MARCH 29-31 HOUSTON, TX

Detailed Schedule

Wednesday, March 29

3:00 p.m. Check-in Begins Main Hallway

6:30 p.m. Plenary Session: Christ and Creation: Exploring the Paradox Red Oak
N.T. Wright | New Testament and Early Christianity Scholar, University of St. Andrews

Plenary Session: Christ in Creation: Exploring the World of Science

Francis Collins | Medical Researcher, Founder of BioLogos

8:20 p.m. Worship Red Oak

8:45 p.m. Dessert Reception Red Oak

Thursday, March 30

7:30 a.m. Check-in Begins Main Hallway

8:30 a.m. Worship Red Oak

8:50 a.m. Plenary Session: A Sociologist Looks at Christianity and Science Red Oak
Elaine Howard Ecklund | Sociologist, Rice University

Plenary Session: The Church of the Nones: Why Faith is Falling in an Evolutionary Age
Mike McHargue | Host of the Ask Science Mike Podcast

10:30 a.m. Refreshment Break Main Hallway

11:00 a.m. Plenary Session: Christ and the Cosmos Red Oak
Deborah Haarsma | Astronomer, President of BioLogos

Plenary Session: Nosing Around the Genome

April Maskiewicz | Biologist, Point Loma Nazarene University

12:30 p.m. Lunch Red Oak

1:30 p.m. Workshop: Jeff Schloss | Biologist, Westmont College; Senior Scholar at BioLogos Magnolia
Major Conflicts and Harmonies Between Evolution & Biblical Theism: What Does the
Science Say When Scrubbed of Ideology?

Workshop: John Walton | Old Testament Scholar, Wheaton College Red Oak
The Lost Worlds of Genesis: Scriptures Ancient Context and the Modern Origins
Conversation
 3:30 p.m. Refreshment Break Main Hallway

4:00 p.m. Plenary Session: Quid Est Veritas: Reflections on Science and Faith Red Oak
Praveen Sethupathy | Geneticist, Cornell University

Plenary Session: Does the Center Hold? Evolution and Christian Orthodoxy
James Stump | Philosopher, Senior Editor at BioLogos

5:30 p.m. Worship Red Oak

Friday, March 31
7:30 a.m. Check-in Begins Main Hallway

8:30 a.m. Worship Red Oak

8:45 a.m. Plenary Session: Adam, Eve, and Population Genetics Red Oak
Dennis Venema | Biologist, Trinity Western University; Fellow of Biology at BioLogos This session
supported in part by Baker
Plenary Session: How Genetic Science Made Me Rethink Genesis 1-3 Academic & Brazos Press
Scot McKnight | New Testament Scholar, Northern Seminary

10:30 a.m. Refreshment Break Main Hallway

Breakout
Session 1 Dialogue and Witness Genesis 1-3 and Science and Faith Science and Faith
Evolution on the Campus in the Church

Location Magnolia Live Oak Elm Pecan

11:00 a.m.
S. Joshua Swamidass
The First Calling of
Christians in Science
Denis Lamoureux Dan Guenther
An Overview of Evolution: Reconciling the Faith:
Scripture and Nature Say Yes! Christian Students Who Move
from Fear to Engagement with
Science
Jennifer Secki Shields
Bringing the Faith-Science
Dialogue into Sunday
Morning Programming: A
Case Study

11:30 a.m.
Deborah Haarsma Timothy Sansbury Amanda Nichols Dan Bolger
Hugh Ross The Missing Link between Len Feuerhelm How Black and Latino
Dialogue between BioLogos Science and the Existence of An Interdisciplinary Christians View the Impact of
and Reasons to Believe Adam and Eve Approach to Science & Science Education on
Christianity Religious Faith

12:00 p.m. Alexander Saleh Oscar Gonzalez John Van Sloten

Functions, Genesis, and the God in the Biology Class- Preaching Supernovas,
Philosophy of Biology room: Opportunities to Neurons, and Knees as Text
Discuss Faith and Science
 Detailed Schedule

Friday, March 31 (continued)

12:30 p.m. Lunch Red Oak

Breakout
Session 2
Science, the Bible, and Evolution and Scientific Evidence Science and Faith in
Theology Humanity: Theological Cultural Contexts
Issues

