December 2018 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update, you’ll find the following seven items:
- It’s Time to Sign up for Evolution Weekend 2019;
- Astrobiology News for December 2018: Prepping for a “Grab-and-Go” at Asteroid Bennu;
- How Best to Discuss Complex Issues with Creationists?;
- Thoughts on the Lectionary for Evolution Weekend;
- Scientists in Civic Life;
- The Interfaith Observer; and
- An Exciting, Pre-packaged Evolution Weekend Event.
1. It’s Time to Sign up for Evolution Weekend 2019
With Evolution Weekend 2019 (8-10 February 2019) only about a month and a half away, now’s the time to sign up to participate if you haven’t yet done so. We all know two things so very well: religion and science need not be in conflict; and religion and evolution lead us to very similar conclusions about a host of critically important issues. By participating in Evolution Weekend with your congregation (or school group), you can help spread these important messages, messages that are even more important in what in so many ways seems to have become the post-truth era.
Amazingly, this will be The Clergy Letter Project’s 14th Evolution Weekend and this year we will likely pass the milestone of reaching one million people directly with our message – and many times that number via news reports. Please join your colleagues and elevate the dialogue about relationship between religion and science.
______ Of course I plan to participate in Evolution Weekend 2019! Please add me to the growing list of participants.
Name of Congregation:
Location:
Your Name:
Please engage your congregation (or school group) in a discussion about the ways religion and science can work together to advance our shared goals, goals like creating a society that celebrates rather than stigmatizes religious diversity, one which understands and values science while recognizing that it does not undermine religious convictions, and one that recognizes that science and religion lead us to the same conclusions about caring for our natural environment and treating all people with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Remember, you may participate in any way that is most comfortable for you and your congregation and you may do so any time in the temporal vicinity of Evolution Weekend. What’s important are the discussions that take place and the insights that are gained. Help us shape a more informed, respectful and tolerant future.
2. Astrobiology News for December 2018: Prepping for a “Grab-and-Go” at Asteroid Bennu
In this month’s Astrobiology News, Clergy Letter Project consultant and Adler Planetarium astronomer Grace Wolf-Chase discusses NASA’s approach to an asteroid that “has a high probability of impacting the Earth.” (Calm down, we’re talking about late in the 22nd century!)
There was much nail-biting at Lockheed Martin in Littleton, Colorado on December 3rd, as NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft(1) arrived at asteroid Bennu only a week after InSight became the 8th NASA spacecraft to land successfully on Mars! OSIRIS-REx is an acronym for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer. Just as the Egyptian god Osiris was envisioned to grant life from the underworld, OSIRIS-REx will help us investigate how planets formed and potentially how life began. Bennu, previously known only as 1999 RQ36, was named by 9-yr-old Michael Puzio, winner of the “Name That Asteroid!” contest. Puzio learned that Bennu, a large heron, was the living symbol of the Egyptian god Osiris. He thought that the spacecraft resembled Osiris’ winged representation, and that the asteroid itself resembled an egg.(2)
Bennu belongs to a class of particularly carbon-rich asteroids containing organic molecules and amino acids that may have been precursors to life on Earth. OSIRIS-REx’s spectrometers have already collected evidence that water-bearing clay minerals exist globally across the asteroid. Because Bennu is too small to have ever hosted liquid water, this discovery indicates it was part of a much larger asteroid in the past. Bennu’s composition confirms that it preserves a record of processes early in the formation of the Solar System. Although OSIRIS-REx won’t land on Bennu, over the next couple of years it’s preparing for a remarkable feat – extending its sampling arm to grab a “handful” (give or take) of the asteroid’s regolith during a period of about 5 seconds. The sample will arrive back at Earth in 2023.
There’s another excellent reason Bennu was chosen as the target of this mission. It’s a half-kilometer-sized Near-Earth Object (NEO) that passes within 0.002 A.U.(3) of Earth every six years, and has a high probability of impacting the Earth in the late 22nd century. The more we know about its physical and orbital characteristics, the better to help future scientists develop a mission to mitigate its potential threat to Earth. To learn more about NEOs, check out NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies.(4)
On a different but equally exciting note, Zooniverse launched the latest version of its popular exoplanet-finding project this month - Planet Hunters TESS(5) asks volunteers to inspect data from NASA’s TESS spacecraft. TESS’s primary goal is to identify earth- and “super-earth”-sized exoplanets orbiting nearby stars. These identifications will be excellent targets for future missions, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, designed to study exoplanet atmospheres for possible signs of life!
