Dear WesleyNexus Colleagues,
Happy New Year?! Yes, please! We begin the new year still in the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but looking forward to the possibilities offered by new vaccines. Perhaps more than any other issue before it, the current pandemic has illustrated how our science meets our faith where “the rubber meets the road” in life. For those who hadn’t already been disabused of the notion, COVID-19 has made painfully clear that the science and religion dialogue is not a merely academic one. It is the unconscious dialogue running in our heads every day as we navigate the realities imposed by the pandemic while trying to maintain a positive, hopeful outlook. The global pandemic illustrates how scientific information meets the practice of faith in ordinary, daily life. The pandemic has brought isolation from our colleagues, friends, and loved ones; lost job and educational opportunities; the unplanning of weddings, graduations, and family vacations; lost incomes and economic downturn; and, for far too many, bereavement. Facts are important here—understanding how the virus works and how to protect ourselves from it are matters of life and death—but, in and of themselves, facts cannot provide people with the kind of hope and inspiration they need to meet the challenges of day-to-day life in the face of such enormous struggles. The “intangibles”—human values like love, gratitude, faith, and hope—are what keep most of us going and for the vast majority of people on this planet those intangibles are grounded and practiced in a religious worldview of one kind or another.
So, in what ways does our naturalism—our understanding of the natural laws and forces that govern the natural world—relate to our religion? WesleyNexus is partnering with The Institute on Religion in an Age of Science to explore that question in our upcoming, annual Evolution Weekend program, “Naturalism: as Religion, within Religions, or without Religion?” Panelists Daniel Spiro, Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, and our own president, Maynard Moore, will explore three different perspectives on naturalism. Dr. Ron Cole-Turner will serve as moderator. This virtual livestream event will take place on Monday, February 15th, at 5:00 PM. Read on to learn more about this event and how to register. We hope you can join us!
Also in this issue, you can learn about the new curriculum that our Discovery & Faith program is developing with the Church at Spring Forest, a new church plant in North Carolina that is the latest project of Elaine Heath, former Dean of the Duke Divinity School.
As always, we are grateful for your support and partnership on this journey.
For love and wonder,
Jennifer, Rick, Maynard, and the rest of the WesleyNexus Board
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Dr. Anthony Fauci to be Featured Speaker for Upcoming Facts & Faith Fridays
January 8, 2021
2:45 – 4:30 PM
The Governor’s Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and the Office of Health Equity at the Virginia Department of Health are co-sponsoring this virtual event with VCU Massey Cancer Center in collaboration with faith leaders from the “Facts & Faith Friday” group. “Facts & Faith Fridays” began in March 2020 as a weekly call led by Robert Winn, M.D., director of VCU Massey Cancer Center, with African American clergy in Virginia to address the disparate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community. The call has evolved to address high rates of cancer and other health issues in diverse communities. With the exciting opportunity to hear from Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Facts & Faith group has extended the event to all Virginians and belief systems because of their deep commitment to the One-Virginia mission and service to all people. Therefore, we are pleased to invite the interfaith community and the residents served by the Commonwealth’s most essential community leaders to register below to participate in a virtual webinar with Dr. Fauci and learn from the nation’s top doctor about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Learn more and register for this event:
https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/covid-19-vaccine/2020/12/30/facts-faith-fridays/
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A New Year’s Message for America: a webinar with Rev. James Lawson, civil rights leader, Thursday, Jan. 14, 7:00 pm.
The McClendon Scholar Program brings scholars and thought leaders to Washington to share their learning, wisdom and insight about how the church can be more effective in its work for social justice. Established through the generosity of the late Rev. Dr. Jack E. McClendon, the program grows out of Dr. McClendon’s insight that justice, service and action can only be sustained when a community works to deepen its faith and grapples with the profound issues of the day.
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Extraterrestrial Species: Will They Be Moral? Will They Be Religious?
January 28th, 2021
4:00 PM CDT, 5:00 EDT, 2:00 PM PDT, 10:00 PM BST.
Interpretations have been made of a currently narrow range of signal types that humans can record from interstellar sources, to determine if distant life forms exist. This talk briefly surveys the types of signals now available and what they and others could reveal about distant life forms in the future. The presenters then explore the assessment of intelligent species if they visit Earth. They ask which observable signs could indicate self-awareness, social behavior, and ethical thinking, and how humans can test for the presence of ethics, religion, and culture. A “Goldilocks Evolutionary Sequence” of neurocognitive features is presented, which can be operationalized as a plan to vet interstellar visitors and a protocol for negotiating with them.
