November 2022 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following eighteen items:
- We Have a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2023;
- Astrobiology I: Are Flat-Earthers Serious?;
- Astrobiology II: Our Smiling Sun and Earth;
- Annual Membership Drive – No Monetary Contribution Requested;
- Should Religion Go Extinct?;
- Racists Abusing Science;
- Evolution and Faith;
- Rabbi Mike Talks;
- Jason Wiles Wins Award;
- The Clergy Letter Project, Twitter and Mastodon;
- Face Fear by Embracing Awe;
- Modern Scientific and Jewish Mystical Views;
- Climate Change and Creationism – Ten Days in October;
- Evolution Education in Public Schools;
- Understanding Noah’s Flood;
- The Cosmology of Psalm 8;
- Quantum Entanglement – Spooky Action at a Distance; and
- ELCA’s Message on Climate Crisis.
1. We Have a Theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2023
You’ve voted and we have a theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2023:
Mystery, Awe and Wonder in Religion and Science
I’d like to make a number of points about our vote and our new theme. First, thank you to all of you who voted. Second, I was impressed that every one of our 11 options received first and second place votes. Third, in keeping with the theme selected, I purposefully chose some of the items below for inclusion in this month’s newsletter. I hope you find some or all of them useful as you plan for your Religion and Science Weekend participation.
Finally, as has been the case every year, you are encouraged to participate in Religion and Science Weekend whether you opt to focus on our theme or not. As long as you do something to elevate the discussion of the relationship between religion and science, we welcome you on board. And that something can be large, a sermon or a guest speaker, it can be small, a note in your weekly bulletin or a lunch discussion, or it can be anything else you deem appropriate. And although we welcome your participation on the weekend of 10-12 February 2023, we recognize that this date can’t work for everyone. Please sign up to participate even if your participation occurs at some other point.
_______ I plan to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2023 (10-12 February 2023). Please add my congregation (or other group) to the list of participants.
Congregation or similar group:Location:
Your Name:
2. Astrobiology I: Are Flat-Earthers Serious?
Grace Wolf-Chase continues to make progress in her rehab from surgery and I’m optimistic that her wonderful Astrobiology News column will reappear soon. In the meantime, although I can’t compete with her insight and knowledge, I will continue to try and provide interesting astronomical tidbits to fill the massive gap her absence has created.
Toward that end, I’m sharing a piece about flat-earthers: what they believe and how we know it’s wrong. The article was originally published about a decade ago but it has recently been updated and has a good deal of fascinating material in it. And, yes, I realize that this is only tangentially related to Astrobiology – which is why we need Grace back writing her columns!
3. Astrobiology II: Our Smiling Sun and Earth
Ok, given that the last item wasn’t fully on target, I’m going to share material directly from NASA in this item!
Here, then, are some NASA pictures. The first is, as NASA indicated, a picture of the sun smiling. The second consists of two pictures of Earth taken by the Lucy spacecraft on its way to Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. Absolutely striking!
4. Annual Membership Drive – No Monetary Contribution Requested
So much about The Clergy Letter Project is a bit different than other organizations so it shouldn’t be a surprise that our annual membership drive also takes a very different form. We’ve never asked members for money, but we do ask for support, support for the cause we’ve come together to advance: promoting an understanding that religion and science can be compatible and, when working together, they can help create a better world, a fairer, more tolerant, greener, and welcoming environment for all of us.
So toward that end, I hope you’ll participate in this year’s membership drive simply by reaching out to one or more members of the clergy and ask that they sign one of our clergy letters. It’s that simple and it will merely take you seconds to do so. Our strength comes from our numbers and our numbers will only grow if you approach colleagues. Please help us build the better world that we all envision.
5. Should Religion Go Extinct?
The Reverend Ted Peters, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, regularly writes interesting essays on his blog and I’ve shared a fair number of those essays with you in the past. Here’s another one! This one is entitled “Should Religion Go Extinct with the Dinosaurs?” I can’t do justice to his insight by even attempting a summary in a few sentences, so I’ll not try. Instead, I’ll simply encourage you to read his piece.
6. Racists Abusing Science
A recent paper published in Nature discussed the ways in which genetics research has been misused by extremists in an attempt to promote their agenda and offers advice on how to combat this problem. The authors note that “There is growing awareness among geneticists and other researchers that the latest resurgence of white supremacy is being driven, in part, by the far right co-opting scientific findings.”
