January 2020 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update, you’ll find the following six items:
- Evolution Weekend 2020: A Host of Resources;
- Astrobiology News for January 2020: Reflections of a Climate Scientist;
- Science and Religion Working Together;
- Review of At the Edge of Time;
- Evidence that Our Work is Far From Over; and
- The Rise of Religious Robots.
1. Evolution Weekend 2020: A Host of Resources
Evolution Weekend 2020 (14-16 February 2020) is now only a month away. If you haven’t yet signed up to participate, please do so now – simply by writing to me and letting me know that you plan to participate. I’ll immediately get you added to our growing list of participants.
Although the theme for Evolution Weekend selected by members is “How Science and Religion Can Work Together to Deal with the Problems of the Climate Crisis,” you can participate by doing anything you think is appropriate to address the compatibility of religion and science.
For those of you interested in focusing on our theme, here are a collection of resources that I suspect you’ll find both interesting and helpful, as well as some resources that go beyond our theme.
- Rick Lindroth, a member of our list of scientific consultants and a professor of ecology at the University of Wisconsin Madison, has written a wonderful essay exploring a great deal about the climate crisis. He explains in his essay that “what science has to say about climate change can be summarized in 17 words.” You can access his essay here.
- There are a number of pieces in the two most recent issues of Sojourners that are relevant. The January issue ran an article entitled “Why Four Christian Activists Risked Arrest to Shut Down an Oil Pipeline.” The February issue ran a piece entitled “Plastics and the State of Our Souls” as well as one by the great author Bill McKibben entitled “The Most Dangerous Building in Town Is Your Bank.” For context you might want to know that McKibben’s article has the subtitle “Your local bank branch is turning your money into carbon.”
- Dr. Tony Mitchell, long-time friend of The Clergy Letter Project, has written a short essay exploring how the intellectual roots of religion and science are deeply entwined.
- As I noted in last month’s newsletter, our sister organization, WesleyNexus, is sponsoring their seventh Evolution Weekend event and, as they have in the past, they are livestreaming it allowing you to participate in the comfort of your own sanctuary. Their event is entitled "PATRIARCHY: In Science, in Education and in the Church” and consists of a panel discussion with three distinguished speakers. You can read more about the event here. This event is scheduled for 4:00 pm on Sunday 9 February 2020.
I hope these resources help prod you to participate in Evolution Weekend 2020. If you plan to participate, please check our list to be certain that you’re on it. If not, please let me know.
_____ Yes, I want to help keep the movement of bringing religion and science together alive. Please sign me up to participate in Evolution Weekend 2020.
Name of Congregation (or other institution):
Location:
Your Name:
2. Astrobiology News for January 2020: Reflections of a Climate Scientist
In this month’s Astrobiology News, Clergy Letter Project consultant and Adler Planetarium astronomer Grace Wolf-Chase explores climate change on Earth, the longevity of technological civilizations and the likelihood of interstellar communication.
“I do not like the idea of starting a book and not getting to read the final chapter. At this stage in my life, though, I have to accept that the questions of the ultimate fate of our society, and the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe (a matter of when, not if, I am certain), may or may not be answered while I am still around to experience them. But to have the chance to live a life in scientific research during a time that saw the beginning of human awareness about both the effect we have on our own planet and the likelihood of alien biospheres, along with the creation of tools to begin to understand them and great colleagues with whom to share the journey, is consolation enough. Still … wouldn't it be great to get to read the final chapter?” – excerpt from Anthony Del Genio: Climates of Planets Near and Far(1)
The above quote was cited in one of NASA Astrobiology’s January feature stories, Using Climate Science on Earth to Understand Planets Beyond Earth,(2) and it seemed particularly appropriate in light of next month’s theme for Evolution Weekend. Del Genio is one of the founding leaders of the Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS),(3) an interdisciplinary NASA initiative that brings together scientists working in the field of planetary habitability. Del Genio has been investigating how different a planet could be from Earth and still maintain liquid surface water that might be detected from light years away, by applying 3-D Earth climate models to other planets . Del Genio identifies this as the same problem as understanding the factors critical to climate change on Earth, as he reflects on the possible relationship between human impact on Earth’s climate and one of the outstanding unknowns in the Drake Equation.(4)
In recent years, we’ve learned a lot about the diversity and ubiquity of planet-sized worlds orbiting other stars, but we have yet to discover unambiguous evidence of extraterrestrial life, let alone evidence of extraterrestrial civilizations. In the Drake Equation, the lifetime of technological civilizations is the factor that determines whether communication across interstellar communities can ever be achieved. One possibility is that civilizations such as ours destroy themselves on relatively short timescales. In fact, this has been proposed as a potential solution to the Fermi Paradox, which notes there has been ample time for a technological civilization to have arisen and colonized our entire Galaxy.(5) Del Genio reflects on how thinking about other planets causes us to wonder “…whether in the long run our civilization will eventually figure things out and learn to sustain itself, or perish.”