Christopher J. Corbally, S.J., Ph.D., is a Jesuit priest and an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory Research Group, for which he has served as Vice Director, and liaison to its headquarters at Castel Gandolfo, Italy. He is an Adjunct Associate Astronomer at the Department of Astronomy, University of Arizona, and ministers to a wide variety of Catholics, including Native Americans, in Tucson, Arizona. He is the Co-Founder of The Human Sentience Project, LLC.
Margaret Boone Rappaport, Ph.D. is a cultural anthropologist and biologist who works in human cognitive evolution, and as a futurist, lecturer, and author in Tucson, Arizona. As President, Policy Research Methods, Incorporated, she conducted research for federal agencies for 30 years. She lectured at Georgetown and George Washington Universities. Dr. Rappaport is also a prize-winning short story and poetry writer, and the Co-Founder of The Human Sentience Project, LLC.
The IRAS webinar is FREE but registration is required:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_emINzx54T6mPjgPeMUPoWQ
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SAVE the DATE – Evolution Weekend Program
A Virtual Event – February 15, 2021 – 5:00 pm Eastern Time
Naturalism—as Religion, within Religions, or without Religion?
WesleyNexus will present it’s Session: Naturalism: 3 Distinct Views – a Panel Presentation
This panel will address the topic from three distinct perspectives: (1) Daniel Spiro, President of the Spinoza Society, will speak first, outlining the classic position as laid out by Baruch Spinoza. In the popular view, Spinoza is considered a pantheist, conflating God and nature, but that is a shallow reaction to his thought. (2) The second position, presented by Maynard Moore, will represent a “Christian naturalism,” though not an articulation that is mainstream. This view is gratefully aware of the richness of life and the resourcefulness of the natural world, but the perspective will reflect the distinctiveness of the Christian naturalist position that is worthy of commitment, while being compatible with the best thinking that characterizes science. (3) The third position will represent a classical Muslim view, articulated by Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, based on the Qur’an and the basic affirmation that God is the author of all creation. The Qur’an and the universe should be seen as twin manifestations of the divine act of Self-revelation. Thus, nature must be seen as a “written scroll” with information that must be read according to its meaning.
Continue to check our website www.wesnex.org, for further details in the weeks ahead.
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Discovery & Faith Developing New Curriculum with the Church at Spring Forest
Discovery & Faith, a program of WesleyNexus, is developing a new curriculum with the Church at Spring Forest. Spring Forest is the vision of Elaine Heath, former Dean of the Duke Divinity School. It is the home and farm of the Community at Spring Forest, a United Methodist intentional community, and the host of The Church at Spring Forest, a network of neighborhood faith communities and ecumenical ministries.
The outdoor curriculum is based on Genesis 1; brings hands-on science alongside the first creation story in the Hebrew Scriptures; and emphasizes creation care. Based on our Christian love of God and neighbor, it strives to use language that is consistent with Spring Forest’s mission to welcome people of all faith and no faith to their community. The beta version is being piloted now at Spring Forest.
If you would like to make a donation to support this work, please go to:https://www.discoveryandfaith.org/how-you-can-help/
If you are interested in using this curriculum in your ministry setting, please contact connect@discoveryandfaith.org
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Faith And Doubt: A Love Story
A Zoom Conversation With Brian McLaren
Thursday, January 21st, 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm EST USA (UTC/GMT-4)
Our civilization faces a momentous choice: continue to run on dirty fossil energy, or convert to clean and renewable energy. The former option offers the convenience of familiarity, but it is a suicidal path. The latter option requires us to doubt many economic and political orthodoxies, and it requires great innovation and creativity.
We face a similar choice in regards to religion. We have a ready supply of fossilized religion that runs on shame, fear, hostility, resistance to science, and short time frames. How can we “convert” from a dirty-energy spirituality to a clean-energy spirituality, especially within Christianity, the world’s largest, wealthiest, and most highly-armed religion? This transition matters to the whole world, and will require Christians to engage both doubt and faith. Drawing from his own journey from fundamentalism to a more evolutionary and expansive Christian faith, former pastor, author, and public theologian Brian McLaren proposes a four-stage journey of faith and doubt. His proposal integrates the work of over a dozen theorists and has the capacity to stimulate both the doubt and faith we need to transition to a “clean energy” faith that expresses itself in love.
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Biologos: Christian Perspectives on Creation, Evolution, and Design
January 23 from 1:00-2:00 PM (EST)
BioLogos President and Voices speaker Deborah Haarsma will present “Christian Perspectives on Creation, Design, and Evolution” with The Dartmouth Apologia on January 23 from 1:00-2:00 PM (EST). This event is FREE, but organizers request that guests complete a short form to RSVP before the event. Please register below.
