November 2021 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following fourteen items:
- Evolution Weekend 2022: Quickly Approaching;
- Astrobiology News for November 2021: New Frontiers in Astrobiology: The James Webb Space Telescope and Beyond;
- Will The James Webb Telescope See God?;
- The Rev. Ken Olson: A Clergy Member Who Writes, Digs and Sculpts;
- Science, Scientism, and the Intelligibility of Faith;
- The Darwin Day Roadshow;
- Spirituality, Religious Communities and Climate Change;
- Misunderstanding Evolution;
- The Beginning of Infinity;
- Creationism and Climate Change;
- A Cosmic Adventure Through Science and Faith;
- A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World;
- Our Connected Universe; and
- The Washington National Cathedral: Our Future in Space.
1. Evolution Weekend 2022: Quickly Approaching
We’re now less than three months from Evolution Weekend 2022 (11-13 February 2022). If you’ve not yet signed up for your congregation or your alternative group to participate, now would be a great time to do so. Over the years, while I’ve had scores of people contact me and say how glad they were that they opted to participate, I’ve not heard from a single person who expressed any regret in doing so.
As you all know far too well, the pandemic is still with us and even as grass roots pressure around the world is rising for our leaders to take steps to mitigate climate change, we’re already seeing some devastating impacts due to the actions we and those who have come before us have taken over the past 150 years or so. Religion and science can both play a part in dealing with these twin crises and when they work together their impact can, synergistically, be significantly amplified. Both religion and science lead us to the same conclusion: we must take action on both fronts for the well-being of our communities and our planet. It is for this reason that the membership of The Clergy Letter Project selected this year’s theme: The Pandemic, Climate Change and Evolution: How Religion and Science, Working Together, Can Advance Our Understanding.
Remember that Evolution Weekend is a distributed event, one in which every local congregation or group sets their own agenda, doing what makes the most sense for their local conditions. The only requirement is that your actions raise the quality of discourse about the compatibility of religion and science. So, if our theme isn’t right for you, feel free to participate in a manner that works better for you. You can do something big or something small, a sermon or a note in your bulletin, a Zoom discussion or an activity for kids. And you can do it any time in the temporal vicinity of Evolution Weekend (11-13 February 2022). At a time when civility in society seems to be consistently reaching new lows, demonstrating that two diverse disciplines, religion and science, can work together and support one another, is even more critically important than ever. Together we can make a difference.
Please sign up now!
_______ Please sign me up to participate in Evolution Weekend 2022.
Name:
Congregation or similar group:
Location:
2. Astrobiology News for November 2021: New Frontiers in Astrobiology: The James Webb Space Telescope and Beyond
In this month’s Astrobiology News Grace Wolf-Chase, Senior Scientist and Senior Education & Communication Specialist at the Planetary Science Institute as well as a Clergy Letter Project consultant, discusses the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope and some of the amazing things it might find.
Scheduled to launch on December 18, 2021 from French Guiana, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the long awaited successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, is the result of a more than two-decade-long collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. The 18 hexagonal, gold-coated beryllium sections that make up JWST’s 6.5-meter primary mirror will unfold as part of a complex series of maneuvers during the observatory’s 29-day journey enroute to a point in space about one million miles from Earth, where gravity will keep the observatory almost stationary relative to the Earth and Sun.
JWST was originally designed to study the oldest galaxies in the Universe and was scheduled to launch in 2007. The 14-year delay, together with the increasing number of exoplanet discoveries during the intervening years, has also positioned the study of exoplanets high on the list of its science priorities. JWST’s instruments detect light in the near- and mid-infrared parts of the spectrum, which make them ideal for studying faraway galaxies, and also for identifying several molecules that may be key to life on other planets.(1) Using a technique known as transit spectroscopy, JWST will observe exoplanets that pass in front of their stars, in order to identify molecules in the atmospheres of these exoplanets by the characteristic patterns the molecules produce as they absorb light from the stars. Although this technique has been used by both space-based and ground-based telescopes for years, JWST will be the first to make these measurements in the mid-infrared, which will enable it to identify molecules such as carbon dioxide, methane, water, and ammonia, which could indicate whether an exoplanet is able to, or does, support life.
