God and Nature Summer 2019
letter from the Editor-in-chief
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By Sy Garte
Welcome to the Summer issue of God and Nature. As I write this, I am getting excited about the upcoming annual meeting of the ASA at Wheaton College, where I hope to meet more of the readers of this magazine.
Many of the creative writers and artists in this, as well as previous and future issues of God and Nature, have recently published books on the subject of science and faith. While we do not do book reviews here—that is part of the mission of the ASA’s prestigious scholarly journal Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (PSCF)—we think it’s appropriate for God and Nature to acknowledge these important contributions to the science-faith dialogue. Speaking of books and PSCF: one of the book review editors for that academic journal, biologist Sara Tolsma, is the author of an essay on “Science in Church” in this issue.
Three essays in this issue were written by recent book authors. Joel Edmund Anderson’s book Christianity and the (R)evolution in Worldviews in Western Culture is all about philosophy, and his essay “The History of Philosophy of Science and Faith” explores the origin of modern misconceptions about the relationship of science and faith. Sarah Salviander has written a chapter in the soon-to-be-released The Story of the Cosmos (Daniel Ray and Paul Gould, editors). Her essay here is on a similar topic: black holes and patterns of denialism in science and faith. Lindsay Linsky is the author of Keep it Good! Understanding Creation Care through Parables. Her essay in this issue’s subtopic on Creation Care is about the unique role of pastors in addressing environmental concerns.
Paul Arveson is a fellow of the ASA and the founder of my local ASA Chapter in the Washington DC metro area. His essay is on the philosophical issues with a “theory of everything.” John Hall and Jay Johnson are contributing to the magazine for the second time since I took over as Editor just over a year ago. John’s current essay is on the assumptions made in science, and Jay writes about the application of social science to the understanding of Scripture, specifically the story of Adam and Eve. Mike Clifford’s regular column “Across the Pond” is titled, appropriately, “Philosophy,” and it is classic Clifford. We are delighted to have repeat contributors and would encourage anyone who has already published in God and Nature (at any time) to consider contributing again.
The second essay on Creation Care for this issue is by Larry Wilder, whose personal story is perhaps the most unusual for this magazine. Larry is serving a prison sentence. He had taken a correspondence course with ASA fellow and Wheaton College professor Jeff Greenberg, who encouraged him to submit his essay on marine biology, creation care, and Christianity to God and Nature.
In the last issue, we instituted a second regular column by theologian Thomas Jay Oord. Tom is a world-class nature photographer, and his theological writing is famous. The column “Theological Photography” combines the two with stunning photos accompanied by brilliant theological insights. Finally we present a poem from Scott Flaig, who is also a book author.
We launched another new feature—“Declare the Glory”—in the Spring issue with Ann Gauger’s inspiring multimedia piece. I would like to again invite readers to consider submitting a photo, video, or any other media that “declares the glory of God” along with a brief devotional-style write up. Examples could be an image of galaxies, a photomicrograph (or video) of cells, or the sounds of whales.
Getting back to books: Joel Edmund Anderson, Sarah Salviander, and Lindsay Linsky are not the only God and Nature contributors to have recently published books in the science and faith genre. We have in the past published material from several other book authors, editors, or publishers. These include Jon Garvey (God’s Good Earth), Greg Cootsona (Mere Science and Christian Faith), Thomas Jay Oord (God Can’t), Jeffrey Mays (Publisher of General Biology by Heather Ayala), Kathryn Applegate (Co-Editor, How I Changed my Mind about Evolution), Perry Marshall (Evolution 2.0) and Robert Bishop (Co-author of Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins).
On the same note, I also know of a contributor to God and Nature who has a book coming out in the near future. That would be me! The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith will be published by Kregel Publications this November. More on that in the next issue. If you have published a book on Christian faith and its intersection with science, or if you are about to have one published, or if you are still writing one, let us know when submitting your essay (or poem or photoessay) to God and Nature.
For now, please enjoy this Summer issue. Read it at the beach, at the lake house, or even at the lab during a break. We always love to get feedback, so don’t hesitate to correspond, and, of course, your own contributions are always welcome. The focus topic for the Fall issue will be Spiritual and Physical Health and Healing, and we welcome submissions on this or any other topic.
See you in Wheaton!
Sy Garte Ph.D. Biochemistry, is Editor-in-Chief of God and Nature since Spring 2018. 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. His blog is www.thebookofworks.com.
