God & Nature Magazine
  • 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
    • Budek-Schmeisser, Completion
  • 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
  • Past Issues
    • 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
      • Unpublished Materal >
        • Richard Graven A Vision of God
      • 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?
        • Essay: Science, Faith, and Creativity
        • Essay: One Summer
        • Comic: "Miracle Mechanics"
        • Featured Essay: Poetry for Scientists
        • Artwork: "Confluence" by Harold Sikkema
        • Column: Great Gravity! "The Great Ungainly Journey West"
      • Winter 13 >
        • Letter from the Editor: Winter 2013
        • Column: Faith on the Field
        • Comic: "Apples to Apples"
        • Creative Nonfiction: "One Winter"
        • Column: Clearing the Middle Path
        • Essay: Science and Scientism in Biology
        • Poem: "Angels and RNA"
        • Feature Article: I Sleep A Lot
        • Poem: "Fragile"
        • Column: Beyond Science
        • CiS 2012 Student Essay Contest: Runner Up
        • Essay: Why Awe?
        • CiS 2012 Student Essay Contest: First Place
        • Column: Great Gravity! "A Bit of Perspective"
        • Column: Modern Frontiers, Ancient Faith
        • Column: Time Capsule
      • Fall 12 >
        • Letter from the Editor: Fall 2012
        • The Director's Corner
        • Column: Faith on the Field
        • Comic: "Education"
        • Interview: Greetings from Mars!
        • Column: Clearing the Middle Path
        • Photo Essay: "Conversing with Nature"
        • Comic: "Abe"
        • Essay: Evolution and Imago Dei
        • Poem: "Locus Iste"
        • Levity: Beyond Science
        • Essay: God, Occam, and Science
        • Opinion: Humility and Grace
        • Levity: Great Gravity! "The College Years"
        • Poem: "Q.E.D."
        • Essay: My Overlapping Magisteria
        • Column: Time Capsule
      • Summer 12 >
        • Table of Contents
        • Letter from the Editor: Summer 2012
        • Director's Corner
        • Column: Faith on the Field
        • Column: Modern Frontiers, Ancient Faith
        • Comic: "Seminary"
        • Poem: "Temptation in the Wired Wilderness"
        • Levity: Beyond Science
        • Opinion: "The Breaking Bread"
        • Comic: "Humor"
        • Column: Clearing the Middle Path
        • Poem: "Ziggurat (and Helix)"
        • Levity: Great Gravity! "The Grade School Years"
        • Opinion: "Adam and the Origin of Man"
        • Poem: "Missa Solemnis"
        • Column: Time Capsule
      • Spring 12 >
        • Table of Contents
        • Letter from the Editor: Spring 2012
        • Director's corner
        • Column: Faith on the Field
        • Column: Time Capsule
        • Poem: "From Where do We Come?"
        • Featured Scientist
        • Levity: Beyond Science
        • Essay: "Faith and Science"
        • Fiction: "A Matter of Dust"
        • Levity: Great Gravity! "The Early Years"
        • Opinion: "Phony Environmental Theology"
        • Fiction: "Illumination"
        • Interview: "Process"
        • Column: Modern Frontiers, Ancient Faith
    • Spring 13 >
      • Letter from the Editor: Spring 2013
      • Column: Faith on the Field
      • Faith on the Field, cont.
      • Poem: Scientist's Psalm
      • Essay: A Downcast Spirit Dries Up the Bones: More perspectives on depression
      • Artwork: "Lipo Osteo" by Harold Sikkema
      • Feature: The Bible, Evolution, and Grace
      • Column: Beyond Science
      • Book Review: Prisoners of Hope
      • Column: Great Gravity! "The Grad School Years"
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God and Nature ​                                                                                             Fall  2020

Panpsychism, the Microbiome, and a New Christian Approach to Consciousness

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By John F. Pohl

What has been called “the hard problem of consciousness” may be one of the most difficult issues to solve scientifically, philosophically, and theologically (1). Traditionally, there are two general ways to think about how consciousness may work: dualism and materialism.