Identifying habitable Earth-like worlds and searching for the biochemical signatures of life was identified as one of the top three priorities in the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020 (Astro2020),(2) which was released to the public on November 4, 2021.(3) JWST is a major step in this direction. Due to its physical constraints, however, JWST will only be able to study exoplanets very close to their stars. This doesn’t preclude the detection of habitable conditions on exoplanets that orbit cool stars; however, future missions will be needed to identify exoplanets that are truly like Earth. To this end, Astro2020 calls for the launch of a massive space-based observatory in the mid-2040s.(4) The main priority of this hypothetical space observatory would be to search for signs of life on 25 exoplanets that orbit in their stars’ habitable zones and have been deemed “Earth-like.”
Meanwhile, NASA has called for a new framework for understanding the significance of new scientific results relating to the search for life.(5) They propose a seven-level scale that would measure how close we are in terms of the search for life in particular locations, and in terms of the required technologies. The idea is to move beyond the binary “it’s life” or “it’s not life” options. Mary Voytek, head of NASA’s Astrobiology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington says, “We need a better way to share the excitement of our discoveries, and demonstrate how each discovery builds on the next, so that we can bring the public and other scientists along on the journey.”
To learn more about how JWST will contribute to this journey, please join us on December 1, 2021 at 5 pm Central Standard Time, when Dr. Heidi Hammel, Interdisciplinary Scientist for the JWST, will present a CASIRAS webinar with the provocative title, “Will the James Webb Telescope See God?”(6) Register(7) to get the free zoom link and tune in to hear Dr. Hammel’s take on this question!
Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (gwolfchase@gmail.com)
Senior Scientist & Senior Education & Communication Specialist, Planetary Science Institute (www.psi.edu/about/staffpage/gwchase)
Vice President, Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS: www.casiras.org)
1. https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/astrochemistry/James-Webb-Space-Telescope-astrochemistsnewest/99/i41
2. https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/decadal-survey-on-astronomy-and-astrophysics-2020-astro2020
3. https://nap.edu/resource/26141/interactive/
4. https://www.salon.com/2021/11/06/astronomy-ten-year-plan-exoplanets/
5. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/are-we-alone-in-the-universe-nasa-calls-for-new-framework
6. https://www.casiras.org/2021/11/10/will-the-james-webb-telescope-see-god-a-casiras-webinar-with-heidi-b-hammel/
7. https://www.lstc.edu/news-events/events/casiras-lecture
3. Will The James Webb Telescope See God?
In case you missed the last paragraph in Grace Wolf-Chase’s column this month, I want to bring the exciting webinar she mentioned to your attention. The Center for Advanced Study in Religion and Science (CASIRAS) will host Dr. Heidi Hammel, Interdisciplinary Scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, who will present a webinar provocatively entitled “Will the James Webb Telescope See God?” The webinar is scheduled for 1 December 2021 at 5 pm Central Time and is free. You can register for the event and receive the Zoom link by clicking here.
4. The Rev. Ken Olson: A Clergy Member Who Writes, Digs and Sculpts
As most of you will remember, I’ve had the pleasure of sharing a good number of essays written by The Reverend Ken Olson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, over the past several months. In getting to know Ken a bit over this time frame, I’ve learned that he’s even more multi-talented than I had previously believed. In addition to being a successful pastor and a fabulous writer, Ken is also a remarkably accomplished paleontologist and artist.
Working in Montana, Ken has made a huge number of paleontological discoveries, including the sacrum of a Triceratops that had 58 bite-marks on it indicating that it had been mauled by a T. rex. This was the first time that such a thing had been found. He was also commissioned by the Museum of the Rockies, among many other institutions, to sculpt numerous dinosaurs to complement their exhibits. Along the way, Ken has demonstrated to all the ways in which religion and science can comfortably coexist, including by writing a book entitled Lens to the Natural World: Reflections on Dinosaurs, Galaxies, and God.
