July 2022 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following fourteen items:
- The Timing of Religion and Science Weekend;
- Grace Wolf-Chase and Citizen Scientists;
- The Climate Crisis Letter: Why I Signed On;
- Earth’s History Compressed into a Single Year;
- Dealing with Complex Issues;
- Might the Supreme Court Allow Creationism Back into Public School Classrooms?;
- What Sort of Nation Do We Want to Be?;
- DoSER’s New Director and Helpful Resources;
- The James Webb Space Telescope;
- Newsweek Promotes Intelligent Design;
- What Constitutes a Church?;
- God and the Machines;
- Deborah Haarsma: Why I Never Had a Faith Crisis Over Science; and
- Scientists and Sin.
1. The Timing of Religion and Science Weekend
The results are in from our second round of voting concerning the future of Evolution Weekend. To bring you up to date, our first round overwhelmingly determined that Evolution Weekend should be renamed Religion and Science Weekend. The current round of voting was to determine the date for Religion and Science Weekend and the vote was far closer with a slight majority opting to keep the weekend closest to Darwin’s birthday, 12 February. Coming up just short was a desire to move the weekend to the one closest to Earth Day.
So, although the official date for Religion and Science Weekend will be in February, as I mentioned previously congregations may celebrate at any time during the year. What’s important is that we explore the intersection of religion and science, that we stand for truth rather than ideology, and that we encourage meaningful, respectful dialogue.
Thanks to all of you who took the time to vote about the future of The Clergy Letter Project.
And now, although it’s months early, is the time to begin to sign up to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2023, 10-12 February 2023! To sign up, simply provide me with the information below and return this newsletter to me.
Remember, if the weekend of 10-12 February 2023 doesn’t work for you, you can participate at any time. And, remember, participation can take any form you deem appropriate to advance the discussion of this important topic. In the coming months, I’ll solicit ideas for a theme for Religion and Science Weekend, but congregations and other groups can participate whether or not they embrace our specific theme. So, sign up now!
_______ Yes, I want to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2023. Please add my congregation (or other group) to the list of participants.
Congregation or similar group:Location:
Your Name:
2. Grace Wolf-Chase and Citizen Scientists
As I’ve noted in previous newsletters, Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, is taking a well-deserved break from her Astrobiology News column to deal with a back problem. I know just how much so many of you enjoy her work so I’m delighted to be able to share an article she recently published in Covalence Magazine, the publication of the Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology.
The piece is entitled “Citizen science engagement in faith-based communities.” Not surprisingly, Grace does a wonderful job of exploring the intersection between religion and science while discussing the myriad ways citizens can help advance scientific endeavors. The opening sentence of her introduction sets the tone for the rest of the essay: “Wonder and awe lie at the heart of both scientific investigation and thoughtful religious reflection.”
3. The Climate Crisis Letter: Why I Signed On
Every day brings more evidence of the havoc arising from climate change. As scientists and activists alike have said, we’re running out of time to take action to avert complete disaster. With this in mind, and recognizing that it is but a tiny step, I’m urging those of you who have not yet done so to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter. If you want to be added, just drop me a note and I’ll take care of it!
Along these lines, I’d like to share with you the personal statement written by The Rev. Dr. Derek Quinn, a new member of The Clergy Letter Project. He wrote:
As a healthcare provider, I know all too well how one's local environment affects the health of a person. Poor water, dirty air, and contaminated soil all lead to unhealthy bodies and the stress of these environmental factors leads to mental health degradation. We are intrinsically linked to our environment and our environment to us. As Christian clergy, I believe firmly that God has made all that live, including us, to be living Temples where God's essence can be found imprinted into the deepest character of each being. We are called to care for these Temples we call bodies and that involves taking care of our planet. The way we care for the Earth is by following what the science tells us are the best practices to reduce and reverse climate change and return to a sustainable model of balanced living in harmony with the full ecosystem of the planet. No one of us is called to do this alone; we are all called to do our part. I claim my part in bringing forth a better, more sustainable, world; and, I invite you to do the same.
Let me repeat his final sentence: “I claim my part in bringing forth a better, more sustainable, world; and, I invite you to do the same.”
If you’d like to read more personal statements, please go to our web page associated with the Climate Crisis Letter. And if you’d like to add a personal statement of your own, just let me know.
