Is Being a Mother and a Scientist Worth It?" by Abby Hodges
        • Essay: "Playing God: A theological reflection on medicine, divine action, and personhood" by Ann Pederson
        • Column: Great Gravity! "BNL 1976 – 2000 (Part 1)"
      • Spring 14: "G&N: The 2-year tour" >
        • Letter from the Editor: Spring 2014
        • Essay: "Political Science?" by Walt Hearn
        • Comic: "Education"
        • Essay: "Finding Hominids with Kamoya Kimeu" by Fred Heeren
        • Poem: "Ziggurat (and Helix)" by Amy Chai
        • Creative Nonfiction: "One Summer" by Dave Harrity
        • Essay: "Do the Heavens Declare the Glory of God?" by Owen Gingerich
        • Comic: "Miracle Mechanics" by Emily Ruppel
        • Essay: "I Sleep A Lot" by Denis O. Lamoureux
        • Poem: "Angels and RNA" by Walt Hearn
        • Comic: "Seminary"
        • Essay: "The Elegance of Antibodies" by Craig M. Story
        • Photo Essay: "Conversing with Nature" by Thomas Jay Oord
        • Essay: "Under the Tutelage of Trees: Arboreal Lessons on Virtue, Kinship, and Integrity" by Peter M. J. Hess
        • Comic: "Humor"
        • Essay: "Science and Scientism in Biology" by Sy Garte
        • Interview: "Biopsychology and Faith" with Heather Looy
      • Winter 14: "Health & Medicine" >
        • Letter from the Editor: Winter 2014
        • Poem: I Have a Piece of Cow in My Heart
        • Essay: Acts of God: Are all mutations random?
        • Column: Beyond Science
        • Poem: Psalm 1859
        • Essay: The Tao of Departing
        • Essay: The Tao of Departing p 2
        • Photo Essay: Walking in Winter
        • Essay: A Christian Doctor on Evolution, Faith, and Suffering
        • Opinion: Making Friends with Frankencorn
        • Poem: Chiaroscuro
        • Interview: "Biopsychology and Faith" with Heather Looy
        • Essay: "The Elegance of Antibodies"
        • Artwork: "Helix" by Harold Sikkema
        • Column: Great Gravity! "Dissertations and Revelations"
      • Fall 13: "Environmentalism" >
        • Letter from the Editor: Fall 2013
        • Poem: Time
        • Essay: Is there Hope for the Ocean?
        • Artwork: "Earthly Tent" by Harold Sikkema
        • Essay: What is Responsible Eating?
        • Essay: Are We Too Obsessed with Food?
        • Poem: Conversation on Creation
        • Essay: Creation Care from the Perspective of a Conservation Geneticist
        • Essay: Mobilizing Scientists for Environmental Missions
        • Poem: Paleocene Spring
        • Interview: Dorothy Boorse
        • Column: Beyond Science
        • Essay: New Testament Motivation for Environmental Stewardship
        • Poem: Stone of House
        • Column: Great Gravity! "Running the Data"
      • Summer 13: "Science & Creativity" >
        • Column: Beyond Science
        • Letter from the Editor: Summer 2013
        • Column: Faith on the Field
        • Poem: Trying Not to Be Too Sunny
        • Comic: "Work in Progress"
        • Essay: Do the Heavens Declare the Glory of God?
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Finding Harmony in Controversy: The early years of the ASA

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Coffee hour at last summer's annual meeting (Black Hills Photography Co.)
by Terry Gray and Emily Ruppel

The American Scientific Affiliation is one of the largest and oldest groups of academics committed to understanding the relationship between science and faith, and today its members continue to make an impact on public understanding of science and religion—and of course, on each other’s own beliefs and views. While society will have its own history of the oft-embattled affairs of Christians and scientists, including moments of public awareness and participation such as seminal debates, court battles, political movements, etc., we feel it is also important to mark and remember the discursive experiences of ASA members since its creation in 1941. By noting the climate surrounding major times of transition and institutional conflict, or how and when certain systems of belief came to dominate or be rejected by members, we construct a historical geography for how the scholars arguably most invested in reconciling science and faith—those working scientists who are also committed Christians—adjusted their religious views as the landscape of scientific understanding and public knowledge shifted around (or because of) them.

