What's New !
Check the Events page for recent posts on upcoming events. Also check the
Announcements page for messages about science and religion developments.
February, 2012
Phony Environmental Theology
Thomas Jay Oord responds to the idea of "phony theology" making the rounds in the
media this week with a little theological light. Read his blog here.
A New Science & Religion Link
Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology, and the Church (ERT)
Science And Religion Quotes: What World's Greatest Scientists Say About God
Quotes from famous scientists such as Einstein, Feynman and Sagan on Science and
Religion. Quotes with pictures can be found here. (Thanks to the Huffington Post)
Gerald L. Schroeder, “The Science of God – The Convergence of Scientific and
Biblical Wisdom” (Broadway Books: New York, 1998 paperback) ISBN 0-7696-
0303X. Review by Walt Shropshire, February, 2012
January, 2012
The Meaning of the Bible
Douglas A. Knight and Amy-Jill Levine discuss their recent book, The Meaning of the
Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. The
audio can be found here.
Evolutionary Christianity Adds Resource Page
Evolutionary Christianity has created a wonderful web page with videos of thinkers from
a wide range of perspectives. It can be found here.
Recent Book Reviews
Aping Mankind: Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity by
Raymond Tallis from Philosophy Now. Reviewed by Daryn Green.
Reviews by Dr. Kazuyoshi Kawata, Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University
The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins, November, 2011
Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible by John Polkinghorne,
December 2011
How the Hippies Saved Physics
David Kaiser in the June issue of Scientific American has written a fun article extracted
from the book he wrote about a group of Ph. D. physicists that formed a Berkeley based
gathering of physicists called the Fundamental Fysiks Group.
Science in Congregations
The Science in Congregations initiative is a grant program that is funded by the John
Templeton Foundation and calls for a sustained, creative collaboration between
practitioners in the fields of science (scientists or science educators) and theology / faith
practice (pastors) who are already engaged with one another through shared participation
in the life of a congregation.
Annual Question from Edge.org
Every year, Edge.org presents a provocative question to a diverse group of scientists and
intellectuals and posts their response. This year’s question is “What is your favorite
deep, elegant or beautiful explanation?”
Science Can Help Church Keep its Young Folk
Gary B. Sherman, a veterinarian and life scientist from Montgomery County, Maryland
posted a United Methodist News Service Commentary recently addressing the
importance of the “United Methodist Church to be more accepting of science throughout
all our ministries for the benefit of all God’s children.” A referenced article from the
Barna Group on reasons youth leave the church can be found here.
United Methodist 2012 General Conference
Al Kuelling, a United Methodist living in Indiana has pointed out that there are three
petitions that will be presented at the 2012 United Methodist General Conference that
support a positive relationship between science and religion within The United Methodist
Church. The petitions can be found here. (Note: The text was provided by Al
Kuelling.)
Biological Evolution and Its Critics
(Click linked label for separate page)
December, 2011
Now Posting 2012 Events
New Year’s Eve is only a few weeks away and WesleyNexus has begun posting events
that will take place next year. Please check out the events tab here to review upcoming
programs. If you know a scheduled activity that fits our mission, please let us know by
sending an email to WesleyNexus@aol.com.
A Philosopher Looks at the Body/Mind Controversy
The November/December issue of Philosophy Now includes an interesting article by
Laura Weed, a philosophy professor at College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. In
the article, Weed presents the basic philosophical issues surrounding the problem of
consciousness. Her article can be found here.
Bibliography of Religious Naturalism
Wesley Wildman, professor at Boston University and founder of the Institute for the Bio-
Cultural Study of Religion, has posted an extensive bibliography related to religious
naturalism. It includes books by John Haught, Arthur Peacocke, Brian Swimme, and
Paul Tillich. It can be found here.
Biologos Blog: Monopolizing Knowledge
In a two-part blog, Ian H. Hutchinson, professor of nuclear science and engineering at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who recently participated in a recent
presentation/discussion in for the Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) at
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC,
discusses two themes from his soon-to-be-published book Monopolizing Knowledge.
The two entries are: “Science and Scientism” and “Reproducibility.”
The Biologos Blog has a number of interesting entries and can be found here.
Wisdom at the University of Chicago
The Arete Initiative at The University of Chicago has launched a research program on
the nature and benefits of wisdom. The web site can be found here.
The site contains an eight-part discussion called the Rosewood Report, At end the of July
2010, a small group of philosophers and psychologists met at the Rosewood Inn in
Hastings, Minnesota to talk about wisdom. The eight-part report can be found on the
links below.
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/846.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/851.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/854.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/864.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/868.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/875.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/882.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/887.aspx
November, 2011:
What Does It Mean to Say that God Acts in Our World? by James Wiseman. James A.
