Although I serve the community through various activities, I decided to specifically focus on one series of events that relate to my work as a biologist. The screenshot of the facebook post below is a teaser. It is a scene that 20 years ago, I would have never dreamed that I would have set up at church.
Class on Faith and Science at University Church of Christ
I promised myself I would never teach about evolution at church. Never. The topic can be too divisive. I did not want to be divisive, therefore I would never teach about evolution in church. It was that simple.
I grew up in a conservative family and church in West Texas. I was was specifically taught that evolution was absolutely incorrect and only atheists believed it. My middle school and high school science teachers carefully avoided the subject. During one Wednesday Bible class while I was in high school, a short-earth Creationist brought in books filled with drawings of dinosaurs with humans and tried to show us “scientific” reasons as to the historical accuracy of Genesis. Ironically, I had never questioned the historical accuracy of Genesis until the “proof” was in front of me.
Fast-forward about 20 years. I believe in God and accept evolution. I was asked numerous time by the organizer of the Wednesday night “Conversations” class at University Church of Christ to teach a series on faith and science. It was easy to turn down these requests from the organizer since I was married to him! Finally, Dr. James Thompson requested that I teach the series. I can say “no” to almost anyone, but I could not say “no” to Dr. Thompson. I decided to approach this series with the same sensitivity that I use when teaching non-science majors about the same topic.
In January 2016, I led a four-week series on faith and science. During the first week, I gave an overview of what science is, what it isn’t, what questions science can answer, and what questions it cannot. During the second week, Dr. Glenn Pemberton came and talked about interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2 from his perspective. During the third week, I gave a quick scientific overview of what evolution is (and is not). I even brought in the hominid skulls from the ACU Natural History Collection–a bold move that was received very well. During the fourth week, I discussed different viewpoints that Christians have about origins of life and what I believe about faith and what I accept about evolution.
This class was very well received, and I received many compliments. Not everyone agreed with me, but there was still an atmosphere of love and respect. Below are several notes I received about the class. I am planning on another science and faith series in January 2017, focusing on a less polarizing topic!
I received many encouraging comments from participants in the class. Here are several written comments that I received after the class was over.