Until next month,
Grace Wolf-Chase, Ph.D. (gwolfchase@adlerplanetarium.org)
1. https://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex
2. http://www.planetary.org/get-involved/contests/osirisrex/finalists/michael-puzio.html
3. 1 A.U. is the distance between the Earth and Sun, about 93,000,000. 0.002 A.U. is just over ¾ of the distance between Earth and the Moon.
4. https://cneos.jpl.nasa.gov/
5. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/nora-dot-eisner/planet-hunters-tess
3. How Best to Discuss Complex Issues with Creationists?
Paul Braterman, a geologist and member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, is working on a book and is asking for help from members. Please take a look at what he has to say and respond directly to him with your ideas.
I am working on a book for a general audience in which I lay out the evidence for an ancient Earth and the fact of evolution, before addressing creationist objections. This is of course directly relevant to the concerns of The Clergy Letter Project. I have run into what I see as an important difficulty, and would much appreciate help from members.
Just over a year ago, I wrote about the virtues of listening to creationists’ objections to evolution, and how we might respond to their arguments by presenting our evidence, as this book sets out to do (https://paulbraterman.wordpress.com/2017/10/08/how-to-learn-from-creationists/). Now, however, I am concerned that what I said there bypasses the real problem, and that the true difficulty is more in the domain of faith than of fact. I have no expertise in such matters, and would greatly value comments on the following diagnosis, and on what techniques actually work in persuading people to abandon creationist illusions.
Bible-based creationism has re-emerged in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence. And as I recently remarked here, its literalist justification is at odds with the cultural context of the very text that it appeals to. So why is so unsound a doctrine so influential?
In the end I suspect, it comes down to fear that science will get rid of the need for God, and alarm at what it might say about the God-human relationship if we are not the favored products of a separate creation. How do we respond to such anxieties, and how do we offer creationists a way forward?
I would very much appreciate hearing from members about this matter, and about what techniques actually work in places where creationism is strong, or anything else relevant to my project. I can be reached at psbraterman@yahoo.com.
4. Thoughts on the Lectionary for Evolution Weekend
For those of you who follow the Revised Common Lectionary, The Rev. Paul Nancarrow, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and Pastor at Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton, Virginia, has provided a great service by exploring ways the material for Evolution Weekend can be incorporated into a service. I hope you find Paul’s thoughts useful and appreciate his efforts as much as I do.
One of the fascinating aspects of the call of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-8), assigned in the Revised Common Lectionary for this Evolution Sunday, is the way the experience blends naturalistic phenomena with spiritual interpretation. Everything in Isaiah's vision is based on something that is physically present in Isaiah's environment.
Isaiah is fulfilling his priestly duties by burning incense in the Temple, directly in front of the curtain that screened the Holy of Holies and the Mercy Seat from the main room of the Temple. As sparks fly up from the fire, the entire scene resolves itself into the throne room of God: the curtain becomes the hem of God's robe where God is seated on the Mercy Seat; the sparks become seraphim, burning angels, who fly around the room singing praise; the smoke of incense becomes the cloud of glory in which the face of God is traditionally hidden from human view; the coals on the altar become the instrument and sign of Isaiah's purification to speak God's word. It is within the Temple-turned-Throne-Room that Isaiah is able to discern God speaking to him and calling him to bring the message of repentance and restoration to the people. Without its moorings in the real physical environment of the Temple, the Throne Room vision would be meaningless, devoid of connection to the needs of the people or to Isaiah himself. What makes the narrative fascinating is the way it blends natural appearances and spiritual meanings.
In that sense, the call of Isaiah can be a template for how we think of the relation between science and spirituality. Isaiah's vision is not a supernatural claim interrupting or replacing natural reality, but is a coming-together of natural phenomena, along with profound imaginative and spiritual interpretation, to reveal deeper meanings and purposes. In a similar way, spiritual experiences are not invasions of material reality, in such a way that nature and "super"-nature need be regarded as enemies or antagonists to each other. Instead, scientific descriptions of natural phenomena can provide deeply detailed and elegant understandings of the way the world works, which can then be brought together in the context of imaginative and spiritual interpretation to yield wider meanings and purposes.
Contemporary science describes a universe in which very simple things – four fundamental forces, vast clouds of hydrogen – have evolved into tremendously complex structures – galaxies, stellar systems, planetary ecospheres. Contemporary biology describes a historical process through which simpler organisms have evolved into more complex and more diverse organisms, including human beings, who have the capacity to think through this process and recognize themselves in it. These descriptive accounts need not be taken as enemies of statements of faith, but can instead be seen as the coming-together of natural phenomena, along with imaginative and spiritual interpretation, in appreciation of the Creativity of God, co-creating with creatures, the long and patient process of becoming more complex and more spiritually capable.
