God and Nature Summer 2023

By Sy Garte and Anikó Albert
Welcome to the Summer 2023 issue of God and Nature! Summer is a special time for the ASA since that’s when our most important event, the annual meeting takes place. For us personally, this year was extra special. For the first time since 2019, we were able to physically attend the meeting, held at the University of Toronto in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation. It was wonderful seeing many old friends, hearing the talks, and experiencing the fellowship of so many scientists of Christan faith.
One of the high points for us was hearing and speaking with the first plenary speaker, Denis Alexander, co-founder of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge, England. Denis is also co-editor, along with Oxford theologian Alister McGrath, of a new book called Coming to Faith Through Dawkins, which is a collection of 12 essays from people whose journey to Christ was actually helped along by the influence of the “New Atheists.” We each have a chapter in this book, so it was fun to connect with Denis and help him promote the book to our colleagues.
There were of course many other high points—too many to discuss here! Instead we will turn to the wonderful contents of this issue. The leadoff essay by Ken and Cheryl Touryan is about the amazing world of feathers and the ways they magnify the glory of God with their beauty, functionality, and purpose. Michaela Stenerson, an early-career scientist with A Rocha, writes about caring for and learning from horseshoe crabs. Colin Hull provides a look at the work of a thirteenth-century theologian in the light of modern science, and Phil Silva discusses the challenging questions that middle-school-age kids ask in Bible class. Marline Williams gives us another essay in her series on the science-and-faith contributions of the late 19th-century Chautauqua Institution. Two of our columnists are back in this issue—Cheryl Grey Bostrom with a photoessay and a heart-wrenching poem, and our “across the pond” resident engineer Mike Clifford with an essay all about fixing things.
If we missed you at the annual meeting this year, there is always next year, which we will definitely attend since we are both on the local organizing committee for what promises to be a spectacular event in the US capital. Mike Beidler (member of the Board of Directors of the ASA) and I (Sy) will be co-chairing the program committee, and we are lining up a stellar panel of speakers, including the inimitable Francis Collins. See you then, if not before! And, as usual, we await your submissions of essays, art, or poetry through the Submit page.
Sy Garte, Ph.D. Biochemistry, is Editor-in-Chief of God and Nature, and the author of The Works of His Hands: A Scientist's Journey from Atheism to Faith. He has been a Professor of Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences at three universities, and was an Associate Director at the Center for Scientific Review at the NIH. He blogs at The Book of Works, and his website is sygarte.com. Sy is Vice President of the Washington DC ASA Chapter, and a fellow of the ASA.
Anikó 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 Chair of Rockville Help, an emergency assistance charitable organization in Rockville, Maryland.
Welcome to the Summer 2023 issue of God and Nature! Summer is a special time for the ASA since that’s when our most important event, the annual meeting takes place. For us personally, this year was extra special. For the first time since 2019, we were able to physically attend the meeting, held at the University of Toronto in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation. It was wonderful seeing many old friends, hearing the talks, and experiencing the fellowship of so many scientists of Christan faith.
One of the high points for us was hearing and speaking with the first plenary speaker, Denis Alexander, co-founder of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge, England. Denis is also co-editor, along with Oxford theologian Alister McGrath, of a new book called Coming to Faith Through Dawkins, which is a collection of 12 essays from people whose journey to Christ was actually helped along by the influence of the “New Atheists.” We each have a chapter in this book, so it was fun to connect with Denis and help him promote the book to our colleagues.
There were of course many other high points—too many to discuss here! Instead we will turn to the wonderful contents of this issue. The leadoff essay by Ken and Cheryl Touryan is about the amazing world of feathers and the ways they magnify the glory of God with their beauty, functionality, and purpose. Michaela Stenerson, an early-career scientist with A Rocha, writes about caring for and learning from horseshoe crabs. Colin Hull provides a look at the work of a thirteenth-century theologian in the light of modern science, and Phil Silva discusses the challenging questions that middle-school-age kids ask in Bible class. Marline Williams gives us another essay in her series on the science-and-faith contributions of the late 19th-century Chautauqua Institution. Two of our columnists are back in this issue—Cheryl Grey Bostrom with a photoessay and a heart-wrenching poem, and our “across the pond” resident engineer Mike Clifford with an essay all about fixing things.
If we missed you at the annual meeting this year, there is always next year, which we will definitely attend since we are both on the local organizing committee for what promises to be a spectacular event in the US capital. Mike Beidler (member of the Board of Directors of the ASA) and I (Sy) will be co-chairing the program committee, and we are lining up a stellar panel of speakers, including the inimitable Francis Collins. See you then, if not before! And, as usual, we await your submissions of essays, art, or poetry through the Submit page.
Sy Garte, Ph.D. Biochemistry, is Editor-in-Chief of God and Nature, and the author of The Works of His Hands: A Scientist's Journey from Atheism to Faith. He has been a Professor of Public Health and Environmental Health Sciences at three universities, and was an Associate Director at the Center for Scientific Review at the NIH. He blogs at The Book of Works, and his website is sygarte.com. Sy is Vice President of the Washington DC ASA Chapter, and a fellow of the ASA.
Anikó 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 Chair of Rockville Help, an emergency assistance charitable organization in Rockville, Maryland.