I do hope our “book” has a happy ending, and I’m delighted that Michael has had such a positive response from CLP members regarding a call to action on the climate crisis! For those of you planning Evolution Weekend events, please consider incorporating Zooniverse citizen science activities. Projects that involve identifying animals in images captured by remote cameras are particularly popular with children and make for great family interactions!
In November, Michael sent out direct links to four climate related projects: SnapshotWisconsin.org, FloatingForests.org, NotesfromNature.org, and PenguinWatch.org. More climate-themed and other research can be found on zooniverse.org/projects. If you do incorporate Zooniverse into your activities, would you please let me know why you chose a particular project, in what sort of venue it was used, and how many people participated (if possible)? This will be enormously helpful to my work connecting religious audiences with community research projects – thanks so much!
Until next month,
Grace Wolf-Chase, Ph.D. (gwolfchase@adlerplanetarium.org)
1. AGU100 Advancing Earth and Space Science, Perspectives of Earth and Space Scientists, https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019CN000109
2. https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/using-climate-science-on-earth-to-understand-planets-beyond-earth
3. https://nexss.info/
4. The Drake Equation is an attempt to set bounds on factors considered important to estimating the number of technological civilizations that might exist in our Galaxy (See https://www.seti.org/drake-equation-index for more information.)
5. https://www.seti.org/seti-institute/project/fermi-paradox
3. Science and Religion Working Together
Andrea with the Bangs recently invited me to participate in a discussion about how religion and science can work together. We discussed the origins of The Clergy Letter Project, the nature of science, how religion and science can interact, and the dangers of allowing creationism in any of its forms into science classrooms and laboratories. Not surprisingly, given the nature of the topic and the focus of The Clergy Letter Project, we also discussed the importance of finding ways to have complex conversations especially with those with whom you disagree. You can listen here.
4. Review of At the Edge of Time
I’m delighted to say that Clergy Letter Project member Rev. Joseph Shook has heeded my call for Newsletter content from members! As he has before, he’s offered readers a review of a recently published book: Dan Hooper’s At the Edge of Time: Exploring the Mysteries of our Universe’s First Seconds.
Joe notes that “For those who study and support the science of evolution, this book should be considered preliminary reading.” He also says that “Hooper uses common illustrations to help the reader understand our home’s history.” You can read Joe’s full review by clicking here.
5. Evidence that Our Work is Far From Over
There are times when I’m confident that we’re making progress, perhaps enough progress that The Clergy Letter Project might no longer be needed. Our numbers continue to increase steadily, the conversations I have with members are truly heartening, reports on our efforts are positive, and there seem to be more civil discussions about the relationship between religion and science. And then there are those other times!
Let me share a couple of recent experiences. I’ve been writing to clergy members from a denomination that has formally endorsed The Clergy Letter Project to invite them to join our efforts. Some have done so enthusiastically. And then there are those others.
Here’s one response I received this week: “Sorry but YOU are wrong and are making GOD's Church not a place of worship but a HOUSE OF LIBERAL Political Activists- There is NOTHING "MODERATE" about you, this letter, or any of the people that have signed it. Wake Up- President Washington said, "It is impossible to govern without God and the Bible." Your "favorite" Thomas Jefferson said, "I am a REAL Christian; that is to say a Disciple of Jesus Christ!" Jesus first miracle was done at a wedding; water was changed into wine; was that wedding two men, two women, or between ONE MAN & ONE WOMAN? Social Justice is a Liberal "hack" word for you either agree with me or you are wrong, racist, etc..... Good Luck in destroying God's People, Church, and Holy Words.”
I wrote back, as I do to everyone who writes to me, not to change his opinion but to explore differences and say that his characterization of members of The Clergy Letter Project individuals who were set on “destroying God’s People” was unfair and incorrect.
After a number of exchanges, this person’s tone calmed down enormously and we began to actually communicate. Here’s the final note I received: “Well said Michael I agree that both "sides" need to be able to speak freely about their personal faith journey. I guess for both of us it comes down to “Science & Scriptures” - Science can't totally explain Creation etc… and Scriptures can’t be proven by facts but only by faith. Stay strong as will I and we remain God’s humble servants, doing our best to share the “Good News” and make disciples for Christ.” This note was signed by his first name.