The ASA began as an organization believing that there was no ultimate conflict between science and scripture. The founding fathers of the ASA were all practicing scientists–John P. Van Haitsma, a biologist from Calvin College, Peter W. Stoner, a mathematician/astronomer from Westmont College, Russell D. Sturgis, a chemist from Ursinus College, Irving Cowperthwaite, a chemist at the Thompson Wire Company, and F. Alton Everest, an electrical engineer from Oregon State University and the Moody Institute of Science. The date of the organizing meeting was September 2-5,1941.

An early project was the writing of what ultimately became Modern Science and Christian Faith (1948, 1950). This book gave overviews of then-current scholarship in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, sociology, geology, archeology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, looking at the scientific insights of each field as well as their implications for biblical interpretation and authority; it also included a bibliography to enable pursuit of more study.

This early in the ASA the value of thoroughly discussing difficulties and not necessarily promoting a particular point of view is evident. "Students are intelligent and fully capable of arriving at constructive conclusions if full data are presented. The dangerous, insidious conviction is that based on an incomplete knowledge of the problem." The commitment to rigorous science was in the ASA from the beginning. "The statements and representations...must be able to meet the scrutiny of men unfriendly to the cause of Christ and rise unscathed. Error or misrepresentations of science would seriously impair the usefulness of the book."

The chapters on astronomy and geology recognize the immense age of the universe and the results of radiometric dating to establish that age. However, the chapter on geology promotes a day-age type harmonization. One of the important geological observations listed is the absence of transitional forms—here the authors seemed to want to distance themselves from theistic evolution as then advocated, preferring to uphold the authority of the Bible.

They write, "What the Bible does not say about science is just as important as what it does say. Many of the ancient non-biblical writings are steeped with scientific references which have proved to be incorrect. For example, the elements were often listed as air, fire, and water in early writings. But when the word ‘elements’ is used in Scripture, as in II Peter 3:10, ‘and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,’ there is no scientific error. In fact, this verse has taken on new meaning since the discovery of atomic energy. Thus, the references to science in the Scriptures are remarkably accurate."

The chapter on Chemistry by R. Laird Harris conveys a similar attitude: “In conclusion we may say that the references to chemistry in the Bible are few but are scientifically and historically accurate as we would expect in a book inspired of God. The Bible is not a textbook of science; its main message is one of salvation and spiritual life. But its science is correct as far as it is referred and the absence of chemical errors in the Bible only confirms our faith in the Holy Record.”

The chapter on biology by Lammerts and Trinkle is firmly anti-evolutionary. It includes a review of the latest genetics research, although is clearly prior to the modern molecular biology era which came to the fore in the decade after the publication of Modern Science and Christian Faith.

Interestingly, both Lammerts and Trinkle were part of the group of ten ASA members who started the Creation Research Society (CRS) in 1963. Apparently, they were not convinced of the great age of the earth and universe or the viability of the day-age view of Genesis 1 like their fellow members.

In many respects Modern Science and Christian Faith pits evolution and creation against each other, and effort is taken to show that evolution is speculative and not rooted in the facts of science. In other ways many of the approaches raised are still on the table for ASA members. One of the most remarkable characteristics is the authors' willingness to grapple with the scientific data. In many ways it is this commitment to engage that ultimately transformed the ASA from its anti-evolutionary roots to its present openness to evolution as a biological theory.

Two key developments occurred during the first decade of the ASA. The first was the involvement of J. Laurence Kulp. Kulp was a physical chemist/geochemist whose research was in the area of radiometric dating. He had a Ph.D. (1945) and was a professor of geochemistry at Columbia University (1947-1965) when he was also active in the ASA.

At the third annual meeting, held at Calvin College, biologist Edwin Y. Monsma presented a paper entitled “Some Presuppositions in Evolutionary Thinking.”

Here Monsma stated: “The evolutionist believes: 1) That our knowledge of natural phenomena comes from nature alone, 2) That the fundamental similarities among living organisms can be explained only on a basis of a relationship of descent. 3) That the variations or changes that are observed in living organisms are unlimited in their scope, and 4) That the causes of such changes are operative today in the same way they have always been in the past.