4. Earth’s History Compressed into a Single Year
While there have been many examples of presenting the history of the Earth into a time frame that we can easily grasp, I want to bring a new example to your attention for its clarity and arresting visuals. Dr. Larry Collins, a retired geologist and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, has compressed the 4 billion years of Earth history into a single year.
You’re likely already familiar with Larry because I’ve mentioned his book, A Christian Geologist Explains Why the Earth Cannot Be 6,000 Years Old: Let's Heal the Divide in the Church, numerous times since its publication last year.
5. Dealing with Complex Issues
The Right Reverend Mark Beckwith, retired Episcopal Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark and a member of The Clergy Letter Project, has written a thoughtful essay on his blog reflecting on recent US Supreme Court decisions.
While Mark makes his personal positions on when human life begins, on the importance of gun control and on the imperative to permit women to control their reproductive rights, he explores ways in which we might collectively address these complex issues. As he notes, we can make “snarky” comments or we can engage in meaningful dialogue: “it is one thing to make a point; it is another thing to make a difference.” Mark’s perspective in his short blog post summarizes what it at the heart of The Clergy Letter Project.
6. Might the Supreme Court Allow Creationism Back into Public School Classrooms?
As many of you are aware, this past month has yielded many distressing rulings by the US Supreme Court. One of those rulings, the case of Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, may well have serious implications for the teaching of various forms of creationism in public school classrooms. The decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton made it clear that public prayer, on the fifty-yard line, after a high school football game, led by a coach was legal. The decision also stated very clearly that what has been known as the Lemon test, arising from Lemon v. Kurtzman, should no longer be considered pertinent.
The three part test to determine whether or not an action fell afoul of the establishment clause of the US Constitution was included in the unanimous ruling in 1971. The test was absolutely straightforward. For a governmental action to be permitted, “the government conduct (1) must have a secular purpose, (2) must have a principal or primary effect that does not advance or inhibit religion, and (3) cannot foster an excessive government entanglement with religion.”
The Lemon test has been used repeatedly to declare that various forms of creationism cannot be taught in public school science classes and laboratories. The latest ruling, however, now calls all of that into question.
You can read more about this situation here. And you can read about training now being given to public school teachers in Florida arguing that it's a "misconception" that "the Founders desired strict separation of church and state" here.
7. What Sort of Nation Do We Want to Be?
The Rev. Kelley Becker, Senior Minister at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Bartlesville, OK and a member of The Clergy Letter Project, published an op-ed piecein the Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise reflecting on the meaning of Independence Day. She argues that we have a choice about the kind of nation and the kind of people we want to be. Although I hope you’ll take a look at her full essay, I’ll share her final two paragraphs with you:
First, we must acknowledge that it is okay for us to disagree on guns, abortion, religion, taxes, and many of the other things that divide us. Diverse opinions and perspectives are good for our politics, our city, state, and nation. But there is one thing on which we all must agree. We cannot “agree to disagree” on the truth that every human being has the same value. From the moment we take our first breath to the moment we breathe our last, we all matter equally. White people do not matter more than Black people. Men do not matter more than women. Christians do not matter more than atheists. U.S. citizens do not matter more than immigrants. Wealthy politicians do not matter more than the people living in poverty they are supposed to represent. Your problems and fears matter as much as my problems and fear.
So, this week, as we celebrate Independence Day, let’s use this day to seriously consider the question, “What kind of nation do we want to be?” When we do, I hope we decide we want to be the kind of nation that values all people, the kind that embraces diversity, and the kind that desires freedom for all people, not just the ones like us. Freedom is not free. It comes with responsibility, the responsibility to protect and preserve freedom for everyone. Use your voices and your vote to secure it for all people. Celebrate responsibly. You are loved.
8. DoSER’s New Director and Helpful Resources
The American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion (DoSER) has recently announced that Rev. Dr. Katy Hinman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, has been appointed Program Director of DoSER. Katy takes over from Dr. Jennifer Wisemen, a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, who did a fabulous job as director during her 12 years on the job. In addition to being a United Methodist minister, Katy has earned a Ph.D. in ecology and evolution from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Please join me in congratulation Katy on her appointment and in thanking Jennifer for her great work.
And, as long as I have your attention focused on DoSER, let me mention their web site loaded with lots of interesting and useful information. Many of their videos could contribute to your Religion and Science Weekend events. Do take a look!
9. The James Webb Space Telescope
I know that many of you have already seen the spectacular first images produced by the James Webb Space Telescope but I want to share them and a bit more information with you. First, the images from the NASA website. I know that many of you have already seen the spectacular first images produced by the James Webb Space Telescope but I want to share them and a bit more information with you. Second, here’s an amazing video demonstrating just how much better the images produced are than those we’ve previously seen.