Location Magnolia Live Oak Elm Pecan

1:30 p.m.
Ted Davis William Horst Loren Haarsma Andrew Loke
Why Christianity is Good for Does Paul Describe the How Natural Laws and Science and Religion: A
Science Inception of Mortality in Random Events Create Chinese Christian Perspective
Romans? Information and Complexity

2:00 p.m.
Tremper Longman III Myron A. Penner Larry Funck Lee Meadows
Can Science Help Us to Read Science and Naturalistic Lifes Origin: Is it Inquiry Reduces Evolution
the Bible Better? Explanations of Religious Scientifically Explicable? Conflict in Southern Public
Belief Schools

2:30 p.m.
Jonathan Bryan
The Whole World an Icon of
God: Sacramental Theology in
the Science/Faith Dialogue
Missy Deregibus Gregg Davidson Jonathan Simes Freitas
Man as Moral Animal: Why Measurable 14C in Initial Results from the
Niebuhrs Theology of Ancient Samples Does Not Brazilian Association of
Transcendence and Recent Support a Young Earth Christians in Science
Animal Studies

3:00 p.m. Refreshment Break Main Hallway

3:30 p.m. Worship: Creation Liturgy Red Oak

4:00 p.m. Plenary Session: The Good News About Science, Scientists, and Everything Else Red Oak
Andy Crouch | Author & Communications Strategist, John Templeton Foundation

Plenary Session: Science and the Living God

Harvey Clemons, Jr.| Reverend, Pleasant Hill Baptist Church
 Presenter Abstracts Dialogue & Witness Magnolia

Breakout Session 1 S. Joshua Swamidass | Assistant Professor of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis
Friday The First Calling of Christians in Science
11:00 a.m.
As a science professor at a leading science university, S. Joshua Swamidass finds science is more than a
notion. It is more than a method, a forum for ideas, or a way of thinking about the world. Science is
more than an authority or a threat to faith. Through the lens of our faith, science is first a community of
people of a different culture that Jesus loves. He calls us to love them too. The first vocation of Christians
in science is to love this community as our own. This missional lens reorients how we think about the
faith and science conflict. Now we clearly see the limits of intellectual models of faith-science integration,
enforcing correct understandings of origins, or defensively guarding students from mainstream science.
Instead, looking to an ancient discipline, we might turn to sending messengers. These messengers would
start with learning the culture and ways of the scientific world and set down roots to make science their
home. This is the costly and world altering call of our faith. There is good news to report about students
and professor around the country. Hundreds are answering this call. How might we, as ministers and
scientists, engage this vocation? How might we confidently enter into this great calling, this great vocation,
to love the scientific world?

Breakout Session 1 Deborah Haarsma (President, BioLogos) and Hugh Ross (President, Reasons to Believe)
Friday Dialogue Between BioLogos and Reasons to Believe
11:30 a.m.
For several years, BioLogos and Reasons to Believe (RTB) have been in dialogue through private discus-
sions, joint public events, and an upcoming book entitled Old Earth or Evolutionary Creation? Discussing
Origins with Reasons to Believe and BioLogos (IVP, summer 2017). These unique dialogues between two
leading science and faith organizations and their scholars are conducted in a spirit of mutual respect
and charity and have highlighted and clarified key areas of agreement (e.g. Christian faith and an old
universe) and disagreement (e.g. biblical interpretation and biological evolution). This breakout session,
featuring the leaders of each organization, will summarize past dialogue topics and explore new ones. In
a world where conversations around origins are often marked by rancor and personal attacks, what can
biblically-motivated gracious dialogue offer to the church, and to the broader world? In what ways do
BioLogos and RTB see their respective missions reaching Christians questioning their faith and reaching
non-believers wondering if Christianity is intellectually credible?
 Presenter Abstracts Genesis 1-3 & Evolution Live Oak