Monsma emphasized the “kinds” of Genesis 1, and, while not willing to equate “the Genesis kind” with species, he argued against the evolutionist beliefs outlined in his third point. In the discussion he calls for Christian geologists to incorporate the uniqueness of the ante-Diluvian period and the cataclysm of the Genesis Flood to account for geological data. Monsma’s viewpoint is clearly in the YEC camp, and he was also one of the ten founding members of the CRS.

At this point in the transcript J. Laurence Kulp makes an extended comment (which Roger J. Voskuyl, the moderator, calls an “extra lecture”). Kulp schools the attendees in the latest geological views, which include radiometric dating, his area of specialization, and claims that “one of the most probable facts in geology, I believe, is that the earth is close to two billion years old.” At the Fourth Annual Meeting of the ASA Kulp presents the paper “Deluge Geology.” The conclusions of this paper are firmly anti-YEC.

It appears that Kulp’s viewpoint was well-received. He was elected to the Executive Council for a five-year term that very year. While YEC advocates were not unwelcome in the ASA, it is clear already in the 1950’s that the organization was not opposed to consensus-science, old-earth, old-universe views. The later decision (1963) by some in the ASA to start the Creation Research Society reflects that group’s dissatisfaction with the direction the ASA was heading.

ASA continued to be a place for dialogue as evidenced by the fact that many of those who joined together to form CSR remained members in ASA even as fewer and fewer YEC voices can be heard in the transcripts and journal articles. The critique of flood geology continued, culminating with Free University of Amsterdam geologist J. R. Van de Fliert's 1969 highly critical review of Whitcomb and Morris's The Genesis Flood entitled "Fundamentalism and the Fundamentals of Geology."

Van de Fliert writes: “With increasing astonishment, I read through the book The Genesis Flood-The Biblical Record and Its Scientific Implications, by Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb, Jr. If I had been told a few years ago that an apparently serious attempt would be made to reintroduce the diluvialistic theory on Biblical grounds as the only acceptable working hypothesis for the major part of the geological sciences I would not have believed it. I would have considered it just incredible that a professor of Old Testament and a professor of Civil Engineering would write it, and that the foreword would be written by a professional geologist. … It is almost incredible that such an effort, which must have cost an enormous amount of work and money, has been made for such a bad procedure as this. I have felt very reluctant to write against it, but finally agreed to do so, yielding to stress from different sides.”

Russell L. Mixter, a professor of zoology at Wheaton College, was also a key player here. Mixter authored the 1950 ASA monograph Creation and Evolution, which was based on three papers given at ASA Annual Meetings: "The Kind of Genesis and the Kind of Geology" (1946); "The Extent of Change since the Origin of Species" (1947); "The Mechanisms of Evolution" (1948).

Mixter was influential in helping the ASA (and evangelicals in general) stay informed about the latest developments in evolutionary theory and to accept evolutionary ideas as far as they were firmly established. He edited the 1959 volume Evolution and Christian Thought Today, a collection of essays by ASA scientists presenting state-of-the-art science related to origins and a reflection on it from a Christian perspective. Mixter, following evolutionary biologist, G. G. Simpson, was thoroughly convinced that evolutionary processes explained biological diversity at the taxonomic category below the order and perhaps even at the order. But in his view neither genetic mechanism nor the fossil record supported a more comprehensive evolution. He found this perceived empirical limitation consistent with the use of "kinds" in Genesis 1. Technically, that made these ASA scientists progressive creationists. However, it does not seem that they were in principle opposed to a full-blown theistic evolution (except in the case of the origin of Adam). They simply did not think that the current scientific evidence warranted the full embrace of evolutionary theory.

The angst felt by ASA members in the course of this early engagement with evolution is seen in the article by Irving A. Cowperthwaite "Some Implications of Evolution for ASA" and its responses, “At two recent annual conventions of our American Scientific Affiliation (at Gordon College and Divinity School, 1957, and at Iowa State College, 1958) there appeared to be a growing conviction that inexorable pressure of expanding knowledge is about to force us to accept some formulation of the theory of evolution, including the evolutionary origin of man, and that we must adjust our thinking in accordance with this eventuality.”