Dualism (made famous by René Descartes) provides a framework in which the mind is non-physical, while the body and brain are physical. Descartes thought that the interaction between the two occurred through the pineal gland, which we now know is not accurate. There are other, more modern ideas that describe the interaction of mind and matter, such as the theory of qualia (qualitative consciousness) (2, 3). Materialism is the idea that all conscious events in our life are based on matter (neurons, neurotransmitters, etc.), and there is nothing more involved (4). 

"...the potential interaction of the microbiome with our consciousness suggests the presence of panpsychism..." 
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Both frameworks, although intriguing, have issues. Can we prove that the body and mind are truly separate—that the mind can exist separate from physical reality? Alternatively, can we prove that our daily subjective experiences (for example, the feeling of love, or a reaction to hearing Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos or to seeing a Jackson Pollock painting) are just the result of atoms and molecules interacting?
 
Thus, we have to consider other possibilities. Panpsychism is a philosophical framework originally developed in ancient Greece that re-emerged during the latter part of the 20th century, as recently described in detail by Philip Goff (5). It has been promoted by people with different views of reality, such as Bertrand Russell from an atheist perspective and Arthur Eddington from the Quaker tradition. 
 
Simply put, panpsychism is the theory that all entities have some degree of consciousness, and consciousness is ubiquitous. Besides humans and other mammals, “simpler” forms of life may experience consciousness as well. Lizards, birds, insects, protozoa, bacteria, and viruses could have consciousness at more primitive levels that we do not comprehend. 

Broken down even further, molecules and atoms could have some degree of consciousness in very, very simplistic terms. As simple units of consciousness come together, perhaps consciousness becomes more “up-regulated” to a point that complex conscious thoughts (deciding what clothes to wear, cooking a meal, mathematics, theoretical physics, etc.) and subjectivity in thought (sensation of the color red, emotions, reaction to music or a painting, etc.) occur. Each individual component of conscious experience is described as “specific” and “unified” with the other individual components of the experience in what is known as Integrated Information Theory (IIT) (6).
 
Can we see evidence of panpsychism in nature? There is a case to be made for the potential of panpsychism occurring in the human microbiome, defined as the myriad of microscopic organisms (viruses, archaebacteria, prokaryotes, fungi, protists, and other eukaryotes) that live inside and on our bodies.
 
By living both inside and outside of the body, these microorganisms connect us to our environment. Some, such as the bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli), can be consumed through water, food, or other sources (7). In fact, over 1000 bacterial species have been described in the human intestinal tract (in addition to protozoa, fungi, and viruses), and these bacteria interact with each other to help with human digestion, intestinal wall integrity, vitamin production, and immune function (8, 9). Such processes are vital for human brain function, as digestion of food with good nutritional value is involved with prevention of neuron inflammation and improved brain activity. Conversely, obesity is associated with a disrupted intestinal microbiome, which can cause neuronal inflammation in the brain, potentially affecting cognitive ability long term (10, 11).    
         
Is it possible that gut bacteria have an even more essential role? I would propose that the microbiome interacts with the environment and affects human health and mental processes in a manner far more complicated than is often considered, and this interplay could be considered a form of panpsychism. For example, E. coli has the ability to survive outside an organism for a prolonged period of time, which increases the risk of human gut exposure (12). Recent research has demonstrated that gut bacteria from the environment interact with the intestine to cause colonic nerves to grow in adult mice through mechanisms that are not well defined (13). Data suggest that alterations in the intestinal microbiome can lead to changes in the lungs in conditions such as asthma and cystic fibrosis (14). Cystic fibrosis, in particular, seems to be associated with some degree of “cross talk” between intestinal bacteria and lung bacteria, and the presence of pathologic bacteria in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis may be reduced by providing appropriate caloric intake that affects the composition of gut bacteria (15, 16).  
         
Thus, we should consider if there are microbiome factors that affect humans from a mental and behavioral perspective. Such research is difficult to perform, but animal models do suggest that intestinal microbiome changes may be associated with behavioral changes, including anxiety and depression (17, 18). In humans, intestinal microbiome changes are associated with depression, although the effect of anti-depressant therapy on the microbiome is not clear-cut (19, 20, 21). Dementia, as seen in Alzheimer’s disease, also appears to be associated with microbiome changes in the mouth and intestine (22, 23). Preventative lifestyle measures, such as sleep hygiene and consuming a healthy, balanced diet, can restore the microbiome with an increase of specific bacteria that are associated with lower inflammatory effects and prevention of neurologic disease (24, 25, 26).
 