Breakout Session 1 Denis Lamoureux | Associate Professor of Science & Religion, St. Josephs College, University of Alberta
Friday An Overview of Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes!
11:00 a.m.
Evangelical theologian and evolutionary biologist Denis Lamoureux will offer an overview of his latest
book which was written for students who are high school seniors and college freshmen. It draws from
his twenty years of teaching exclusively science and religion courses to undergraduates at a major public
university (over 100 classes delivered). This is the book that Lamoureux wished he would have read prior
to entering a secular college that quickly led him to reject of his Christian faith. Pedagogical strategies to
be emphasized include: 1.) the power of personal stories of struggling with evolution; 2.) the necessity of
offering a range of Christian options on origins; 3.) the affirmation of the traditional understanding of
Intelligent Design (contra ID theory); 4.) the discovery of the ancient understanding of nature in the Bible
(i.e., an ancient science); and 5.) the fruitfulness of class discussions. Other resources will be introduced:
1.) online high school lectures, 2.) MOOC science and religion course through Coursera, and 3.) Skype
question and answer sessions.

Breakout Session 1 Timothy Sansbury | Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Theology, Knox Theological Seminary
Friday The Missing Link between Science and the Existence of Adam and Eve
11:30 a.m.
This seminar will demonstrate that genetic and evolutionary science simply cannot disprove the historical
existence of the biblical Adam and Eve. Given the degree of interest in the subject arising from genetic
evidence against a single breeding pair of human-genetic progenitors, this claim may appear to be
surprising and to require special isolation of theology from science. On the contrary, it will be demon-
strated that any minimally, theologically sufficient definition of human in the Christian context implies
ontological, relational, and moral characteristics that cannot be scientifically measured and cannot evolve.
Therefore, while it is natural to correlate biologically-identifiable humanity (specifically genetic identity)
with the co-existence of theologically sufficient humanity, any supposed necessary connection between
them arises from such causes as logical fallacy, tacit positivism, or metaphysical naturalism. The upshot of
this examination is a pathway to better conversation between science and theology. Specifically, the science
of evolution, human origin, and genetics has been unnecessarily burdened with an implied theological
revolution; this burden can be relieved. More generally, seeing that gene-Eve should be categorized with a
stationary Earth, static kinds, and a recent Big Bang as understandable-but-mistaken Christian expecta-
tions of the natural world offers insight into proactively avoiding such conflict in the future.

Breakout Session 1 Alexander Saleh | ThM Student, Regent College

Friday Functions, Genesis, and the Philosophy of Biology
12:00 p.m.
Old Testament scholar John Walton has insisted that the opening chapters of Genesis display a concern
for functional ontology to the exclusion of interest in material ontology. A number of critics, however,
have insisted on the presence of material ontology in Genesis. In this session, Alexander Saleh responds
to Waltons critics by looking to the philosophy of biology for potential support for Waltons ontological
distinction and exclusivity. In particular, Saleh will draw on Robert Cummins concept of functional
analysis to show that knowledge of functions can be distinguished from knowledge of underlying
structures and mechanisms. The major parallel for thinking about functions in Genesis is William
Harveys discovery of the hearts function, which notably preceded the advent of both evolutionary theory
and cellular biology. The picture that emerges is of a created world defined not as an aggregate of things
(atoms, people, galaxies, etc.) but as a system of sacred space and relationality. Saleh will then demonstrate
one way in which applying Cummins functional analysis to Genesis enables better engagement with
Waltons work. While some may disagree with Cummins on philosophical grounds or with Walton on
exegetical grounds, Saleh will argue that any attempt to understand or evaluate the merits of Waltons
claims needs to at least address the sort of philosophical complexities he will explore in this session.
 Presenter Abstracts Science & Faith on the Campus Elm

Breakout Session 1 Dan Guenther | Northwest Area Director, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries
Friday Reconciling the Faith: Christian Students Who Move from Fear to Engagement with Science
11:00 a.m.
This presentation examines specific influences that help a Christian university student to reconcile his/her
faith with issues raised by the modern sciences. Christians need resources if they are to embrace dialogue with
the sciences. This is particularly true for students in the public university who can be fearful for their faith
and reject or compartmentalize discussions in the classroom. A qualitative research study was conducted with
five Chi Alpha campus ministries. The participants were recommended by their campus pastor using three
criteria: 1.) they are evangelical Christians; 2.) they struggled to reconcile their faith with scientific views on
origins during their first years on campus; and 3.) they were able to move from a rigid to a more reconciled
stance toward science. A reconciled stance was defined as one which integrates at least some conclusions of
modern science about cosmological, geological, or biological origins. In total, fourteen participants on five
campuses were interviewed and recorded. Guided questions were used to draw out the transformative events
in each students experience. For those participants who best fit the criteria of this study, the results were
unambiguous. The key influence for each student was the presence of a Christian friend, mentor, or professor
who modeled an evangelical faith while having a reconciling stance toward science. In fact, most other
resources which students found influential were first mediated through these persons.