Wiseman is a Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic Univeristy
of America and also a Benedictine monk at St. Anselm's Abbey in Washington, DC.
This paper was the foundation for a program at Good Shepherd United Methodist
Church in Silver Spring, Maryland on November 20, 2011. The slide presentation can
be found here.
Quantum Theology: Our Spooky Interconnectedness - An interview with Catherine Keller
By Beatrice Marovich from Religion Dispatches, November 2, 2011.
Peace Breaks Out in the War Between Science and Religion by Michael Zimmerman.
Thanks to Michael for mentioning WesleyNexus.
New Link- Blessed Earth, Serving God, Saving the Planet: Blessed Earth is an
educational nonprofit that inspires and equips Christians to become better stewards of the
earth. Through church, campus, and media outreach, they build bridges that promote
measurable environmental change and meaningful spiritual growth.
Global Warming is Real: Richard A. Muller of Berkeley Earth confirms prior studies.
A Huffington Post article can be found here on the same study.
How Questioning Christians Saved My Faith by Philip Clayton: Philip Clayton is the
Dean of Claremont School of Theology and Provost of Claremont Lincoln University.
Provocative video interviews from NY Times Stone Forum:
An Interview With Raymond Geuss: Raymond Geuss is professor of philosophy at
Cambridge University.
An Interview With A.C. Grayling: A. C. Grayling is a Oxford philosopher and author of
the book The Good Book: A Humanist Bible.
What Makes Free Will Free? by Gary Gutting: From NY Times Stone Forum, October
17, 2011. Gary Gutting, is professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.
October, 2011:
Christi-inanity: The United Methodist blogger, Dan Dick, has written an provocative
article with a somewhat unfortunate title that states "we don’t know what to do with
smart people who ask tough questions." He also states that "We have already fallen
far behind the sciences. A century-and-a-half ago, clergy were among the most educated
in the growing areas of science."
A related article was brought to our attention by Michael Dowd. Religion Dispatches
posted an article by Paul Wallace: New Report: Young People Leaving Church for
Science. It summarizes a report by the Barna Group. The report "why so many young
people are leaving the church these days." One answer: “Churches come across as
antagonistic toward science.” See the Barna Group report here.
Interview with Robert Bellah, whose recent book Religion in Human Evolution: From
the Paleolithic to the Axial Age was published in September, 2011.
Announcements page for messages about science and religion developments.
February, 2012
Phony Environmental Theology
Thomas Jay Oord responds to the idea of "phony theology" making the rounds in the
media this week with a little theological light. Read his blog here.
A New Science & Religion Link
Ecumenical Roundtable on Science, Technology, and the Church (ERT)
Science And Religion Quotes: What World's Greatest Scientists Say About God
Quotes from famous scientists such as Einstein, Feynman and Sagan on Science and
Religion. Quotes with pictures can be found here. (Thanks to the Huffington Post)
Gerald L. Schroeder, “The Science of God – The Convergence of Scientific and
Biblical Wisdom” (Broadway Books: New York, 1998 paperback) ISBN 0-7696-
0303X. Review by Walt Shropshire, February, 2012
January, 2012
The Meaning of the Bible
Douglas A. Knight and Amy-Jill Levine discuss their recent book, The Meaning of the
Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. The
audio can be found here.
Evolutionary Christianity Adds Resource Page
Evolutionary Christianity has created a wonderful web page with videos of thinkers from
a wide range of perspectives. It can be found here.
Recent Book Reviews
Aping Mankind: Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity by
Raymond Tallis from Philosophy Now. Reviewed by Daryn Green.
Reviews by Dr. Kazuyoshi Kawata, Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University
The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins, November, 2011
Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible by John Polkinghorne,
December 2011
How the Hippies Saved Physics
David Kaiser in the June issue of Scientific American has written a fun article extracted
from the book he wrote about a group of Ph. D. physicists that formed a Berkeley based
gathering of physicists called the Fundamental Fysiks Group.
Science in Congregations
The Science in Congregations initiative is a grant program that is funded by the John
Templeton Foundation and calls for a sustained, creative collaboration between
practitioners in the fields of science (scientists or science educators) and theology / faith
practice (pastors) who are already engaged with one another through shared participation
in the life of a congregation.
Annual Question from Edge.org
Every year, Edge.org presents a provocative question to a diverse group of scientists and
intellectuals and posts their response. This year’s question is “What is your favorite
deep, elegant or beautiful explanation?”
Science Can Help Church Keep its Young Folk
Gary B. Sherman, a veterinarian and life scientist from Montgomery County, Maryland
posted a United Methodist News Service Commentary recently addressing the
importance of the “United Methodist Church to be more accepting of science throughout
all our ministries for the benefit of all God’s children.” A referenced article from the
Barna Group on reasons youth leave the church can be found here.