Historian Mark Kalthoff relates the events of this era of the ASA in "The Harmonious Dissonance of Evangelical Scientists: Rhetoric and Reality in the Early Decades of The American Scientific Affiliation." Kalthoff's take on the ASA's attitude toward flood geology is similar to what has been spelled out above. He detects less of an anti-evolutionary sentiment than suggested here.

The second key development early on is the beginning of what some considered a relaxation of the doctrine of Biblical inerrancy. This debate is signaled by the publication of Bernard Ramm’s book The Christian View of Science and Scripture, its critique by Arthur W. Kushke, Jr. of Westminster Theological Seminary, and a response to that critique by James O. Buswell III. Kushke complains that Ramm has offered a less strict view of inspiration than the current evangelical view.

On pages 78 and 79 Ramm sets up a distinction between the "cultural" and the "transcultural" in the Bible. "Whatever in Scripture is in direct reference to natural things is most likely in terms of the prevailing cultural concepts." But the cultural vehicle itself is not inspired: "Because the Scriptures are inspired, the truth of God is there in the cultural, but not obviously so. The truth under the cultural partakes of the binding character of inspiration, not the cultural vehicle." He contrasts "a typical religious liberal" who would "write too much off as cultural" with the orthodox Lutheran scholar Francis Pieper, who "is so strict in his view of inspiration that he makes no room for the cultural, and so makes too much of the cultural binding."

As an example of this supposedly extreme strictness Ramm quotes a statement from Pieper: "But, remember; when Scripture incidentally treats a scientific subject, it is always right, let 'science' say what it pleases; for pasa graphe theopneustos." Ramm's immediate comment is: "The truth is somewhere between the two" (that is, between Pieper and the liberal). To all this I would observe that Ramm leaves the definite impression that we ought to have a less strict view of inspiration than that held by Pieper, so as to allow that the Bible contains relative or cultural elements which, as they respect science, may not always be right.

As Richard H. Bube takes over the editorship of the JASA (Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation, now PSCF: Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith), he presents a paper entitled “A Perspective on Scriptural Inerrancy” where he distinguishes between “arbitrary inerrancy” (where the scriptures are considered to be verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible in an arbitrarily absolute sense as factual information) and “revelational inerrancy” (where the scriptures are indeed verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible as a revelation of God by himself to men). The key distinction here is that the Bible may contain “errors,” as in mistaken opinions about the natural world held by the original human authors and the original audience, as long as these are not central to the revelatory purpose of the Bible. Bube is quick to say, “This by no means implies that there are ‘errors’ of fact in the Bible, but rather that the criteria for judging fact are often either uncertain or irrelevant to the revelational purpose of the Bible.”

In the first issue of JASA with Bube as editor, an article appeared by Paul H. Seely entitled "The Three-storied Universe". Seely is unapologetic in his claim that an erroneous three-tiered universe is found in the Bible. He writes, “The Bible assumes that the universe is three-storied; but, we do not believe that Christians are bound to give assent to such a cosmology, since the purpose of the Bible is to give redemptive, not scientific truth. The relationship of science to Scripture is this: The Bible gives redemptive truth through the scientific thoughts of the times without ever intending that those scientific thoughts should be believed as inerrant. We say then that the Bible presents a three-storied universe. But, must we accept this biblical cosmology as an article of faith? We think not. ... To insist that the Bible be inerrant every time it touches on science is to insist on an a priori doctrine that has been read into the Bible. This doctrine not only leads to intellectual dishonesty about such matters as the three-storied universe and to fighting against God as He is working through men called to be scientists, but it destroys faith in Christianity by implying that only obscurantists can be Christians.”