Welcome to the Summer issue of God and Nature. As I write this, I am getting excited about the upcoming annual meeting of the ASA at Wheaton College, where I hope to meet more of the readers of this magazine.
Many of the creative writers and artists in this, as well as previous and future issues of God and Nature, have recently published books on the subject of science and faith. While we do not do book reviews here—that is part of the mission of the ASA’s prestigious scholarly journal Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (PSCF)—we think it’s appropriate for God and Nature to acknowledge these important contributions to the science-faith dialogue. Speaking of books and PSCF: one of the book review editors for that academic journal, biologist Sara Tolsma, is the author of an essay on “Science in Church” in this issue.
Three essays in this issue were written by recent book authors. Joel Edmund Anderson’s book Christianity and the (R)evolution in Worldviews in Western Culture is all about philosophy, and his essay “The History of Philosophy of Science and Faith” explores the origin of modern misconceptions about the relationship of science and faith. Sarah Salviander has written a chapter in the soon-to-be-released The Story of the Cosmos (Daniel Ray and Paul Gould, editors). Her essay here is on a similar topic: black holes and patterns of denialism in science and faith. Lindsay Linsky is the author of Keep it Good! Understanding Creation Care through Parables. Her essay in this issue’s subtopic on Creation Care is about the unique role of pastors in addressing environmental concerns.
Paul Arveson is a fellow of the ASA and the founder of my local ASA Chapter in the Washington DC metro area. His essay is on the philosophical issues with a “theory of everything.” John Hall and Jay Johnson are contributing to the magazine for the second time since I took over as Editor just over a year ago. John’s current essay is on the assumptions made in science, and Jay writes about the application of social science to the understanding of Scripture, specifically the story of Adam and Eve. Mike Clifford’s regular column “Across the Pond” is titled, appropriately, “Philosophy,” and it is classic Clifford. We are delighted to have repeat contributors and would encourage anyone who has already published in God and Nature (at any time) to consider contributing again.
The second essay on Creation Care for this issue is by Larry Wilder, whose personal story is perhaps the most unusual for this magazine. Larry is serving a prison sentence. He had taken a correspondence course with ASA fellow and Wheaton College professor Jeff Greenberg, who encouraged him to submit his essay on marine biology, creation care, and Christianity to God and Nature.
In the last issue, we instituted a second regular column by theologian Thomas Jay Oord. Tom is a world-class nature photographer, and his theological writing is famous. The column “Theological Photography” combines the two with stunning photos accompanied by brilliant theological insights. Finally we present a poem from Scott Flaig, who is also a book author.
We launched another new feature—“Declare the Glory”—in the Spring issue with Ann Gauger’s inspiring multimedia piece. I would like to again invite readers to consider submitting a photo, video, or any other media that “declares the glory of God” along with a brief devotional-style write up. Examples could be an image of galaxies, a photomicrograph (or video) of cells, or the sounds of whales.
Getting back to books: Joel Edmund Anderson, Sarah Salviander, and Lindsay Linsky are not the only God and Nature contributors to have recently published books in the science and faith genre. We have in the past published material from several other book authors, editors, or publishers. These include Jon Garvey (God’s Good Earth), Greg Cootsona (Mere Science and Christian Faith), Thomas Jay Oord (God Can’t), Jeffrey Mays (Publisher of General Biology by Heather Ayala), Kathryn Applegate (Co-Editor, How I Changed my Mind about Evolution), Perry Marshall (Evolution 2.0) and Robert Bishop (Co-author of Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins).
On the same note, I also know of a contributor to God and Nature who has a book coming out in the near future. That would be me! The Works of His Hands: A Scientist’s Journey from Atheism to Faith will be published by Kregel Publications this November. More on that in the next issue. If you have published a book on Christian faith and its intersection with science, or if you are about to have one published, or if you are still writing one, let us know when submitting your essay (or poem or photoessay) to God and Nature.
For now, please enjoy this Summer issue. Read it at the beach, at the lake house, or even at the lab during a break. We always love to get feedback, so don’t hesitate to correspond, and, of course, your own contributions are always welcome. The focus topic for the Fall issue will be Spiritual and Physical Health and Healing, and we welcome submissions on this or any other topic.
See you in Wheaton!
Sy Garte Ph.D. Biochemistry, is Editor-in-Chief of God and Nature since Spring 2018. 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. His blog is www.thebookofworks.com.