United Methodist 2012 General Conference
Al Kuelling, a United Methodist living in Indiana has pointed out that there are three
petitions that will be presented at the 2012 United Methodist General Conference that
support a positive relationship between science and religion within The United Methodist
Church. The petitions can be found here. (Note: The text was provided by Al
Kuelling.)
Biological Evolution and Its Critics
(Click linked label for separate page)
December, 2011
Now Posting 2012 Events
New Year’s Eve is only a few weeks away and WesleyNexus has begun posting events
that will take place next year. Please check out the events tab here to review upcoming
programs. If you know a scheduled activity that fits our mission, please let us know by
sending an email to WesleyNexus@aol.com.
A Philosopher Looks at the Body/Mind Controversy
The November/December issue of Philosophy Now includes an interesting article by
Laura Weed, a philosophy professor at College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York. In
the article, Weed presents the basic philosophical issues surrounding the problem of
consciousness. Her article can be found here.
Bibliography of Religious Naturalism
Wesley Wildman, professor at Boston University and founder of the Institute for the Bio-
Cultural Study of Religion, has posted an extensive bibliography related to religious
naturalism. It includes books by John Haught, Arthur Peacocke, Brian Swimme, and
Paul Tillich. It can be found here.
Biologos Blog: Monopolizing Knowledge
In a two-part blog, Ian H. Hutchinson, professor of nuclear science and engineering at
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who recently participated in a recent
presentation/discussion in for the Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) at
the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Washington DC,
discusses two themes from his soon-to-be-published book Monopolizing Knowledge.
The two entries are: “Science and Scientism” and “Reproducibility.”
The Biologos Blog has a number of interesting entries and can be found here.
Wisdom at the University of Chicago
The Arete Initiative at The University of Chicago has launched a research program on
the nature and benefits of wisdom. The web site can be found here.
The site contains an eight-part discussion called the Rosewood Report, At end the of July
2010, a small group of philosophers and psychologists met at the Rosewood Inn in
Hastings, Minnesota to talk about wisdom. The eight-part report can be found on the
links below.
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/846.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/851.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/854.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/864.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/868.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/875.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/882.aspx
http://wisdomresearch.org/forums/t/887.aspx
November, 2011:
What Does It Mean to Say that God Acts in Our World? by James Wiseman. James A.
Wiseman is a Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic Univeristy
of America and also a Benedictine monk at St. Anselm's Abbey in Washington, DC.
This paper was the foundation for a program at Good Shepherd United Methodist
Church in Silver Spring, Maryland on November 20, 2011. The slide presentation can
be found here.
Quantum Theology: Our Spooky Interconnectedness - An interview with Catherine Keller
By Beatrice Marovich from Religion Dispatches, November 2, 2011.
Peace Breaks Out in the War Between Science and Religion by Michael Zimmerman.
Thanks to Michael for mentioning WesleyNexus.
New Link- Blessed Earth, Serving God, Saving the Planet: Blessed Earth is an
educational nonprofit that inspires and equips Christians to become better stewards of the
earth. Through church, campus, and media outreach, they build bridges that promote
measurable environmental change and meaningful spiritual growth.
Global Warming is Real: Richard A. Muller of Berkeley Earth confirms prior studies.
A Huffington Post article can be found here on the same study.
How Questioning Christians Saved My Faith by Philip Clayton: Philip Clayton is the
Dean of Claremont School of Theology and Provost of Claremont Lincoln University.
Provocative video interviews from NY Times Stone Forum:
An Interview With Raymond Geuss: Raymond Geuss is professor of philosophy at
Cambridge University.
An Interview With A.C. Grayling: A. C. Grayling is a Oxford philosopher and author of
the book The Good Book: A Humanist Bible.
What Makes Free Will Free? by Gary Gutting: From NY Times Stone Forum, October
17, 2011. Gary Gutting, is professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.
October, 2011:
Christi-inanity: The United Methodist blogger, Dan Dick, has written an provocative
article with a somewhat unfortunate title that states "we don’t know what to do with
smart people who ask tough questions." He also states that "We have already fallen
far behind the sciences. A century-and-a-half ago, clergy were among the most educated
in the growing areas of science."
A related article was brought to our attention by Michael Dowd. Religion Dispatches
posted an article by Paul Wallace: New Report: Young People Leaving Church for
Science. It summarizes a report by the Barna Group. The report "why so many young
people are leaving the church these days." One answer: “Churches come across as
antagonistic toward science.” See the Barna Group report here.
Interview with Robert Bellah, whose recent book Religion in Human Evolution: From
the Paleolithic to the Axial Age was published in September, 2011.
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