Ken has shared pieces of his story with me, including many photographs of his finds and his artwork. I’ve lightly edited it and hope you enjoy it – both the text and the fabulous pictures. You can access it here. Please join me in thanking Ken for his work and for sharing his photographs with us.
5. Science, Scientism, and the Intelligibility of Faith
The Reverend Ted Peters, in addition to being a member of The Clergy Letter Project is emeritus professor of systematic theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. He also serves as editor of Theology and Science. He recently published an article in Public Theology entitled “Science, Scientism, and the Intelligibility of Faith” which I think you’ll not want to miss.
Ted opens his essay with a provocative paragraph: “It appears to SBNRs (Spiritual But Not Religious) and the wider public that science and religion are at war. Worse, it appears that religion in general, and Christianity in particular, are anti-science. What’s a public theologian to do?”
He goes on to dispel this belief, in part by quoting Antje Jackelén, Archbishop of Sweden and Clergy Letter Project member: “Mutually critical and self-critical relationship between faith and science is far more useful to humanity than confrontation.” He asserts that “the public theologian need not attack science. Science as science is not faith’s enemy.” What is problematic for Ted is scientism rather than science. I find it difficult to disagree with anything he’s written in this essay. Take a look and let me know what you think.
6. The Darwin Day Roadshow
Our good friends at the National Center for Science Education have noted that the Darwin Day Roadshow is returning. As they explain, “The Roadshow is a project of the Triangle Center for Evolutionary Medicine, in which scientists and educators share their enthusiasm for evolutionary science with students, teachers, and the general public on the occasion of Charles Darwin's birthday, February 12.” Roadshow “teams talk to students, teachers, and the general public about their research in evolutionary science, describe what it takes to become an evolutionary biologist (and what some of the rewards and challenges are), and convey why evolutionary science is relevant to everyone."
You can read more about the Darwin Day Roadshow here and you can apply to have your school receive a virtual visit from the Roadshow here. Do hurry, though, since applications are being accepted only through 29 November.
7. Spirituality, Religious Communities and Climate Change
Our sister organization, Sinai and Synapses, produces a great podcast entitled “Sacred Science.” On a recent edition Rabbi Geoff Mitelman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project and founding director of Sinai and Synapses, held a conversation with Joelle Novey, the Director of Interfaith Power and Light for MD-DC-NoVA (Maryland-DC-North Virginia). The conversation is entitled “Spirituality, Religious Communities and Climate Change.”
Here’s how Sinai and Synapses introduced the program: “When faced with the question, ‘What do we do about climate change?’ most people are looking for individual actions they can take. The problem is that the issue is so large and so abstract that we need solutions commensurate to the problem. This is where religious communities can help — by tapping into sacred values, giving space for difficult emotions, and opportunities to be role models, Interfaith Power and Light leverages the power of religious communities to tackle climate change."
I hope this moving conversation encourages you to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter if you’ve not yet done so – just let me know and I’ll get your name on the Letter. And I hope this conversation encourages you to participate in Evolution Weekend 2022 given the theme selected by members: The Pandemic, Climate Change and Evolution: How Religion and Science, Working Together, Can Advance Our Understanding. Again, just let me know and I’ll get you added to our growing list of participants.
8. Misunderstanding Evolution
Unfortunately, when Republican politicians opt to discuss evolution, things often go off the rails fairly quickly. With that in mind, I urge you to take a look at this clip of Sean Parnell, the Trump-endorsed candidate for the open senate seat in Pennsylvania. While he makes some outrageous and terribly sexist comments at the outset, given The Clergy Letter Project’s focus on evolution, it’s that part I can’t help but comment on! He says, “From an evolutionary standpoint, it used to be, you know, women were attracted to your strength because you could defend them from dinosaurs.”