What pleases me most about this exchange is that we were able to move past attacks to actual dialogue. We were able to learn from one another. We were able to feel comfortable with one another – even while we still disagreed about some very fundamental points. This movement, this recognizing each other as individuals rather than as caricatures, is at the heart of what The Clergy Letter Project is all about. This type of communication gives me hope that the deep divisions in society don’t have to continue in their present form if we work to interact honestly with those with whom we disagree.
But then there are those other times!
Here’s the initial response I received from my invitation from a second individual: “Sir, I feel this letter is abhorrent, hiding valid issues of social justice within practices completely at odds with the bible. It favors science as truth and bible as somewhat true and/or fiction; there is no balance given here, just a satanic effort to deceive and promote a world view contrary to God's. To assert that evolution has stood up to scientific scrutiny is a lie straight from hell. The science concerning evolution does not exist; implausible and mathematically impossible theory exists that can neither be duplicated in any lab experiment nor has it ever been witnessed. Science requires both and it has not been done. Evolution, because of the latter, is simply another form of faith and subsequent worship of a lie; and Satan is indeed the father of the same. This letter and the deceptive methods within are sin, not the will of God and simply ugly! May God give you all your just reward for such a betrayal of the Gospel.”
After writing back, explaining a bit more about The Clergy Letter Project and making it clear that there’s an abundance of evidence supporting the theory of evolution as well as noting that large numbers of Christian clergy accept the theory of evolution while remaining devout in their faith, this clergy member replied. Here’s the response I received: “You want to prove your point about the absolute veracity of science by isolating some changes you witnessed at a molecular level and ignore all the other pseudo premises of evolution that are clearly nonsense. What you have described does not prove evolution and if it did, you would have humans who would have evolved within the last few centuries. Your attempt at humility is nothing short of condescending. My advice to you is to forget religion and develop a relationship with God. Please take my name off your list and don't contact me again. I have no desire to argue with you either.”
And then there was the person who wrote back to me quoting eight scripture verses, concluding with this explosion: “This all I'm going to say about this subject so DO NOT write back. I know I am right.... You know I am right! and we both know you are WRONG.”
I guess some people just aren’t into meaningful discussion, just aren’t interested in learning something about the perspective of those who disagree with themselves. While I’m still hopeful that we’re accomplishing good things, I’m also certain that we have a long way to go!
6. The Rise of Religious Robots
Roger Price, a good friend of The Clergy Letter Project and the author of the 2019 book When Judaism Meets Science, has written a short but provocative essay for us. Entitled “The Rise of Religious Robots,” the piece explores the increasing trend of robots being created to fulfill religious roles. Price ends his essay by asking a number of fascinating questions: “Collectively these innovations may signal the dawn of a technological reformation no less dramatic and consequential than the Protestant Reformation. This is because while there are many reasons for developing religibots, at least some of the efforts with respect to ever more sophisticated ones are intentionally designed to raise some basic and hard questions: Shall we welcome these strangers into our midst? Is it permissible for carbon based life forms to discriminate against silicon based life forms? Are these beings made in the image of God? Would our answers be any different if we asked them about alien beings from exoplanets instead of Earth based bots?” You can read the full essay here.
Last May I offered a limited number of free copies of Roger’s book for those who thought it might help in preparations for Evolution Weekend 2020. A number of the books that were awarded remain unclaimed so I’m offering them again. If you would like a copy let me know:
_____ Yes, I would love a free copy of When Judaism Meets Science to help prepare for Evolution Weekend 2020. If selected, I agree to pay $5 to cover postage and handling.
_____ Please add me to the list of participants for Evolution Weekend 2020.
Name of Congregation (or other institution):
Location:
Your Name:
You can read more about When Judaism Meets Science at the publisher’s website.
Concluding Thoughts
This was a longer newsletter than usual but I hope you agree that its length was justified by the content covered. As we approach Evolution Weekend 2020, I want to remind you that membership voted overwhelmingly (over 98 percent in favor) of creating a Climate Crisis Letter. A volunteer group is hard at work on this Letter and I hope to be able to share it with all of you in the coming weeks. Please look for a note from me soon. And, as I’ve said numerous times, please sign up to participate in Evolution Weekend 2020 if you’ve not yet done so.
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.
Michael
Michael Zimmerman
Founder and Executive Director
The Clergy Letter Project
www.theclergyletterproject.org
mz@theclergyletterproject.org