Latest News

A Holiday with a Difference: Lecturing on a Cruise Ship
Tim and Lyn Beattie (ISCASTians in Melbourne) recently took a holiday with a difference. A cruise, in fact, where they offered some mental stimulation the fellow cruisers. We asked them to tell us briefly about the experience and how the talks were received.
 
Creation Careless

Thanks to Ian Hore-Lacy for alerting us to this interesting commentary on 'Christian creation-care wars' in the US; for those interested in the politics and theological leanings behind care for the planet.

Interview with Dr Jennifer Wiseman – Astrophysicist and Invited ISCAST Keynote Speaker in 2018

Today is International Women's Day and, while women are not overly represented in ISCAST (a challenge to remedy!), here's a sneak peak at a woman who we have invited to join us in Australia for a conference next year. 

Ard Louis and Morgan Freeman Talk about Science and God on National Geographic
Who has best portrayed God in cinema?  My vote is for Morgan Freeman’s version in the theologically profound Jim Carrey comedy Bruce Almighty (2003). Freeman gave the role gravitas, tackling a number of vexing theological questions in a humorous and endearing way. Thirteen years after his initial portrayal of God, Morgan Freeman is hosting National Geographic Channel’s The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, which recently kicked off its second six-episode season.
 

Exoplanets and theology

Does the discovery of exoplanets threaten established religions here on Earth?

A comment by ISCAST Fellow James Garth.

Exoplanet discoveries and alien life: A comment by ISCAST Fellow Jon Clarke
Exoplanet discoveries and alien life: A comment by ISCAST Fellow Jon Clarke

Dr Jonathan Clarke is an ISCAST Fellow and board member. He is president of Mars Society Australia, an associate of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, and sessional instructor in astrobiology at Swinburne University.
 

The Dictionary of Christianity and Science

A promising new Christianity and science dictionary is due out in April.

Simeon Network Draft Days
Our friends at the Simeon Network are holding various "Draft Days" around the country for Christian researchers to explore the intersection of their faith and work. There are opportunities to give a formal paper or present some initial thoughts for discussion.

Book Review - The Evolution of the West: How Christianity Has Shaped Our Values

Ian Harper
February 2017
Download review (213KB)

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There may be an antidote to politically motivated reasoning
There may be an antidote to politically motivated reasoning. And it's wonderfully simple. Yes, politics can make us stupid. But there's an important exception to that rule.
 

God, bubbles and the origin of life
There is something about the sight of a bubble hanging effortlessly in the air that excites a childlike wonder in us, whatever our age. Perhaps it’s their delicate beauty, almost transparent, glimmering with a rainbow of colours? Perhaps it’s the temptation to pop them? For me, the most amazing thing about bubbles is that they make themselves.

Science falling victim to 'crisis of narcissism'

Cut-throat atmosphere in world-class labs and conferences closer to House of Cards than Big Bang Theory, says Swiss academic.

Two new books by Mark Worthing
ISCAST Fellow Mark Worthing has recently had two new books released. Although they are not about science and faith, they do engage with the wider dialogue between Christian faith and culture and may be of interest to fellow Iscastians.

How living in an age of science and technology affects our understanding of Christianity

How living in an age of science and technology affects our understanding of Christianity: A 15-minute ISCAST board brainstorm (December 2016)

 

ISCAST Digest: Volume 8: Issue 4, Dec 2016

Volume 8 Issue 4 of the ISCAST Digest is now available for download.

Download Volume 8, Issue 4

Big data, human rights and the ethics of scientific research
As we all know, digitization is radically transforming our lives. The internet, mobile devices, massive data collections and the analytics applied to them are propelling a digital revolution. The World Economic Forum spoke recently of a Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The nature of things: rediscovering the spiritual in God's creation
A new book entitled The Nature of Things: Rediscovering the Spiritual in God's Creation, edited by Graham Buxton and Norman Habel, with foreword by David Rhoads.
 
This book arises out of 2015's international conference in South Australia on ecology and creation care, 'Rediscovering the Spiritual in God's Creation'.

Between science and theology: how science learns about unobservable entities
In 1800, someone took the temperature of a rainbow. This story isn’t as strange as it sounds because that ‘someone’ was not the sort of person to look for a pot of gold, but a scientist called William Herschel.

Beauty in the brain: sleep, disease, and family life

A podcast by Anna Goodman, neuroscientist, and Ruth Bancewicz asking what we can find out from studying neurological disease. How has Anna found a way to fit family life and career together, and how do both of those aspects of life complement her faith and role in the church?

Life & faith: going nuclear
Nuclear fusion energy has been heralded as the answer to the global energy crisis, a virtually endless – and cleaner – source of power that will last several generations.
 

Freewill and the brain: choices, constraints, and community
Have you ever had that slightly disturbing experience of arriving at work and realising that you have very little recollection of how you got there?

What is a person?
How would you know that a person was a person, if they didn’t come in human form? 

 

The State of Play of the Science - Religion Dialogue in Australia
We are pleased to report that The State of Play of the Science - Religion Dialogue in Australia: Six Emerging Themes, Six Key Strategies, Six Core Values (an ISCAST discussion paper) is now available for download.

A single migration from Africa populated the world, studies find.

Modern humans evolved in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago. But how did our species go on to populate the rest of the globe?

Scientists use 'virtual unwrapping' to read ancient biblical scroll reduced to 'lump of charcoal'.
Turned to charcoal in a blaze nearly 1,500 years ago, using groundbreaking digital reconstruction the scroll has finally been read and identified as biblical.

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