There were responses to Seely's article by R. Laird Harris "The typical Modernistic View of Scripture" and Robert C. Newman "Infallible Inspiration Taught by Scripture Itself" with a response by Seely. Editor Richard H. Bube entered the fray with these comments at the end of the Harris response: “The implication in Dr. Harris' letter that the article, ‘The Three-Storied Universe,’ by Paul H. Seely, should never have appeared in the journal, i.e., that it should have been withheld by editorial censorship, or that at most it should have been published only with apology, is based upon a faulty conception of the function and publication policy of the journal. It is not the function of the journal to propagate a crusade for any particular interpretation of many questions in which science and Christian faith are mutually involved. Any article, judged to be consistent with the constitutionally-stated purposes and doctrine of the ASA and to exhibit sound scholarship in respect to factual basis and exercise of interpretation, is acceptable for publication in the journal. If an author is guilty of gross scientific or exegetical error, we are confident that readers will quickly set the record straight, thereby increasing general understanding of the truth. Given Dr. Harris' strong convictions, exactly what is needed is an answer’ to Mr. Seely's ‘exegesis in detail.’”

Interestingly, there does not seem to be such strong negative response to Bube's article calling for a "limited inerrancy" just two issues later.

However, there was a notable reaction in print—Harold Lindsell's 1976 The Battle for the Bible in which Bube, Seely, and JASA, itself, are all featured as examples of evangelicals who compromised scriptural inerrancy. Bube is said to have "become an articulate spokesman in support of biblical errancy.” And that, "The American Scientific Affiliation and the Evangelical Theological Society have in them people who do not believe that the Bible is free from all error in the whole and in the part."

Interestingly, it seems to be possible to maintain an inerrantist position similar to Lindsell's and to move in the direction of accepting modern science (as many in the ASA have done). For example, in Kushke's critique of Ramm he writes, "It was good to note, among other things, the desire that Christian statements on science should be informed; the views on the chronology of the earth and of man and the elasticity of the creative ‘kind;’ and the opposition to the flood view of the fossils." Apparently, Kuschke thought that the kind of inerrancy he advocated (and that Ramm was allegedly compromising) did not require these views which would set the Christian scientist against much of modern science. Others have noted that the inerrancy of the Old Princeton theologians (e.g., Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, B. B. Warfield) is perhaps a bit more nuanced than the inerrancy of Harold Lindsell.

The point here is that after two decades ASA as an organization seemed comfortable with a view of scripture or a way of interpreting scripture that removed most of the earlier perceived conflicts between the Bible and science. Issues such as the days of Genesis 1, a geologically young earth, the kinds of Genesis 1, and the extent (both geographically and anthropologically) of the Genesis flood were no longer seen to be problems. This dissolution of scriptural difficulties led to an openness to well-established modern scientific claims.

Bube's 1971 "We Believe in Creation" and "Biblical Evolutionism?" signaled the beginning of the end for the either/or attitude concerning creation and evolution. While there are certainly earlier hints of embracing evolution as God-directed means of creation, most of the earlier writings saw biological evolution as an alternative to Biblical creation.

Bube writes: “When it is implied that creation and evolution are necessarily mutually exclusive, or when the term "creation" is used as if it were primarily a scientific mechanism for origins, a profound confusion of categories is involved. The implication is given, deliberately or not, that if evolution should be the proper mechanism for the growth and development of living forms, then creation would have to be rejected. To pose such a choice is to do basic damage to the Christian position. It is to play directly into the hands of those evolutionists who argue that their understanding of evolution does away with the theological significance of Creation. If such an evolutionist is wrong to believe that his biological description does away with the need for a theological description, the Christian anti-evolutionist is wrong to believe that his theological description must make any biological description impossible.”

Thus, creation is primarily a theological concept and evolution is primarily a scientific, biological concept. One does not have to choose between the two.

Russell Mixter's response to “Biblical Evolutionism?” noted that the term "evolution" carries with it baggage that makes it difficult for some Christians to accept. He suggested the term "developmentalism." This anticipates recent suggestions to use "evolutionary creation" or "biologos" instead of "theistic evolution." Dordt College chemist Russell Maatman raised the concern that Bube's evolutionary approach does not adequately acknowledge the discontinuity between humans and non-humans in the origin of humans.