Breakout Session 1 Amanda Nichols and Len Feuerhelm | Oklahoma Christian University
Friday An Interdisciplinary Approach to Science & Christianity
11:30 a.m.
The interdisciplinary approach to general education classes taken by the Oklahoma Christian University
Honors program has permitted the development of a unique science and religion course. The course
is co-taught by professors from departments of science as well as philosophy of religion allowing both
viewpoints to be discussed in every class. The classes are Socratic in style, with discussion over assigned
readings rather than lectures. The intent is to help students be comfortable looking at both sides of an issue
rather than just one side. Readings from multiple authors allow a yin and yang approach, and students are
required to write two major research papers on the same issue, one presenting a pro view and the other a
con view. Special emphasis is placed on how the science community functions. Another emphasis is to help
students develop a non-conflict model for resolving science and religion issues. Multiple scientific areas are
examined, including cosmology, earth science, mind-brain, and free will issues, as well as evolution. Amanda
Nichols and Len Feuerhelm will present an overview of how they teach this class including the challenges and
solutions they have discovered along the way.

Breakout Session 1 Oscar Gonzalez | Professor of Biology, Emmanuel College

Friday God in the Biology Classroom: Opportunities to Discuss Faith and Science
12:00 p.m.
Biology is the science that studies life. For Christians, God is the author of life. So there will be inevitable
topics in a biology class that will involve overlapping concepts. For a Christian professor who desires to
integrate faith and learning, a biology class can be a challenge to test this integration. First of all, it is
necessary to debunk the myth that Christianity and science are at odds and one has to choose between one
of the two. The extremist views from some scientists against religion and from some theologians against
science have to be addressed to show students that one can be a committed Christian and a respectable
researcher. Oscar Gonzalez will share how he managed to integrate Bible teachings, Christian principles, and
testimonies of Christian scientists in a biology course. Evolutionary creation was endorsed without belittling
other views such as Young-Earth Creationism or Intelligent Design. He will point out specific parts of his
biology syllabus where it is possible to bring up faith topics while still maintaining the integrity of science
and scripture. For students that are honestly looking to remain devoted in their faith and still pursue a
career in biological sciences, harmony between the interpretation of scriptures and interpretation of nature is
crucial. The adequate and respectful discussion of topics such as the age of the earth, evolution, genetics, and
conservation can strengthen a biology students faith if the professor knows how to integrate these topics.
 Presenter Abstracts Science & Faith in the Church Pecan

Breakout Session 1 Jennifer Secki Shields | Founder & Acting Director, Discovery & Faith: A Wesley Nexus Program
Friday Bringing the Faith-Science Dialogue into Sunday Morning Programming: A Case Study
11:00 a.m.
Studies show that: 1.) many young Christians have come to the conclusion that faith and science are incom-
patible; 2.) one of the top reasons young people are leaving the church today is their perception that the
church is anti-science; and 3.) young people in schools worldwide have the perception of conflict between
science and religious faith by the age of 11. But, what appears to be an obstacle or challenge for the local
church todayinterfacing with a culture increasingly shaped by sciencecan be an opportunity for new
expressions of discipleship, worship, and evangelistic outreach. Christ Crossman United Methodist Church
(located in Falls Church, Virginia just outside of Washington, D.C.) has seen the fruits of intentionally facil-
itating the faith-science dialogue for every age in the congregation. Specifically, it has incorporated hands-on
science in its childrens lessons; explored science-and-religion issues in its confirmation classes; and hosted the
faith/science dialogue in its worship services. The positive impacts have been seen in feedback from parents
and congregants and in increased attendance. This case study suggests that bringing the topics of science into
Sunday morning church programming not only makes for more robust discipleship for all ages but also can
be an innovative means for witness, evangelism, and community outreach.

