Christian thinkers have proposed a range of ideas about what science is, ranging from reading the book of God’s works and “thinking God’s thoughts after Him” to studying how the Universe runs itself if God doesn’t intervene. Views like these were expressed by early modern scientists (Galileo, Bacon, Newton and others) who were Read more
Today, as I write, it is Pentecost. We marked the festival at church this morning, and the coming of the Holy Spirit is regularly celebrated at churches throughout the world. But what does Pentecost mean for research? Should scholars celebrate it outside of church services? The inspiration of the Bible is due, Read more
To find a series of books thatĀ joinĀ up the dots in whole swathes of one’s previous education is a wonderful experience.Ā That’s my experience of the writings of philosopherĀ MarinusĀ Dirk Stafleu, which I first discovered aĀ year ago.Ā His multi-volume projectĀ Philosophy of Dynamic DevelopmentĀ flows from his career as a Christian studying physics and Read more
Christianity and the University Experience should be read by everyone concerned with ministry to students. It’s the outcome of a project in 2009ā2012 across thirteen English universities, investigating patterns of religious commitment among undergraduates identifying themselves as Christian. And perhaps the most striking finding of all was that 51% of all respondents identified themselves Read more
When God’s Spirit brings about a movement of change, it often seems to begin in disparate places and diverse ways through people who don’t know each other. For example, a remarkable number of broadly Evangelical organisations for cultural engagement seem to have sprung up in England in the 1980s ā of which Thinking Faith Network Read more
We like to advertise other initiatives that share a similar vision with Faith-in-Scholarship, and today I want to tell you about the Society of Christian Scholars. Actually this organisation hasn’t been officially launched yet: it’s due to come into existence tomorrow, on 1 March. This initiative’s purpose is prominently stated on Read more
For anyoneĀ seeking an overview of Western philosophy from a Christian perspective, Bartholomew and Goheen’sĀ latest bookĀ will be a welcome starting point.Ā Written in an accessible and entertaining style, it takes us from the Pre-Socratic philosophers to the present day with illuminatingĀ commentaryĀ that revealsĀ the authors’ wide-ranging expertise as philosopher-theologians in the tradition Read more
Reflecting on what Advent might mean for my work, I ended up looking at the connection between teaching and research. About half of this Advent wraps up my first semester of teaching (in a job I recently began), and the other half will give a little more time to pursue research tasks until Christmas is fully Read more
In Cambridge just over a week ago an audience of postgrads and other researchers gathered to think about the relationship between “Revelation and Reality”.Ā This was the title of the 6th annualĀ Forming a Christian MindĀ conference,Ā co-organisedĀ this year by theĀ Jubilee Centre,Ā Christian Heritage,Ā KLICE,Ā UCCFĀ and Cambridge’s ownĀ Christian Graduate Society.Ā While the talks were helpful at Read more
Where does science come from? Historically, the predecessor of what we now call the sciences was natural philosophy, which was, evidently enough, a branch of philosophy. But when we study science at school and university, it’s rare to hear much mention of any continuing dependence on philosophy. We seem to Read more