​What does all this mean theologically? The possibility of a Christian perspective on panpsychism via the mechanisms of the microbiome may seem difficult to address, but theological aspects of the microbiome have been explored by others, and the microbiome should be strongly considered to be participatory if we agree that we worship a relational God. (27, 28; see Figure)
. The whole of microbial life has the opportunity to interact with us (29, 30). Our bodies constantly interact with the environment via the mouth, nose, skin, gut, and lungs. Once ingested or inhaled, the microbiome may have effects on consciousness in complex, holistic ways. I would hypothesize that the potential interaction of the microbiome with our consciousness suggests the presence of panpsychism, with simpler organisms providing perspectives about the environment by modifying how we are conscious about the environment. 
 

A Theological Model of panpsychism involving the microbiome.  The microbiome comes into contact with our body via interactions with the environment. Bacteria (E. coli in this illustration) enter our body (as portrayed by Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man), stay/interact with our body, and leave our body only then to re-enter the environment. The red square is all of nature that interacts with us/through us via the vehicle of the microbiome. God (illustrated as a blue square) is so much more than nature and breaks into nature (see the disruption of the red square) to interact with Creation as evidenced through Jesus Christ.
From a religious perspective, I would further hypothesize that the presence of God inside/throughout/outside our bodies (as well as God’s interaction with our planet and the rest of the universe) breaks through the barrier of nature and interacts with all of us in ways that our microbiome helps us realize. Such an interaction has leanings of panentheism, which certainly may be true as well; however, it is interesting to consider that our interaction with the microbiome may be a consciousness-extending event reminding us of God and the importance of Creation.

What does the Bible have to say about this? There are of course no passages that name the microbiome, but Jesus did say, “I have given them the glory You gave me, so that they may be one as we are one—I in them and You in me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent me and have loved them just as You have loved me” (John 17: 22-23). Could this suggest that Jesus entering Creation during his time on earth allowed Him to also take part in the effects of the microbiome? After all, the Gospels describe that he interacted by touching, eating, and drinking, which suggests the possibility that God experienced his Creation with us, and in us. Additionally, in Matthew 15: 17-20, Jesus said, “‘Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander. These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.’” In other words, the microbiome is separate from sin, as the microbiome is not defiled, and indeed, the microbiome could be one of God’s ways of providing our species with health, intelligence, consciousness, and an ability to know Him.
 
There is much medical, basic science, microbiology, philosophical, and indeed theological research and thought needed regarding the function of the microbiome, but it does potentially show us another way in which Christ is the “Author of Life” (Acts 3:15). The microbiome may be pointing our consciousness to a better realization of God.
 
References:

1. Chalmers D. Facing up to the problem of consciousness. J Conscious Stud. 1995; 2: 200-219.
2. Maung H. Dualism and its place in the philosophical structure for psychiatry. Med Health Care Philos. 2019; 22: 59-69.
3. Loorits K. Structural qualia: a solution to the hard problem of consciousness. Front Psychol. 2014; 5: 237.
4. Hesslow G. Will neuroscience explain consciousness? J Theor Biol. 1994; 171: 29-39.
5. Goff, Philip. Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness. New York, Pantheon, 2019.
6. Oizumi M, Albantakis L, Tononi G, et al. From the phenomenology to the mechanisms of consciousness: integrated information theory 3.0. PloS Comput Biol. 2015; 10(5): e1003588.
7. Dirk van Elsas J, Semenov A, Costa R, et al. Survival of Escherichia coli in the environment: fundamental and public health aspects.  ISME J. 2011; 5: 173-183.
8. Sankar S, Lagier J, Pontarotti P, et al. The human gut microbiome, a taxonomic conundrum. Syst Appl Microbiology. 2015; 38: 276-286.
9. Zhang Y, Li S, Gan R, et al. Impacts on gut bacteria on human health and diseases. Int J Mol Sci. 2015; 16: 7493-7519.
​10. Spencer S, Korosi A, Layé S, et al. Food for thought: How nutrition impacts cognition and emotion. NPJ Sci Food.  2017; 1: 7.

