Announcements
- April, 2011: Dr. Martin Rees, Astrophysicist, Wins $1.6 Million
Religion Prize. A British astrophysicist known for his theories on the origin
and the destiny of the universe has been honored with one of the world's
leading religion prizes. Martin Rees, an expert on the extreme physics of black
holes and the Big Bang, is the recipient of the 2011 Templeton Prize.
January, 2011: An important essay has been published recently on the Huffington Post
by Michael Zimmerman in response to a reconsideration of science standards in Texas
schools (" . . . Watch Science Education Suffer"). Here at WesleyNexus, we support
the position expressed in this essay without reservation. We, too, are frustrated with
the continual review of science standards in this country. Scientists and the scientific
community should set the standards for teaching science. However, at WesleyNexus we
also want to support civil communication in all public discourse. In this essay, Dr.
Zimmerman refers to those who disagree as "clowns," which is polemical communication
that violates our communication policy. With this caveat in mind, we conditionally
recommend this essay to you on a current and important issue.
January, 2011: A new journal is announced: Religion, Brain & Behavior. Published
in association with the Institute for the Bio-Cultural Study of Religion, the aim of the new
journal is to provide a vehicle for the advancement of current biological approaches to
understanding religion at every level from brain to behavior. RBB unites multiple
disciplinary perspectives that share these interests. The journal seeks empirical and
theoretical studies that reflect rigorous scientific standards and a sophisticated
appreciation of the academic study of religion. Papers for consideration may be sent to
the Editors at: rbbsubmit@ibcsr.org
December, 2010: Science 24 December 2010: Vol. 330 no. 6012 p. 1731; DOI:
10.1126/science.330.6012.1731 News of the Week for Science Education:
Court to Weigh University's Decision Not to Hire Astronomer
by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel
Summary
Is it possible to separate religious and scientific beliefs when it comes to evolution? A
federal court will take up that question early next year in the case of Martin Gaskell, an
astrophysicist who claims that the University of Kentucky denied him a job because he is
an evangelical Christian. Pro-evolution advocates say the university was well within its
rights. But the case could be more complicated, attorneys say. Please note: A paid
subscription is necessary for reading the entire article.
December, 2010: New "Tele-Series"
The Clergy Letter Project is sponsoring a new program beginning Saturday, Dec. 4th:
"The Advent of Evolutionary Christianity: Conversations at the Leading Edge of Faith."
This tele-series (telephone & computer, not television) will feature Michael Dowd and 30
other leaders in the nexus of science and religion (a number of whom who are Clergy
Letter Project members), including two Nobel laureates, three Templeton Prize-winners,
and more than two dozen others who exemplify by word and deed that religious faith can
be positively strengthened and enriched by a science-honoring, evolutionary view of the
world.
| Special Announcements Regarding Science and Religion |