Breakout Session 1 Dan Bolger | PhD Student, Rice University

Friday How Black and Latino Christians View the Impact of Science Education on Religious Faith
11:30 a.m.
Recent scholarship argues that beliefs in biblical literalism might keep conservative Protestants out of STEM.
Two of the groups that are most underrepresented in STEM, black Americans and Latinos, are also two of
the most religious populations in the United States and specifically overrepresented in these traditions. In
interrogating the relationship between educational attainment in STEM and religious faith, we ask how these
groups perceive the potential impact of science education on religious faith. To do so this session will look at
data from 54 interviews with Latino and black Christians. We find that black Americans put confidence in
the Christian community to incubate children from harm to their faith. Thus, black Americans believe the
effect of science education on religious faith is largely positive. Conversely, Latinos raise concerns about the
potential bias of science educators rather than science curriculum. Overall, the results expand scholarship
arguing that conservative Christians are more concerned about the moral biases of scientists rather than
science itself.

Breakout Session 1 John Van Sloten | Senior Pastor & Author, New Hope Hillside Christian Reformed Church
Friday Preaching Supernovas, Neurons, and Knees as Text
12:00 p.m.
Theologian Abraham Kuyper once posited that everything that is was a thought in the mind of God before
it ever came to be. If this is true, then all created reality has something to say about how God thinks. For
the past ten years Larry Funcks church has been actively exploring the nature of the cosmosas created in,
through and for Christso that his congregation (scientists and non-scientists) can have more to know God
with. Instead of focusing on traditional faith/science conflict areas (i.e. origins or ethics), his chuch started
with creational texts that people already trusted (i.e. the kidney, supernovas, radiation physics, hydrology,
epigenetics, wound healing, etc.) thus enabling his congregation to learn the language and methodologies
of science in a non-threatening context. To date, all of their faith/science experiments have been undertaken
with the pulpit in mind, preaching sermons based on texts from both of Gods books (creation & scripture).
Early on they focused on physical reality as icon (something through which God speaks). Then they
looked at the scientist herself as vocational parable (bearing the empirical image of God). Currently they
are exploring the intersection of icon and parable: i.e. how what God says through creation and what God
says through a scientist co-illumine one another. When you treat creation as revelation, people lean in and
listen (like they do with the Bible). Members of Funcks community are very excited for his churchs next
faith/science series on the human body. To date their science-based sermons have been viewed or listened to
online over 125,000 times. Imagine these kinds of sermons being preached from 10,000 pulpits. Even then,
they will only be scratching the surface of the creational text.
 Presenter Abstracts Science, the Bible, & Theology Magnolia

Breakout Session 2 Ted Davis | Professor of the History of Science, Messiah College
Friday Why Christianity is Good for Science
1:30 p.m.
A vocal group of contemporary scientists and others known as the New Atheists pit reason versus religion,
fact versus faith, and science versus Christianity. This talk responds directly to that attitude. Drawing on
information and insights from the history and philosophy of science, Ted Davis will argue that Christian
faith actually complements the picture of the world coming from the sciences, helping us to achieve a deeper
understanding of both the way the world is and how we should go about understanding it, while providing a
powerful motive for investigating nature. The Christian doctrine of creation helps us to understand more of
reality than science alone can studyincluding the very possibility of science itself as a form of knowledge
about nature.

Breakout Session 2 Tremper Longman III | Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
Friday Can Science Help Us to Read the Bible Better?
2:00 p.m.
According to Pope John Paul II, Science can purify our religion; religion can purify science from idolatry
and false absolutes. The first part of that sentence agrees with the two book approach to divine revelation
as presented in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Nature and the Bible, when rightly understood, will
never contradict each other. Thus, discoveries in science may well inform our proper reading of the Bible.
Galileos presentation of a Copernican view of the cosmos provides a historical example, demonstrating
that the Bible does not teach that the earth is the center of the solar system. Evolutionary biology helps us
see that Genesis 1-2 does not tell us how God created human beings but provides a figurative depiction of
human origins for theological reasons. Geology helps us read the flood narrative better since there is lack of
evidence for a world-wide flood. Since Genesis 6-9 describes a world-wide flood, we can better recognize the
use of hyperbole.

