From Mark Turner, Rector of St Bartholomew's Church, Areley Kings, Stourport:
In Lent last year I ran the Test of Faith course which wasoutstandingly successful with far more people attending than I everanticipated. There is clearly a great interest in the relationship betweenscience and religion, and the attendees included those from other churches andthose of no church.
This year during Lent I will be running Wonders of theLiving World written by Dr Ruth M. Bancewicz of the Faraday Institute inCambridge. We will be piloting the course prior to publication and providingfeedback to Dr. Bancewicz. She is one of my contacts at the Faraday Institutewith whom I will be doing some work during my Sabbatical starting on EasterDay. The course will run at 6.30pm on Sundays at Church House, Areley Kingsduring Lent.
The living world is beautiful, intricate, and highlyordered. Science is constantly revealing more about the incredible organisms onthis planet, which thrive and reproduce in even the most hostile environments.Non-scientists can enjoy finding out about these discoveries through theburgeoning science communication industry, and people of faith can say witheven more confidence than before, All creation declares the glory of God!
TheFaraday Institute for Science and Religion exists to help people think aboutscience and faith in an informed and constructive way, whether through academicresearch or activities aimed towards the general public. The course is part oftheir work with churches, helping Christians and others in their community toengage in helpful discussion about science and Christianity. Many of thescientists of faith that the Faraday Institute interacts with find their workgives them a sense of awe and wonder that leads to worship, as well as todeeper questions about the meaning and purpose of the world that cannot beanswered by science alone. The aim of the new material is to help church-basedsmall groups like ours explore that experience with a number of researchers inthe life sciences, opening up several areas of discussion that are oftenignored.
Rather than focusing on issues and debates, evidence for God, orquestioning the science itself, we want to highlight the ways in which sciencereveals the wonder of creation and raises some theological and philosophicalquestions about the significance of life that are relevant to everyone,Christian or not.
Course summary
- Session 1 - Beauty. What can we learn about God throughscience? Embryos, humility, and the incarnation.
- Session 2 - Curiosity. Wonder and the limits of science. Thegenetic code and the life-friendly universe.
- Session 3 - Hope. Coral reef ecology, our place in creation,its intrinsic value, and hope for the future.
If you are interested in attending this Lent course, please let Mark know on 01299 829557 or revmturner@talktalk.net
