October 2023 Newsletter
In this Clergy Letter Project update you’ll find the following seventeen items:
- Religion and Science Weekend 2024: Sign Up Now;
- Astrobiology News for October 2023: Cosmic Bringers of Life and Death;
- Anti-Science Views are Killing Us;
- Our Shared Yearnings for a Greater Good;
- A Building Block of Life on Europa;
- An Ecological Perspective on God, Ourselves and Nature;
- The Shrinking Glaciers of Switzerland;
- The Moon’s Influence on Tides;
- Called to Creation;
- Evangelicals and the Environment;
- A Voice in the Wilderness: A Review;
- Our Fragile Moment: A Review;
- What is Awe?;
- Early Humans in North America;
- How Do We Know Humans Are Causing Climate Change?;
- Pope Francis on Climate Change; and
- How the Faith-Science Relationship Impacts Faith Formation.
1. Religion and Science Weekend 2024: Sign Up Now
As I noted in last month’s newsletter, members voted to endorse “Religion, Science and the Common Good” as the theme for Religion and Science Weekend 2024. I’m in the process of building this year’s website promoting the weekend so this would be the perfect time to sign up to participate. Additionally, if you have thoughts on how best to implement our theme, let me know and I’ll make space in an upcoming newsletter for your ideas.
Religion, Science and the Common Good
Religion and Science Weekend 2024
9-11 February 2024
_____ I’m excited by this theme! Please sign me up to participate in Religion and Science Weekend 2024.
Name of Congregation (or other group):
Location:
Your Name:
2. Astrobiology News for October 2023: Cosmic Bringers of Life and Death
In this month’s Astrobiology News essay, 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 samples NASA collected from the asteroid Bennu and returned to Earth this month. Amazing!
Asteroids are of great scientific interest, in part because of their potential threat to life on Earth through catastrophic impacts, but also for their possible life-giving qualities. Last month, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security – Regolith Explorer) mission returned a half-pound sample of material from Bennu, an asteroid named in 2013 by a nine-year-old boy for an ancient Egyptian deity associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth.(1) Bennu is truly ancient – essentially undisturbed since the formation of the Solar System over 4.5 billion years ago – and its composition may hold clues to the origin of life on Earth.
The study of the sample of asteroid Bennu that was returned by OSIRIS-REx is in its infancy; however, on October 11 the science team reported a high concentration of carbon and water.(2) Carbon is present in both organic and mineral form, while water is locked inside clay minerals. Since water-carrying asteroids are thought to have helped create Earth’s oceans, lakes, and rivers, thus making Earth a habitable planet 4 – 4.5 billion years ago, further analysis is expected to yield important insights into Earth’s past. A better understanding of Bennu’s composition may also prove useful if humanity ever needs to steer it away. Although there is no risk of Bennu hitting the Earth through the mid-2100s, the chances rise to around 1 in 1,750 between then and 2300.(3)
While the science team will continue its analysis for the next two years, NASA will preserve at least 70% of the sample at the Johnson Space Center in Houston for further research by scientists and future scientists worldwide. NASA will also loan samples to the Smithsonian Institution, Space Center Houston, and the University of Arizona for public display later this fall. Meanwhile, if you’d like to help search for new asteroids, check out The Daily Minor Planet on Zooniverse!(4)
Until next month,
Grace
Grace Wolf-Chase (she/her/hers) (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://www.nasa.gov/solar-system/ten-things-to-know-about-bennu/
2. https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasas-bennu-asteroid-sample-contains-carbon-water/
3. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-nasa-asteroid-sample-life-critical-carbon.html
4. https://www.zooniverse.org/projects/fulsdavid/the-daily-minor-planet
3. Anti-Science Views are Killing Us
Texas Monthly has a wonderful (but depressing) story about Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and a vaccine expert. The piece discusses Hotez’s public stance promoting vaccination, the attacks on him, and his recently published book, The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science: A Scientist’s Warning. He makes the case clearly and unapologetically that anti-science propaganda is “killing Americans in unprecedented numbers. Forty thousand Texans needlessly perished because they refused the COVID vaccine, and two hundred thousand Americans overall.” Hotez, in my mind, is an American hero and his outreach work is similar to that of The Clergy Letter Project – attempting to bring rational discourse to a controversial topic. Do take a look at this article; you won’t be disappointed.
4. Our Shared Yearnings for a Greater Good
Dr. Jeff Schloss, a professor of biology at Westmont College, a member of The Clergy Letter Project’s list of scientific consultants, and, perhaps most importantly, a close personal friend of mine, wrote an essay a number of years back that speaks directly to the theme members voted for Religion and Science Weekend 2024: Religion, Science and the Common Good.
His piece is well-written, thoughtful and provocative. I trust it will provide you with some ideas on how best to celebrate Religion and Science Weekend 2024. Toward that end, let me leave you with just one of his important points:
There is no moral virtue in being a dutiful cell in a body. There can be no shared yearning for a “greater good” apart from recognition of our own individual good, which (ala Hillel) can be simultaneously invested and fulfilled in pursuit of the greater. The exquisite and anguishing reality of human sociality is that self-sacrifice is possible because we still have selves. But in this precarious isthmus of a middle state, we have selves only insofar as we nurture and are nurtured by other selves in our social body. And this nurture can be extended across the centuries.
5. A Building Block of Life on Europa
In last month's Astrobiology News column, Grace Wolf-Chase discussed research suggesting “that exoplanet K2-18b may possess an environment with life-harboring potential, including tantalizing hints of possible biological activity.” Now, closer to home, new research also using the James Webb Space Telescope has discovered conditions that might be amenable for life on Europa, a moon of Jupiter. You can read about this fascinating discovery in a CNN news report here.