Beyond the pure ridiculousness of the statement, I guess Parnell doesn’t realize that humans and dinosaurs missed each other by approximately 65 million years. But at least he’s not doubting the concept of evolution!
9. The Beginning of Infinity
Pastor Phil Kershner, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, responded to the item in last month’s newsletter entitled “Is God More Like Ella Fitzgerald or Ludwig von Beethoven?” by writing the following:
Are you familiar with the work of David Deutsch (The Beginning of Infinity, for one)? I think he would deviate from both Fitzgerald and Beethoven and say that God is more like an individual who dumps a pile of Legos in the middle of a room and then lets a small child in to do something with them while he himself leaves. :)
I was very much taken with that image and asked him to tell me more. He responded with a good deal of material from the book and, as you’ll see, Deutsch’s argument is that the metaphor of “Spaceship Earth” is misleading. Indeed, he posits that “the biosphere is incapable of supporting human life. From the outset, it was only human knowledge that made the planet even marginally habitable by humans.” And he goes on to say, “The moral component of the Spaceship Earth metaphor is therefore somewhat paradoxical. It casts humans as ungrateful for gifts which, in reality, they never received.”
I responded by asking if, in light of the environmental changes that have occurred since the book was published a decade ago, Deutsch may have moderated his views a bit - not that Earth was truly ever an Eden but that we humans do, now, have the power to destroy it for much, if not all, life. I went on to add that humans have existed on Earth for far longer than we've existed as a technologically sophisticated species – so our advances are not the things that are responsible for our existence. Yes, our lives were far shorter and more fraught, but humans were here.
Phil graciously responded with more information from Deutsch and with some from the work of Bjorn Lomborg giving all of us much to think about. They both argue that our focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature increases is misguided. I worry that their perspective is now approximately 10 to 15 years old and our environmental situation has changed considerably in the interim. Phil is looking for a middle ground between those he sees as extremists on the right and the left. I hope you find all of this interesting and that you join me in thanking Phil for raising so many interesting and important points.
10. Creationism and Climate Change
Michael Roberts, a good friend of The Clergy Letter Project, has written a comprehensive blog post about the way creationists are claiming climate change is nothing we should worry about.
11. A Cosmic Adventure Through Science and Faith
Luther Seminary is offering a free on-line course entitled “A Cosmic Adventure Through Science and Faith.” The Seminary describes the course as a “journey through the barrier between science and faith.” They go on to say:
Many will tell you that the gap between science and Christianity cannot be bridged, but don’t believe it! Astrophysicist Paul Wallace exercises both faith and intellect as he traces his journey away from God and back again.
With help from renowned scientists through the ages, including Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and Newton, Wallace proves that love for fact and truth does not have to be sacrificed in the search for meaning and significance.
In this compelling four-session course, you will be both enlightened and challenged. Each session includes a captivating video (under 10 minutes), summary points, questions for thought or discussion, and quiz questions to keep you on track.
You can complete the course at your own pace! It is completely free and is offered by Luther Seminary as part of our ongoing mission to educate leaders, serve in God’s world, and give witness to the salvation found in Jesus Christ.
You can register for the course here.
The resources presented in this course might be perfect for you to use in an Evolution Weekend event.
_______ Indeed, this sounds perfect for Evolution Weekend. Please sign me up to participate in Evolution Weekend 2022.
Name:
Congregation or similar group:
Location:
12. A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World
Dr. Katherine Hayhoe is Director of the Center for Environmental Studies at Texas Tech University, an expert on climate change and in communicating about climate change, and an evangelical Christian. In late October she was invited by the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC to present a webinar dealing with climate change. She titled her talk, “Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World” and she discussed moral and ethical issues swirling around climate change as well as making suggestions about what individuals can do. You can view her talk here.