The authors also articulate a position endorsed by The Clergy Letter Project: “Many of the denunciations of racism by scientists, scientific societies and editorial boards invoke decades of human-genetics research debunking the idea that human ‘races’ are biologically distinct, and repeatedly emphasize instead that race is a shifting social, historical and political construct.”
Their goal is to “lay out some concrete ways in which human geneticists could counter the co-option and weaponization of primary scientific literature by the far right."
I know that many of you have offered sermons on this topic and thus I think you’ll find this paper both interesting and useful.
7. Evolution and Faith
Dr. T. Heath Ogden is a professor of biology at Utah Valley University, a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and a member of The Clergy Letter Project. His is a forceful and prolific voice for evolution and for the compatibility of religion and science. He recently delivered a lecture entitled “Evolution and Faith: Perspectives from an Evolutionary Biologist” that you might well want to watch. If you do watch it, I suspect you won’t be disappointed!
8. Rabbi Mike Talks
Rabbi Michael Harvey, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, is a fairly prolific commentator on Twitter (@RabbiHarvey). I was taken by one of his recent tweets and thought I’d share it with you:
Jehovahs Witnesses don’t protest outside blood banks. Mormons don’t protest outside coffee shops that sell caffeine. Jews and Muslims don’t protest outside grocery stores that sell pork.
Only Evangelicals think our business is their damn business.
And, as long as I’m discussing Rabbi Mike, you might want to take a look at his recently published book, Let’s Talk: A Rabbi Speaks to Christians.
9. Jason Wiles Wins Award
I am thrilled to share the news that Dr Jason Wiles, a member of The Clergy Letter Project, the author of our Humanist Clergy Letter, and a professor of biology at Syracuse University, has been named as the winner of the National Association of Biology Teachers’ Research in Biology Education award. His research focuses on how the public thinks about scientific concepts such as evolution and climate change. Please join me in congratulating Jason on this wonderful honor.
10. The Clergy Letter Project, Twitter and Mastodon
As you likely know, Twitter currently seems to be undergoing lots of changes. Some are predicting that it might permanently crash, while others are predicting that it might become so toxic that many users will leave. I’ve noticed an increase in hate speech over the past couple of weeks and I’m finding it very disturbing. For all these reasons, I’ve created an account on Mastodon in case I opt to move or have to move. So, consider this an invitation to follow me on Twitter (for now) – @mzclergyletter – or, if you’re on Mastodon at @mzclergyletter@qoto.org. I hope to see you on one of these platforms.
11. Face Fear by Embracing Awe
Our good friends at Sinai and Synapses continue to produce first rate pieces exploring various aspects of the interface between religion and science. They recently published the Yom Kippur sermon delivered this year by Rabbi Rachael Jackson, a member of The Clergy Letter Project. She concludes her moving missive by saying:
May this year of 5783 open our eyes to awe.
May we soak it in and embrace it at every opportunity.
May we embrace togetherness and collaboration over isolation and competition.
May we sense deep vastness and a need to shift our understanding of the world each and every day.
May we face fear by embracing awe.
May this be our blessing and may this be so.
12. Modern Scientific and Jewish Mystical Views
In another great piece published by Sinai and Synapses, astronomer Bonnie Buratti compares what we know about the size, age and origin of the universe with what Jewish mystics thought about these same issues centuries ago.
Her conclusion should resonate with all members of The Clergy Letter Project: “Faith and science both exist in the world of wonder, seeking enlightenment and knowledge, and opening up questions of our place in the Universe. The great questions of origin and scope, and the awe at our smallness coupled with our ability to contemplate that smallness, are hallmarks of both fields. But only faith can contemplate purpose.”
13. Climate Change and Creationism – Ten Days in October
Paul Braterman, a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants and a retired professor of chemistry, has written a fascinating blog post entitled “Climate Change and Creationism – Ten Days in October.” The essay’s premise is intriguing. On 17 October Ken Ham, head of Answers in Genesis, complained about steps New Zealand has undertaken to reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions from its flocks of sheep and cattle. Ham wrote, “The real problem facing New Zealand and the rest of the world isn’t an emissions problem—it’s our sin problem.”