11. Ley R. Obesity and the human microbiome. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2010; 26: 5-11.
12. Van Elsas J, Semenov A, Costa R, et al. Survival of Escherichia coli in the environment: fundamental and public health aspects. ISME J. 2011; 5:  173-183.
13. Yarandi S, Kulkarni S, Saha M, et al. Intestinal bacteria maintain adult enteric nervous sytem and nitrertic neurons via toll-like receptor 2-induced neurogenesis in mice. Gastroenterol. 2020; 159: 200-213.e8. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.03.050.
14. Chunxi L, Haiyue L, Yanxia L, et al. The gut microbiota and respiratory disease: new evidence. J Immunol Res. 2020; 2020: 2340670.
15. Madan J, Koestler D, Stanton B, et al. Serial analysis of the gut and respiratory microbiome in cystic fibrosis in infancy: interaction between intestinal and respiratory tracts and impact of nutritional exposures. mBio. 2012; 3: e00251-12.
16. Anand S and Mande S.  Diet, microbiota, and gut-lung connection. Front Microbiol. 2018; 9: 2147.
17. Salvo E, Stokes P, Keogh C, et al. A murine model of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease causes microbiota-gut-brain axis deficits in adulthood. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2020; doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00177.2020. Online ahead of print.
18. Zhao Z, Wang B, Mu L, et al. Long-term exposure to ceftriaxone sodium induces alternation of gut microbiota accompanied by abnormal behaviors in mice. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020; doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2020.00258. eCollection 2020.
19. Rudzki L and Maes M. The microbiota-gut-immune-glia (MGIG) axis in major depression. Mol Neurobiol. 2020; doi: 10.1007/s12035-020-01961-y. Online ahead of print.
20. Halverson T and Alagiakrishnam K. Gut microbes in neurocognitive and mental health disorders. Ann Med. 2020; doi: 10.1080/07853890.2020.1808239. Online ahead of print.
21. Liskiewicz P, Kaczmarczyk M, Misiak B. Analysis of gut microbiota and intestinal integrity markers of inpatients with major depressive disorder. Prog neuropsychopharmacol biol psychiatry.  2020; doi: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110076. Online ahead of print.
22. Bathini P, Foucras S, Dupanloup I, et al. Classifying dementia progression using microbial profiling of saliva. Alzheimers Dement (Amst). 2020; doi: 10.1002/dad2.12000. eCollection 2020.
23. Bulgart H, Neczypor E, Wold L, et al. Microbial involvement in Alzheimer disease development and progression. Mol Neurodegener.  2020; 15: 42.
24. Grosicki G, Riemann B, Flatt A, et al. Self-reported sleep quality is associated with gut microbiome composition in young, healthy individuals: a pilot study.  Sleep Med. 2020; 73: 76-81.
25. Jung Y, Tagele S, Son H, et al. Modulation of gut microbiota in Korean navy trainees following a healthy lifestyle change.  Microorganisms. 2020; 8: E1265.
26. Vogt N, Kerby R, Dill-McFarland K, et al. Gut microbiome alterations in Alzheimer’s disease. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 13537.
27. Carlson C. You are plural. Christianity Today. 2016; 9: 60-63.
28. Kunnen M and Carlson C. Connected to God’s Good World, the Human Microbiome. Christian Scholar’s Review. 2017; 46: 113-126.
29. Carding S, Davis, N, Hoyles L. Review article: the human intestinal virome in health and disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther.  2017; 46: 800-815.
30. Nash A, Auchtung T, Wong M, et al. The gut mycobiome of the Human Microbiome Project healthy cohort. Microbiome. 2017; 5: 153.
         
Bible quotes are from the Berean Study Bible.

John F. Pohl MD is a professor of pediatrics and a pediatric gastroenterologist at Primary Children’s Hospital (University of Utah) in Salt Lake City, Utah. You can follow John at @Jfpohl on Twitter.
God & Nature magazine is a publication of the American Scientific Affiliation, an international network of Christians in science: www.asa3.org