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Saturday, 12 September 2015

Scientific resources for the Christadelphian. Part 3 - Christians in Science

Part 3 of my series covering recommended resources on religion and science for the Christadelphian looks at Christians in Science, which is a UK-based "international network of those concerned with the relationship between science and Christian faith, open to scientists, teachers, students and all those with an interest in this dialogue." It covers similar territory to the American Scientific Affiliation, but given the considerable territory covered by the religion / science interface, it is hardly redundant, and fully deserves its place in any top five list of resources for the Christadelphian wanting something of more substance than what our community provides on this subject.

The aims of Christians in Science are unsurprisingly quite broad:
Science and Faith 
To develop and promote biblical Christian views on the nature, scope and limitations of science, and on the changing interactions between science and faith.
To bring biblical Christian thought on scientific issues into the public arena.
Faith at Work
To encourage Christians who are engaged in scientific work to maintain an active faith and to apply it in their professional lives.
To communicate the Christian gospel within the scientific community.
Faith and the Environment
To stimulate responsible Christian attitudes and action towards care for the environment.
Students 
To help Christians who are science students to integrate their religious beliefs and their scientific studies.
Given the antipathetic relationship that often exists between Christianity and environmentalism, the positive stance CiS takes towards the environment is definitely welcome. So too is their proactive stance in helping students maintain their faith during their scientific studies. Given the fundamentalist indoctrination that too many Christians (particularly in our community) are forced to endure, the transition from high school to university education too often presents them with the evidence for evolution and an ancient Earth that their faith tradition claimed did not exist. While fourth on their list, it is most definitely not the least.

Its resources cover both academic and lay audiences, with the latter well covered by their well-received Thinking About... series, covering not just evolution and creation, but cosmology, bioethics, exegesis, and theodicy:
Archives of their quarterly newsletter PréCiS can be found here, while their academic journal Science and Christian Belief can be found here. Non-subscribers can access everything up until five years before the current issue. 

CiS maintains an archive of more academic resources covering the following areas:
The scope of these resources can be seen with those covering creation:
For those Christadelphians searching for something credible, authoritative, and reliable, and who are disappointed with the material offered by the traditional print magazines, CiS is highly recommended.
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