Breakout Session 2 Jonathan Bryan | Professor of Geology and Oceanography, Northwest Florida State College
Friday The Whole World an Icon of God: Sacramental Theology in the Science/Faith Dialogue
2:30 p.m.
In the science/faith dialogue, faith is almost entirely on the defensive. In responding to the challenges of
science, Christian scientists and theologians typically first submit to the primacy of science in the dialogue,
then labor to escape the implications of its materialist presuppositions. A fundamental problem in this
regard is the conceptual difficulty in satisfactorily reconciling matter, spirit, and divine action. The solution
may lie in the concept of the sacred, or the sacramental principle. Augustine said that when something is
sacred, it carries a hidden meaning. The sacramental principle is operative in nearly all human intercourse.
To illustrate, sacred objects (an heirloom, an American flag, a Crucifix), actions (a handshake, a salute, a
baptism), and words (I love you, We hold these truths to be self-evident, This is my bodythis
is my blood) are accepted as sacred because they are understood to be carriers of real and irreducible
meaning, value, beauty, and power. They are material manifestations of transcendent realities. In the Church,
sacramental theology is emphasized in the more liturgical traditions, where the sacraments are frequently
celebrated and revered. Sacramental worship nurtures a sense of the divine in otherwise ordinary creatures
such as bread, wine, water, etc. These sacramentals are material vectors of divine grace, and the sacred aspect
cannot be separated from them. Scientific explanations cannot address trans-physical realities such as the
sacred, so they are incomplete accounts. Appropriately extended to all of Creation, sacramental theology
integrates nature and spirit, and declares all to be the divine liturgy of the Creatoran icon of God.
 Presenter Abstracts Evolution & Humanity: Theological Issues Live Oak

Breakout Session 2 William Horst | PhD Candidate & Adjunct Instructor of New Testament Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary
Friday Does Paul Describe the Inception of Mortality in Romans?
1:30 p.m.
Certain works on theology and evolution suggest that the inception of death in Romans refers to some
construal of spiritual death rather than mortality or physical death, but this has normally been stated
briefly by authors who specialize in some field other than New Testament scholarship. William Horsts
presentation will build a detailed argument along these lines that meets the standards of formal Pauline
scholarship. In short, Horsts argument is that: 1.) death in Romans 6:1-8:13 is best understood in light
of the Hellenistic Jewish tradition of the death of the soul, as attested in the writings of Philo of Alexandria
(cf. Wasserman, 2008), 2.) it is reasonable to understand the inception of death in Romans 5:12-21 in
light of the same tradition, 3.) glory in the Exodus tradition serves as a preferable background to the loss
of glory in Romans 1:23 than does Jewish tradition about the fall of Adam and Eve, and 4.) the subjection
of creation to futility in Romans 8:20-22 can potentially be understood in light of a number of biblical or
Hellenistic Jewish contexts that do not involve an Edenic fall. Ultimately, Horst will suggest that Christians
can find coherence rather than conflict between Romans and evolutionary science.

Breakout Session 2 Myron A. Penner | Professor of Philosophy, Trinity Western University

Friday Science and Naturalistic Explanations of Religious Belief
2:00 p.m.
Supernaturalistic explanations of religious belief attribute some causal role to the act of a divine agent in
explaining why people believe in God or gods. Naturalistic explanations of religious belief do not require
the existence of supernatural agents in order to explain why people believe in them. In this presentation,
Myron A. Penner surveys four different naturalistic models for explaining religious belief: 1.) a history of
religions approach explaining religion as a product of ones culture and historical context; 2.) a Marxist
approach explaining religion among the working class as a by-product of economic oppression; 3) a
Freudian approach explaining religion as the output of a psychological mechanism of wish-fulfillment;
and 4.) a standard cognitive science approach explaining religion as the outcome of cognitive mechanisms
evolved for other purposes. While naturalistic models may help us understand some factors that can give rise
to, and shape the content of, religious beliefs, they do not have a lot of evidential value with respect to the
plausibility of religious beliefs. Penner will conclude by discussing good and bad ways for religious believers
to engage science when there is an apparent conflict with ones religious commitments. A bad way to engage
such science is to assume that science must give way to ones theological commitmentsthis undermines
ones ability to pursue truth. A better way is to engage science theologically and philosophically is, as best as
ones able, discern both the extent and limits of, theological and philosophical implications of the data.