6. An Ecological Perspective on God, Ourselves and Nature
Our friends at BioLogos published an interesting essay by Dr. Ryan Sensenig, a professor of biology at the University of Notre Dame. The essay is entitled “An Ecological Perspective on God, Ourselves and Nature.” Ryan certainly addresses some important questions in his piece: “Why did God create us as part of complex biological systems where a 'win' for one species often means a 'loss' for another? What is God trying to teach us?”
7. The Shrinking Glaciers of Switzerland
A CNN article makes the case that the glaciers of Switzerland “are shrinking at a ‘mind-blowing’ rate.” Consider the following from the piece:
In 2023, the country’s glaciers lost 4% of their total volume, according to data from the Swiss Commission for Cryosphere Observation of the Swiss Academy of Sciences. This level melting is second only to the record set in 2022, when 6% of glaciers were destroyed.
To put this into perspective, Swiss glaciers have lost as much ice over this two-year period as was lost over the three decades between 1960 and 1990.
8. The Moon’s Influence on Tides
Here’s a fascinating and fun visualization of how the moon's gravitational pull influences high and low tides. Enjoy!
9. Called to Creation
Our friends at Science for the Church published an interview with the Rev. Dr. Jessica Moerman, a climate and environmental scientist as well as a pastor. They note that “We think Jessica is one of the most exciting and hopeful emerging voices in the field of climate science and Christian faith.” I suspect that you’ll find the interview well worth your time.
10. Evangelicals and the Environment
Neall Pogue is the author of The Nature of the Religious Right: The Struggle Between Conservative Evangelicals and the Environmental Movement and he participated in an interesting interview that appeared in Current. The interview discusses “how evangelicals moved from environmental stewards in the 1970s to opponents of global warming by the end of the 1990s.”
11. A Voice in the Wilderness: A Review
The latest issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education ran a review of Joseph Grave’s book entitled A Voice in the Wilderness: A Pioneering Biologist Explains How Evolution Can Help Us Solve Our Biggest Problems. Take a look at the review if you want to learn more about the power of evolutionary science.
12. Our Fragile Moment: A Review
The latest issue of Reports of the National Center for Science Education also ran a review of Michael Mann’s latest book, Our Fragile Moment: How Lessons From Earth’s Past Can Help Us Survive the Climate Crisis. I suspect you’ll find it interesting.
13. What is Awe?
Over the years, we’ve explored many ways awe, science and religion can interact – and yet there’s more interesting things that can be said. In this essay, Rabbi Linda Joseph, rabbi at Bet Aviv in Columbia, MD and a member of The Clergy Letter Project, addresses the question What is Awe?
14. Early Humans in North America
There have been a number of recent reports summarizing research suggesting that humans came to North America earlier than previously thought. Here’s a link to a gift article from The Washington Post entitled “Ancient footprints upend timeline of humans’ arrival in North America.” While the article is not as well written as I would have expected, two points are critical. First, it appears that humans may well have arrived on the continent between 23,000 and 21,000 years ago rather than 14,000 years ago as previously hypothesized. Second, the data causes all sorts of trouble for those creationists still promoting a young Earth scenario.
15. How Do We Know Humans Are Causing Climate Change?
There are still some who deny humans are responsible for climate change. With that in mind it’s well worth looking at what the IPCC (the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has to say on the issue. IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report shows that the dominant role of humans in driving recent climate change is clear and is based on a synthesis of information from multiple lines of evidence. “Chapter Three: Human Influence on the Climate System” is well worth scanning.
16. Pope Francis on Climate Change
Pope Francis recently released an Apostolic Exhortation dealing with the climate crisis. He argues forcefully that climate change is real, despite those who might deny its existence, even with the Catholic Church, and he notes, “This is a global social issue and one intimately related to the dignity of human life.”
In addition to taking a look at Pope Francis’s words, you might want to scan a summary of his main points offered by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist who writes regularly about faith.
And, if you’ve not yet done so, you might want to add your signature to our Climate Crisis Letter. Just drop me a note and I’ll do the rest.
17. How the Faith-Science Relationship Impacts Faith Formation
The Frederick District of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church is sponsoring an exciting workshop entitled “How the Faith-Science Relationship Impacts Faith Formation” on 28 October from 10 am until noon (eastern). Here’s how the event is described:
Perceptions of conflict between faith and science have long been known to contribute to the loss of 60% of our youth from the both the church and the Christian faith. This workshop will discuss how those perceptions of conflict impair faith formation in children and youth. We’ll explore practical approaches and solutions to this challenge that can be implemented within your existing ministries and budget. Participants will be equipped and resourced to help their students experience a better, healthier understanding of the faith-science relationship. This workshop will be offered in a hybrid format, in-person and via Zoom.
You can sign up to participate here.
Concluding Thoughts
The horrific terrorist attack in Israel is at the front of my mind. Like you, I am heartbroken by the lives that have been taken, families destroyed, and inhumanity and evil exposed. I hope the world is capable of separating those responsible for planning and carrying out these horrendous acts from others who share geography, religion, or ethnicity with the perpetrators. Condemning and being disgusted by the attack doesn’t mean that we have to believe that people in Gaza have been treated fairly -even humanly – over the past decade. But the attack on innocent civilians, babies, Holocaust survivors cannot be justified by pointing to anything else. It was a repugnant act – and with hostages being held in Gaza, it is ongoing. Noah Efron, a good friend of The Clergy Letter Project and a professor of history and philosophy of science at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, has written a moving essay sharing his thoughts on the tragedy. I urge you to take a look at it.
Finally, 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