Paul “decided to test this appraisal by collecting just those articles regarding climate change that happened to pop up in [his] newsfeeds, in the ten days immediately following AiG’s article.” His results yielded an amazing array of information about ongoing environmental havoc caused by climate change. Not surprisingly, he found that “emissions are repeatedly mentioned, but our sin problem is mysteriously absent.”
Beyond this simple point, Paul provides a great deal of perspective on climate change that you’ll likely find interesting and helpful.
_______ This information convinces me that I want to add my signature to the Climate Crisis LetterName and Title:
Congregation/Denomination/Religion (optional):
City, State, Country
14. Evolution Education in Public Schools
Our good friends at the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) shared information about how Americans view the teaching of evolution in schools. The data come from a study arising at the University of Southern California and show that 69 percent of respondents thought that it was appropriate for books focused on evolution to be assigned at the high school level, but only 51 percent thought it appropriate at the elementary school level. When asked whether such books should even be available to students, 87 percent of respondents thought it appropriate at the high school level, but only 73 percent thought it appropriate at the elementary school level.
While these results aren’t quite as bad as they could be, it is clear that we still have a good deal of work to do!
15. Understanding Noah’s Flood
Dr. Larry Collins is a retired professor of geology and a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants. He regularly debunks creationist ideas and one of his recent articles is entitled “Understanding Noah’s Flood Story.”
In this essay, Larry explains how hurricanes and tsunamis work. He concludes by making the following important point: “Those people who want to make the Bible a science textbook cannot just choose data that fit what they want to believe and ignore data that do not fit. That is not the way proper science is done. The evidence provided in this article clearly shows that Noah’s Flood was never global and must be understood as a presentation by Moses to give the early humans a wonderful theological message.”
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.
16. The Cosmology of Psalm 8
Thomas Johnston, a divinity student at Trinity Lutheran Seminary at Capital University, recently published an article entitled “The Cosmology of Psalm 8: A theological approach” in Covalence Magazine. Susan Baretto, editor of Covalence, notes that Thomas offers a “deep dive into Psalm 8's amazing imagery and cosmological message. It is a thorough look at the relationships between the Bible and science.”
Thomas himself makes a point fully in keeping with the main premise of The Clergy Letter Project: “When I was first developing this project, I wanted to look at the cosmology of Psalm 8, with the goal of bringing the psalm in line with modern cosmology. This paper really transitioned into a conversation between the Bible and Science and realizing that these two are not mutually exclusive, despite the rhetoric of some Christian groups.”
17. Quantum Entanglement – Spooky Action at a Distance
Editors at New Scientist have known for years that any time they place the word “quantum” on their cover, sales increase dramatically. That knowledge, in part, led me to include this item this month! On a more personal level, I’ve been confused about and attracted to quantum entanglement for years, hence this item makes sense! On a more practical level, given that members voted for this year’s theme to be Mystery, Awe and Wonder in Religion and Science, this article from Scientific American really does make sense.
The piece is entitled “The Beauty at the Heart of a ‘Spooky’ Mystery.” Rather than attempting to explain the thesis of the article (something I couldn’t do because I’m still hopelessly confused by entanglement), let me simply quote the subtitle: “Quantum entanglement seems like it shouldn’t be possible, but experiments from 2022 Nobel Prize winners based on John Bell’s work tell us otherwise.” I hope you find the piece interesting and helpful, and that it enables you to understand this complex topic more fully than I have! And, if you want to try your hand at offering me solace or insight, I’d welcome either.
18. ELCA’s Message on Climate Crisis
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has produced a draft of a position paper entitled “Earth’s Climate Crisis.” The paper builds on previous statements issued by ELCA. Before finalizing their statement, the authors are requesting input via a survey. Please take a minute or two to read the statement and provide your thoughts. And, if you haven’t yet done so, please use this opportunity to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter as well.
_______ The ELCA statement has prodded me to add my signature to the Climate Crisis LetterName and Title:
Congregation/Denomination/Religion (optional):
City, State, Country
Concluding Thoughts
COP27, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is underway as I type these words. Time for serious action is swiftly escaping so I desperately hope that something positive comes from this meeting. On a related note, the Earth’s human population just exceeded 8 billion. And too many of those 8 billion people are living in poverty. I hope we, as religious leaders and scientists, as world citizens and as empathic individuals, can take action to build a better future for us and ensuing generations. In addition to doing what we can in our lives, we can encourage our leaders, in government and in business, to take action. One simple step is to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter. Let your voice be heard!
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