Breakout Session 2 Missy Deregibus | Executive Director, Cogito: A Forum for Faith and Reason at Hampden-Sdydney College
Friday Man as Moral Animal: Niebuhrs Theology of Transcendence and Recent Animal Studies
2:30 p.m.
In his iconic work, The Nature and Destiny of Man, American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr presented a
theology of human nature which explains both mans daily experience but also his access to a moral life.
This two-fold nature of man, transcendence and materiality, is unique to humans. It is humans cognitive
ability which allows them to recognize the otherness of other humans and of other animals, to imagine
counterfactuals, and to predict and fear ones death. It is in this God-established realm that both creativity
and sin occur, explaining mans struggle on earthwith himself, with his neighbor, and with his God. What
this presentation seeks to do is to first explore Niebuhrs view of man in its two-fold nature and subsequent
relationship to mans freedom. Secondly, we will look at some of the more recent comparative work of
human and other species cognitive abilities, specifically the recently published Thomas Suddendorphs The
Gap: The Difference Between Humans and Other Animals, especially as relates to moral agency. Although
Niebuhr proposes that a true Christian view of man is primarily understood from the standpoint of God,
his claims are not exclusively metaphysical in nature, and must also be examined in relation to nature and
human claims of uniqueness. We will see, that with some small caveats, Niebuhrs theology of human nature
is consistent with recent animal research, and remains a cogent voice in understanding who we are.
 Presenter Abstracts Scientific Evidence Elm

Breakout Session 2 Loren Haarsma | Professor of Physics, Calvin College

Friday How Natural Laws and Random Events Create Information and Complexity
1:30 p.m.
Information and complexity are intuitive concepts, often difficult to quantify mathematically but useful
in computer science, neuroscience, and other disciplines. Both in the natural world and in man-made
systems, there are many different types of information. Under the right conditions, natural processes can
dramatically increase certain types of information and complexity or transform some types of information
into other types during self-assembly of complex things. Loren Haarsma will describe several examples, both
from natural systems during the history of the universe and life on earth, and from man-made systems.
Haarsma will also describe results from a computer model he and others developed. Pykaryotes are digital
simulations of organisms which have genomes that direct them to gather chemicals from their environment,
move, and build proteins and protein complexes. The model lets us study factors which promote or inhibit
the evolution of greater complexity.

Breakout Session 2 Larry Funck | Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Wheaton College

Friday Lifes Origin: Is it Scientifically Explicable?
2:00 p.m.
The question of how life began on Earth has posed a difficult challenge for modern science. The reasons why
this has been a hard mystery to solve will be reviewed. An important critical question in this regard involves
the issue of the probability of lifes origin on Earth and in the cosmos at large. Answers to this question,
which have ranged from zero to certainty, will be briefly discussed. The implications of these responses for
origin of life science will be considered. In conclusion, the broader philosophical implications, especially
from a theistic perspective, will also be discussed.

Breakout Session 2 Gregg Davidson | Professor of Geology & Geological Engineering, University of Mississippi
Friday Why Measurable 14C in Ancient Samples Does Not Support a Young Earth
2:30 p.m.
Young Earth Creationists (YEC) have insisted for more than a decade that measurable 14C in samples
thought to be millions (or billions) of years old is clear evidence of a young earth. The reigning YEC model
purports to explain measured 14C activities today by accelerated radioactive decay during Creation and the
Flood, a carbon mass in living organisms just before the Flood that was hundreds of times larger than today,
a massive dilution of atmospheric 14C during the Flood year, and a buildup of atmospheric 14C since the
Flood. The YEC model falls short of having actual explanatory power, but it has persisted, in part, because
of difficulty in communicating the reasons to non-specialists. Taking on the challenge, this presentation will
describe the measurable 14C issue, walk viewers through the YEC model, and show step-by-step what we
should see in the Earths layers if the model were valid. This will be compared to actual 14C measurements
made in places like Lake Suigetsu, Japan, where it is estimated that annual sediment layers have been
accumulating for the last 100,000 years. The real data, devoid of any untestable assumptions, supports the
conventional understanding of radioactive decay and the antiquity of the Earth and looks nothing like what
should be expected from the YEC model.
 Presenter Abstracts Science & Faith in Cultural Contexts Pecan