Thus, already by 1971 the broad outlines of the evolution discussion in the ASA are present. There is little objection to evolution as a biological theory based on the Bible, other than with regard to the question of human origins and, in particular, how the account of Adam and Eve can be reconciled with the evolutionary story. Since ASA members believed in a Creator who, in principle, could operate miraculously and supernaturally, they could freely acknowledge the limits of evolutionary thinking. Thus, some in the ASA continued to critique evolution on scientific grounds. These ASA members would self-identify as old earth creationists (OEC). They would link arms later with Hugh Ross's Reasons to Believe organization and the Intelligent Design movement as it gained momentum in the late 1980's and early 1990's.

1971 also saw the publication in JASA of "The Protein Clock." This article was the transcript of a popular science radio broadcast presenting the comparative molecular data for evolution (amino acid sequences of proteins and, now, in the past two decades, similar results for DNA). While the then-paucity of transitional forms made progressive creationism more credible than evolution, especially from a Christian perspective, the molecular data provided independent evidence for Darwin's tree of life and convinced many that even major taxonomic groups were related. At the molecular level there really seemed to be no gaps. (Even so, dissenting voices could be heard: ASA member and CRS member Duane Gish presented in an accompanying article the flaws of this whole line of research, and over the next 30 years University of Texas Medical Branch biochemist Gordon Mills published several articles in JASA and PSCF presenting a sustained critique of the evolutionary conclusions being drawn from the various developments in molecular biology and biochemistry.)

As noted earlier, the ASA has always been willing to entertain controversial questions and to provide a forum for their discussion within the Christian community. Bube's response to Harris cited above is a typical example during the Bube era. He started his article "We Believe in Creation" with, "It should be well known to readers of the Journal of the ASA that the ASA does not take an official position on controversial questions. Creation is not a controversial question. I have no hesitancy in affirming, ‘We believe in creation,’ for every ASA member."

1978 saw the publication of a special issue entitled Origins and Change: Selected Readings from the JASA. This special issue brought together several key articles on origins issues previously printed in JASA and represented the full spectrum of ASA members’ views. This collection is a good snapshot of the ASA in 1978. Since evolutionary biology was the most prominent point of debate in the ASA at this time, origin of life discussions were not particularly prominent. While the issue included voices unsympathetic to evolutionary biology, the overall impression given is that old earth geology, biological evolution, and Christianity can co-exist. I (Terry Gray) was an undergraduate in biology at Purdue University in 1978 and first encountered the ASA through Origins and Change. I was already a convinced theistic evolutionist at the time but was appreciative of the assurance that there were others who had a similar perspective to my own.

About this same time, former ASA President Claude E. Stipe wrote an editorial for JASA titled, "Does the ASA Take a ‘Position’ on Controversial Issues?" Stipe was responding to complaints that ASA had become a theistic evolutionist organization. He denied it and sought to prove it by rehearsing the history of the ASA particularly with respect to the question of its taking sides. It is clear that already by the late 1960's and early 1970's that ASA welcomed theistic evolutionists in its highest ranks, but it's also clear that other voices were at the table. There continue to be YEC, OEC, and Intelligent Design advocates associated with the ASA even to the present day.

In many ways little has changed in the ASA since that time. ASA continues to be a place where significant criticisms of evolutionary biology can be heard. This can be seen in the degree to which the ASA engaged and continues to engage the Intelligent Design movement, even though the majority of ASA members seem to gravitate toward the theistic evolution or evolutionary creation position. The question of the historicity of Adam and Eve continues to cause vexation among members, but there has been significant embracing of the results of modern molecular biology and molecular genetics even as it impacts our understanding of human origins.

This historical overview points to two broad trajectories for the ASA since its inception. First, the ASA takes Christian theology and the Christian worldview seriously, but it has moved away from a view that finds in the Bible detailed scientific claims relevant to modern scientific theories. Second, the ASA is now less suspicious of modern science, including evolutionary biology and cosmology. One place where the ASA has been unmoved and on-message throughout its history is where these two threads come together—regardless of the success and prominence of modern science in our culture, science does not eliminate human religious experience nor does it diminish our belief in a creative and providential God.

(For those who would like to read a longer, preliminary version of this article, with links and references embedded, courtesy of Terry Gray, please visit: http://www.asa3.org/gray/ASA-ECF-ASAHistory-short.html)

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God & Nature magazine is a publication of the American Scientific Affiliation, an international network of Christians in science: www.asa3.org