Third, here’s a blog post by Rabbi Geoff Mitelman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and founding director of Sinai and Synapses, entitled “The Stars in the Past Give Us a Powerful Present.”
Finally, just so you don’t get so excited by these images and their meaning that you forget how absurd some of our fellow humans still are, feel free to take a look again at the flat Earth sentiments expressed by Lin Wood that I shared in last month's newsletter!
10. Newsweek Promotes Intelligent Design
I’m disappointed, but not overly surprised, that Newsweek just ran an opinion piece by Stephen Meyer of the Discovery Institute. The piece is entitled “How Science Stopped Backing Atheists and Started Pointing Back to God” and attempts to make the case for intelligent design. The essay is misleading, scientifically bankrupt, and potentially damaging to high quality science education. But I encourage you to look at it and form your own opinion!
11. What Constitutes a Church?
In what can only be considered a bizarre decision, in late 2020 the US Internal Revenue Service approved an application from the Family Research Council to change its status from a “nonprofit research and educational organization” to an “association of churches,” a structure used by groups with member churches like the Southern Baptist Convention. As ProPublica reports, this new status “comes with the ability for an organization to shield itself from financial scrutiny.”
The Family Research Council (FRC) has described itself as “the leading voice for the family in our nation’s halls of power,” but the Southern Poverty Law Center says “its real specialty is defaming LGBTQ people. … The FRC often makes false claims about the LGBTQ community based on discredited research and junk science.” The head of the FRC is Tony Perkins who has been outspoken about anything concerning the LGBTQ community. The Southern Poverty Law Center notes that Perkins has contended “that gay rights advocates intend to round up Christians in ‘boxcars.’”
Although the decision to grant religious status to FRC was made during the Trump Administration, public knowledge of the decision was just uncovered this week.
Religion News Service ran an opinion piece with a title that says it all: “Religious right groups' tax-status changes demean both church and state.”
12. God and the Machines
Cara Rock-Singer is an assistant professor of Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison who has been designing courses dealing with the intersection of religion and technology. The University recently published an interesting profile of Cara and her efforts that’s well worth your time. This quote will give you a flavor of the article: “What I'm interested in doing is introducing students to a whole range of the kind of messy, entangled worlds that come alive at the intersection of these categories. It turns out that science, technology and religion have a lot to say about each other.”
13. Deborah Haarsma: Why I Never Had a Faith Crisis Over Science
Deborah Haarsma is an astronomer and the president of BioLogos. In a recent blogpost on the BioLogos site, Deb reflects on her personal journey of faith and science, explaining why she’s never experienced a conflict between the two. Here are two quotations from the article to provide you with a sense of what she has to say and to whet your appetite for more:
I concluded that if God didn’t put modern science into Genesis, I shouldn’t be trying to get modern science out of Genesis.
Christian beliefs can actually support the investigation of God’s creation, and discoveries in the natural world can build up one’s faith. The problem is that most young people aren’t hearing this message. Whether in church, at university, or in the headlines, the common message is that faith and science are in conflict.
14. Scientists and Sin
In a recent article in Covalence Magazine, the publication of the Lutheran Alliance for Faith, Science and Technology, the Rev. Dr. George Murphy, a clergy member with a Ph.D. in astronomy and a member of The Clergy Letter Project, discusses the nature of science and sin.
As Susan Barreto, the editor of Covalence Magazine put it, his article explores the arena in which “science and faith may have the greatest impact on society. George Murphy this month looks at the role of scientist in society. He asks some of the hard questions from the viewpoint of our modern dilemmas. Are scientists allowed to sin boldly? How can sin be defined when it comes to the work of those in the lab?”
Concluding Thoughts
This has been a difficult month. Covid-19 is making a comeback via BA.5 while too many of us seem unwilling to take simple steps to combat its spread, the war in Ukraine continues with Russian war crimes being reported daily, we’re experiencing record heat spells, and associated fires, in many parts of the world, and the US Supreme Court seems intent to redefining American life and American rights. Many of these issues are central to the efforts of The Clergy Letter Project and demonstrate why our work is so very important. I am proud to be able to work with individuals who are so willing to raise their voices with the intent of creating a better world for all of its inhabitants.
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. Spread the word; change the world. Together we are making a difference.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org