Breakout Session 2 Andrew Loke | Research Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong
Friday Science and Religion: A Chinese Christian Perspective
1:30 p.m.
Christianity is growing at a tremendous rate among the Chinese. It is estimated that China could become
the country that has the largest Christian population globally in 15 years time. At the same time, many
Chinese Christians experience difficulties relating their faith with science. There is therefore an unprece-
dented opportunity and an urgent need for education in this area. In this paper, I share my experiences
of teaching and writing on science and religion at a leading Asian university and at Chinese churches and
seminaries. I explain the common difficulties encountered concerning scientism, verificationism, the origin
of the universe, Darwinian evolution, and the problem of miracles. I explain the importance of addressing
these issues from historical and philosophical perspectives, and how the application of analytic philosophy to
theology is helpful for connecting theology with science by clarifying concepts and assumptions and broad-
ening the students perspective of reality. The philosophical version of the Kalam Cosmological Argument
(the discussion on which I have contributed to in recent publications) is particularly helpful for addressing
the who made God question. Among Chinese Christians, Biblical Fundamentalism is widely embraced and
evolutionary creationism widely rejected; the latter is associated with theological compromise and the decline
of Western Christianity. I explain how I address this issue by correcting certain misconceived assumptions.

Breakout Session 2 Lee Meadows | Professor of Science Education, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Friday Inquiry Reduces Evolution Conflict in Southern Public Schools
2:00 p.m.
Public schools in America are often seen as places where the faith of Christian students is attackedevolu-
tion being the main culprit. From the outside, public school science classes can seem to be places where
evolution pries students faith out of them. Lee Meadows will describe two decades of work to change
evolution education in the American South to an approach honoring both science and students faith. In
many southern public school classrooms two approaches to teaching evolution dominate. Kids hear their
teacher saying, Leave your religion outside. Religion has no place here. Or they hear basically nothing
because their teachers minimize or skip evolution altogether. Neither approach is effective. A third effective
alternative has inquiry-based teaching at its center. Confrontation in public school classrooms is reduced
when students are asked to focus on analyzing the evidence for evolution and how scientists interpret that
evidence within the limits of natural causes. Confrontation is also reduced when students see that they are
being asked to understand, but not necessarily believe, how arguments for evolution are constructed from
evidence. Meadows will describe this third alternative and overview teaching techniques engaging religious
students without intimidating them. Public schools can teach evolution without waging a frontal assault on
religion, and gracious dialogue about evolution can occur in public school in the American South.

Breakout Session 2 Jonathan Simes Freitas | Project Officer & Research Leader, Brazilian Association of Christians in Science
Friday Initial Results from the Brazilian Association of Christians in Science
2:30 p.m.
This session reports on the first achievements of the Brazilian Association of Christians in Sciences ABC:
Proposal for the Establishment and Full Implementation of the Brazilian Association of Christians in
Science, which is funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF). The projects presents
the main partial outputs from the ABC nationwide initiatives developed over the last 18 months. Relevant
project metrics and selected testimonies are shown. Moreover, this project reports the results from the
Brazilian Association of Christians in Sciences first national survey on science and religion. More than 800
hundred people from all over Brazil answered the questionnaire. Questions were replicated from benchmark
surveys. Descriptive statistics are provided to depict the main characteristics of the national scenario. These
are compared to previous results from major data collections in the USA, highlighting differences and their
implications for a tailored Christians-in-science approach in Brazil. Finally, clustering analysis was performed
in order to identify the main groups of respondents, their profile and typical attitudes toward science and
religion. Thus, this session contributes with both a global-south case analysis and a new dataset for interna-
tional discussion.
 Exhibitors & Sponsors

Special Thanks
The 2017 BioLogos Conference is made possible by the generous support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. Additional
support provided by the David R. Clare and Margaret C. Clare Foundation.
Norris Conference Center Map

Main Hallway