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GENDER: From Christian Perspectives

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Questions of gender identity and gender dysphoria have become prominent in our culture. Our churches are not exempt from this development, as Christians can also struggle with gender identity. What do we know about the biology of gender? What are Christian perspectives on gender and the trans experience? What are the important and unresolved questions? On the ASA and CSCA web sites Tony Jelsma, PhD, has written an essay that informs us about what we know and do not know about gender. He is chair and professor of biology at Dordt University and has taught courses in human anatomy, physiology, …

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PANDEMIC: From Christian Perspectives

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Pandemics are part of human life. We live and die through the Spanish Flu, Ebola, and SARS, only to face Covid-19. What have we learned about how to deal with these assaults, and ourselves in the midst of them? What do we need yet to figure out? What insights might Christian perspectives bring to the table? On the ASA and CSCA web sites Luke Janssen, PhD, has written an essay that informs us about what we encounter in these outbreaks, how such pandemics have shaped our societies before, and some of the unique challenges of Covid-19. He is well prepared to lead …

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The Nuclear Options: Christian Perspectives on Fission, Fusion, and Our Energy Future

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Do we have any energy source that is available 24 hours every day, releases no CO2 into the atmosphere, and does not kill birds? Yes. Nuclear fission. Then why do Sweden and France rely on it, but Germany is trying to phase it out to zero? Can we justify burying nuclear waste for thousands of years? Are there security risks? Will fusion ever be less than a few decades away? What insights might Christian perspectives bring to the table? Robert Kaita has written an essay that informs us about what is currently available in fission and fusion, and raises a …

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Raising Food for Thought

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We all depend on agriculture to provide our food. Further, agriculture is a major player in the quality of our water to drink and air to breath, the only two things we need even more immediately than food. What can the sciences and Christian faith tell us about how we should best raise and consume food? How should we proceed with GMOs, catching or farming fish, eating down or up the food chain, organic or factory farming, vegetarian, locavore, or omnivore…? Steven G. Hall (PhD Cornell University) raises a gamut of such questions. He is well prepared to lead us …

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Transhumanism: Christian Destiny or Distraction?

In Blogs, Calls for Submissions by James Peterson1 Comment

David C. Winyard Sr. (Ph.D., Virginia Tech) is an engineer and Science and Technology in Society scholar. From 1975–2012, he worked in R&D for the U.S. Navy and Defense Logistics Agency, receiving multiple awards and patents along the way. After retiring from federal service, he taught at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, 2014–2018, building its new engineering program. Since 2010, Winyard’s focus has shifted from technology development to its meaning. His 2016 dissertation analyzed connections between Christianity, and Transhumanism which seeks fundamental enhancements of life by science and technology. In an essay on the ASA and CSCA web sites, Winyard describes …

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Addiction: Diseased Brain, Divided Will, or Restless Heart?

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Judith Toronchuk (PhD McGill) teaches physiological psychology for Trinity Western University. She has published on affective neuronal selection, and both the phylogeny and ontogeny of affective social behaviour. She describes for us here the latest developments and challenges in the science of addiction for our society and Christian faith. That focus calls for our attention with opioid, marijuana, nicotine, gambling, porn, and alcohol addictions staggering our society. Toronchuk’s essay is intended as an invitation. Readers are encouraged to take up one of the insights or questions, or maybe a related one that was not mentioned, and draft an article (typically …

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Loving God with All Your Mind, and Alzheimer’s

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Bryan C. Auday, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology at Gordon College, Wenham, MA, and is also the founding Director of the Neuroscience Program there. He recently completed as Co-Medical Editor the Salem Health Magill’s Medical Guide (7th edition), Vols. 1-5, Hackensack, NJ: Grey House Publishing, 2014. Auday describes for us here the latest developments and challenges from Alzheimer’s Disease for the sciences, our society, and Christian faith. The essay is intended as an invitation. Readers are encouraged to take up one of the insights or questions, or maybe a related one that was not mentioned, …

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Cognitive Science of Religion and Christian Faith

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Justin L. Barrett is the Thrive Professor of Developmental Science in the Graduate School of Psychology, and Chief Project Developer for the Office of Science, Theology, and Religion Initiatives at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. A cognitive and developmental psychologist (Ph.D., Cornell University), his books include Why Would Anyone Believe in God? (2004), Cognitive Science, Religion, and Theology: From Human Minds to Divine Minds (2011), and Born Believers: The Science of Childhood Religion (2012). Barrett describes for us here the latest developments and challenges in the cognitive sciences for Christian faith. The essay is intended as an invitation. Readers are …

ASA’s 75th Anniversary

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In 1941, before the United States entered WWII, before antibiotics or AIDS, before nuclear power or bombs, before computers or even transistors… five scientists gathered in Chicago to start the American Scientific Affiliation. Now 75 years later in 2016, PSCF will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of ASA with a theme issue dedicated to the history of ASA. Such reflection may offer insights to orient and inform how we understand our present, and thoughtfully develop from here. Chris Rios is an assistant dean for graduate studies at Baylor University. He wrote most recently After the Monkey Trial: Evangelical …

The Image of God and Lab Rats

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Animals are more like human beings than any other part of creation, yet human beings are described uniquely as being in God’s image. What are the implications of such similarity and difference for lab rats, pets, hunting, factory farming, vegetarianism…? In this essay, Keri McFarlane asks how animals are distinct from humans. Do animals possess rationality and the capacity for consciousness? Should animals have rights? And then begins to explore the practical implications. Her essay is not intended as an exhaustive discussion, but rather as an invitation to engage some of the essential questions. Readers are encouraged to take up …