“Many people have heard of only two positions on origins: young earth creationism and atheistic evolutionism. Yet Christians today hold a variety of views, including views which accept the scientific evidence for an old universe and even evolution while also upholding the scriptural authority and God as the Creator and Designer. Come for an overview of multiple Christian views on origins, an introduction to the key scientific evidence, and reflections on what it all means for our view of God…and ourselves.”
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American Scientific Affiliation Winter Symposium
With Francis Collins
January 30, 2021@ 12PM EST
The ASA Winter Symposium featuring ASA member and Fellow Francis Collins is coming soon! We invite you to join us via Zoom on Saturday, January 30, 2021, beginning at 12 pm EST. Dr. Collins, who is Director, National Institutes of Health and the 2020 Templeton Prize Laureate, will share his unique insights on “Scientific and Spiritual Lessons in the Time of COVID.”
This virtual event will include key elements of the ASA approach—a scientific talk followed by lively discussion facilitated by local and student chapters and concluding with time for fellowship/social interaction. The three-hour symposium will be broken down as follows:
12 pm EST – Lecture with Francis Collins
1 pm EST – Local Chapter/Student Discussions
2 pm EST – Fellowship/Social Hour
Come join us for one or all three segments.
Register in advance for this webinar at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_62KF6KYJQoitZWDhN4PLWw
In this unique time, we appear to be turning a corner. This is a special opportunity to hear from an ASA Fellow on the front line of the COVID-19 response. Throughout his career, Francis has been a strong voice for the integration of faith and reason. He is best known for leading the Human Genome Project in 2003 to its successful completion. By his scientific leadership, public speaking, and popular writing, including his best-selling 2006 book The Language of God (which led to the creation of BioLogos), Francis has demonstrated how religious faith can motivate and inspire rigorous scientific research. He encourages religious communities to embrace the latest discoveries of genetics and the biomedical sciences as insights to enrich and enlarge their faith. He works closely with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key White House advisor on the national health crisis.
This symposium is open to ASA members and the general public. Please help us to spread the word by inviting your church, friends, family members, students, and colleagues to attend too! You can do so by forwarding this email or posting the event on your social media pages.
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The Prophet, the Physicist, and the Beloved Community
Reflection by Larry Hudson, Ph. D.
(From his journal of “stolen” ideas for 2020 shared with Rick Barr in a recent email. WesleyNexus appreciates his consenting to share with our readers.)
In his final Sunday morning sermon, delivered at Washington National Cathedral on March 31, 1968, Dr. King proclaimed, Through our scientific and technological genius, we have made of this world a neighborhood and yet… we have not had the ethical commitment to make of it a brotherhood… We must all learn to live together as brothers. Or we will all perish together as fools…Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.
Thirty-two years after Dr. King’s final Sunday sermon, Physicist Freeman Dyson stood in the same cathedral to deliver another powerful sermon, his acceptance speech for the 2000 Templeton Award: The great question of our time is, how to make sure that the continuing scientific revolution brings benefits to everybody, rather than widening the gap between rich and poor…Technology must be guided and driven by ethics if it is to do more than provide new toys for the rich…Science and religion should work together to abolish the gross inequalities that prevail in the modern world. [Professor Dyson passed away on February 28, 2020, age 96.]
Dr. King in a 1956 speech at the end of the year-long Montgomery bus boycott: We must remember…that a boycott is not an end within itself…The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. (This term was coined by Josiah Royce.) For King, building Beloved Community connoted the hard work of reconciliation, redemption, and being in right relationship, including transforming opponents into friends.
The Beloved Community is another way to describe what Jesus called the Kingdom of God. The Way means practicing radical kindness and compassion today just as Jesus did when he walked on earth. Jesus’ love transcends cultural and tribal divisions. G.K. Chesterton said it this way: The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.
Dr. Larry Hudson received his doctorate in physics from Vanderbilt University and has worked at the National Institute of Standards and Testing (NIST) since 1990. He has been a regular participant in science and religion discussions throughout the DC for many years. This reflection is based upon appropriated, or “stolen” ideas referenced here:
https://www.sigmapisigma.org/sigmapisigma/radiations/fall/2020/prophet-physicist-and-activist
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Becoming Christian: An eight week online course (February and March)
The ancient creed for an open world
Thomas Jay Oord & Dr. Tripp Fuller
Tripp Fuller and I are offering a course that attempts to make sense of the Apostles’ Creed in the 21st century. We’ll go line-by-line and consider the creed from an open and relational theological perspective.
We’d like you to join us… and the community that will emerge. The course is asynchronous, which means you can participate on your own schedule. Videos/audio will post in February and March. So signup soon.
Normally these courses run $99 or more. But we offer ours on a “pay whatever you can” basis. And if you’d like to help others or use the material for a group study, let us know.
For more information: https://preview.mailerlite.com/k5m0e8/1591737032894320462/t9x8/