On Evolution Sunday, given the lectionary reading of the visionary call of Isaiah, we can celebrate how natural phenomena open up into spiritual insights, and we can encourage each other to greater spiritual evolution as well.
______ This was very helpful! I plan to participate in Evolution Weekend 2019. Please add me to the growing list of participants.
Name of Congregation:
Location:
Your Name:
5. Scientists in Civic Life
Our good friends at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) Program and the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology have just released a new booklet entitled “Scientists in Civic Life: Facilitating Dialogue-Based Communication.” Although primarily aimed at scientists, I suspect that many clergy members will also find this free booklet useful – especially since it ties in so very well with the goals of The Clergy Letter Project.
6. The Interfaith Observer
This month’s edition of The Interfaith Observer is focused on climate change and what we might do to moderate it. As editor, and member of The Clergy Letter Project, Paul Chaffee notes in his introduction “the religions of the world, including Humanism, Indigenous traditions, and spiritual traditions, share a deep, enduring commitment to caring for the Earth and all living beings. Spiritual resources from this heritage are not separate or closeted from the rest of life but something that influences and shapes who we are. They also ground our assumptions about social justice. One of the themes that emerges in article after article about climate this month is the importance of a personal transformation that includes adjusting our lifestyles and habits to support rather than diminish the Earth and its peoples. Spiritual resources are also noted for making the journey easier.” There are some great ideas here that tie in to the theme of Evolution Weekend 2019!
7. An Exciting, Pre-packaged Evolution Weekend Event
The Clergy Letter Project’s long-time partner WesleyNexus is again hosting an exciting Evolution Weekend event and you are all invited to join for free. The event is entitled “Human Origins: Social and Religious Impacts” and will take place on Sunday, 10 February 2019 from 3:30-5:30 EST.
WesleyNexus notes that “Featured speakers are Dr. Briana Pobiner, Research Scientist, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Constance Bertka, President, Science and Society Resources, Smithsonian Consultant. Paleoanthropological discoveries continually provide us with new insights into the six million year history of humanity. While the fundamental narrative of life’s interrelatedness through evolutionary processes remains intact, ongoing fossil and archeological discoveries and advances in genetic studies enrich our understanding of the similarities, differences, and the relationship of modern Homo sapiens to earlier human species. Religious traditions in pursuit of global understanding and reconciliation will find both challenges and opportunities in the science of our origins. The presenters will review the most recent science, highlight key points for conversation, and encourage a discussion of these points among religious leaders.”
The afternoon will be live-streamed so it will be a perfect pre-packaged Evolution Weekend event for you and your congregation. More information about live-streaming will be available on the WesleyNexus website soon and I’ll provide an update in our January newsletter.
_____ Oh my! This event looks perfect for my congregation. We plan to participate in Evolution Weekend 2019. Please add us to the growing list of participants.
Name of Congregation:
Location:
Your Name:
As we approach Christmas 2018, it’s worth reflecting on Christmas Eve 1968. That evening was the fourth day of the Apollo 8 mission, the first in which astronauts orbited the moon and safely returned to Earth. Christmas Eve, 50 years ago, also was the moment when the iconic Earthrise photograph was taken by astronaut William Anders. And on that same evening, Anders was joined by Frank Borman and James Lovell in a reading of the first 10 verses of Genesis. (You can listen to their reading here.) The broadcast of their reading while circling the moon was the most watched television program at the time.
You can view some historical NASA clips about the event here and here. And you can watch a Time interview with the three astronauts years later here. (Thanks to Grace Wolf-Chase for pointing me to these resources!)
Commemorating these events from 50 years ago is a wonderful way to celebrate the confluence of religion and science as well as the shared sense of humanity that ties us together, regardless of our religion, race, gender, ethnicity, or political outlook.
Finally, as always, I want to thank you for your continued support and as I do every month, I urge you to take one simple action. Please share this month’s Newsletter with a colleague or two (or post a link via any social media platform you use) and ask them to add their voices to those promoting a deep and meaningful understanding between religion and science. They can add their signatures to one of our Clergy Letters simply by dropping me a note at mz@theclergyletterproject.org. Together we are making a difference.
Best wishes for a healthy, happy and productive new year.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org