All Saints Presbyterian Church

The Vibrant Dance of Faith and Science

Andrew D. White was the first president of Cornell University back in 1896 when he published his History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom. His little book (919 pages) was a hot item back then, for despite the persistent rise of science and increasing skirmishes between scientists and theologians (e.g., Darwin published his On the Origin of Species in 1859), it was still hoped that the romance of science, democracy and Christianity would flower in the 20th century and bless the world. White was a naysayer, arguing that science and faith had always been at odds and would always be at odds.

Absence of Mind

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Marilynne Robinson

www.thedailyshow.com

Marilynne Robinson's new book, Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self, is a collection of lectures she delivered at Yale last year. You can actually stream videos of the original lectures here.

For more on faith and science, consider attending The Vibrant Dance of Faith. This conference from the The Hill Country Institute takes place in Austin in October.

Why debates are a good idea (and a bad idea, too)

Some debates never end.

Most of the endless ones are pointless, too.  Aggies or Longhorns?  County Line or Rudy’s?  Hymns or praise songs? Momo’s or Cactus Café?  In our heads we care about them, but deep down in our hearts, we don’t. Not really.

But not all endless debates are pointless.

“When we behold the heavens, when we contemplate the celestial bodies, can we fail of conviction? Must we not acknowledge that there is a divinity, a perfect Being, a ruling intelligence, which governs: a God who is everywhere and directs all by his power? Anybody who doubts this may as well deny there is a sun that lights us.” 
Cicero, 1st century BC

“The idea that every organism was meticulously constructed by a great Designer provided a significance and order to nature and an importance to human beings that we crave still. A Designer is a natural, appealing and altogether human explanation of the biological world. But, as Darwin and Wallace showed, there is another way, equally appealing, equally human, and far more compelling: natural selection, which makes the music of life more beautiful as the aeons pass.”   
Carl Sagan, 20th century

The debate about the nature of the universe and life has been going on for as long as there have been human beings and shows no sign of ending soon.  But despite its persistence, it’s not a pointless discussion. There’s a lot riding on whether or not we and our world are creations or lucky accidents.

With this in mind Hill House and the UT Biomedical Engineering Department are sponsoring a debate at 7 pm on April 28th in Gregory Gym on the UT campus. The topic?  Was Darwin Wrong? 

Brave New World

“I not only think that we will tamper with Mother Nature, I think Mother wants us to.” -- Willard Gaylin, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons

Most parents want what is best for their children. But sometimes knowing what is best for them isn't easy.

In Andrew Niccol's 1998 film Gattaca, Vincent is born with a heart defect that, it is predicted, will substantially shorten his life. Unfortunately this isn't an extraordinary occurrence in the real world. According to the CDC heart defects are a factor in about 5,800 deaths per year in the United States, so it's not an exaggeration to say that children like Vincent are born everyday.