In addition to hoping you find her presentation interesting, I hope it encourages you to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter if you’ve not yet done so – just let me know and I’ll get your name on the Letter. And I hope her presentation encourages you to participate in Evolution Weekend 2022 given the theme selected by members: The Pandemic, Climate Change and Evolution: How Religion and Science, Working Together, Can Advance Our Understanding. Again, just let me know and I’ll get you added to our growing list of participants.
13. Our Connected Universe
Rick Barr, editor of the WesleyNexus Newsletter, wrote the following item in the November issue:
I ran across the poetic post by Mo Thomas (shown below) and was intrigued by what it said, so I went to Mo’s facebook page and found out that he is a lay, amateur theologian with a background in engineering. He has also written a book,Into the Abyss: Discover Your True Identity in the Infinite Depths of Christ, reflecting on his journey from fundamentalism to a more open and risky faith that is surprising. It is always a pleasure to come across something new and unexpected, particularly on Facebook.
Our Connected Universe by Mo Thomas
Within every subatomic particle we find the Christ that holds and sustains all things together by the beauty of Their essence (Love). . . The Presence that entangles and connects all of existence in what we now call the Quantum Field that permeates the entire universe.
John 1… prologue to the 4th Gospel in the Voice translation:
“Before time itself was measured, the Voice was speaking.
The Voice was and is God.
“This celestial Word remained ever present with the Creator;
His speech shaped the entire cosmos.
Immersed in the practice of creating,
all things that exist were birthed in Him.
His breath filled all things
with a living, breathing light—
A light that thrives in the depths of darkness, blazes through murky bottoms.
It cannot and will not be quenched.”
14. The Washington National Cathedral: Our Future in Space
The Rev. Russ Ruffino, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, serves as a chaplain at the Washington National Cathedral. He told me that the Cathedral has been doing a wonderful job integrating religion and science into their activities. Just this week, the Cathedral presented an impressive program entitled “Our Future in Space.” The program included a number of impressive speakers including Bill Nelson, the head of NASA, Avril Haines, the director of National Intelligence, Jeff Bezos, and two astrophysicists, one of whom is also a theologian. Topics under discussion included the possibility of colonizing the Moon, visiting Mars, the creation of orbiting cities, the probability of life, both simple and intelligent, in the universe, and the theological implications of all of this. The program is well worth your time.
On the Sunday following the presentation, The Very Reverend Randolph Hollerith, Dean of the Cathedral and a member of The Clergy Letter Project, discussed the program in his sermon using the opportunity to address our need to care for our home planet from both a scientific and a theological perspective. You can listen to Randy’s sermon here. It begins around the 43 minute mark and I’m certain you won’t be disappointed. I suspect that some of you might easily and productively incorporate what he had to say into an Evolution Weekend event for your own congregation.
Concluding Thoughts
Much has happened in the month since the previous Clergy Letter Project Newsletter was distributed. Unfortunately, Covid19 cases are again rising in many places. The good news is that vaccinated individuals are largely being spared the trauma of serious infection. However, since so many among us are unvaccinated, cases continue to grow. If you’ve not yet been vaccinated, I urge you to take the vaccine if you have the opportunity. Similarly, if you are eligible for a booster shot, I urge you to take one. And I encourage you to speak out to implore our elected officials and drug company executives to do whatever they can to increase the rate at which vaccines are finding their way to countries that have not yet had widespread access to this life-saving medicine.
Similarly, with COP26 having just ended, the dangers arising from climate change have gained a great deal of attention. Unfortunately, the world’s leaders are still not taking nearly enough action to ensure a safe future for coming generations. They need to act; we need to act. I find it distressing to note that COP21 took place five years ago in Paris and we have made precious little progress over those five years. At the beginning of COP21, a message entitled “Call to Earth – A Message from the World’s Astronauts” was played for world leaders. This moving video is just as important today as it was then. Watch it, share it, discuss it.
I hope you, all those you care about, and all those with whom you interact remain safe and healthy. And I hope we take steps to ensure that our planet remains habitable far into the future.
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