Religion and Science: Conflict or Harmony?

Some of the nation’s leading journalists gathered in Key West, Fla., in May 2009 for the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life’s Faith Angle Conference on religion, politics and public life, reports Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

Francis S. Collins, the former director of the Human Genome Project, discussed why he believes religion and science are compatible and why the current conflict over evolution vs. faith, particularly in the evangelical community, is unnecessary. Collins, an evangelical Christian, talked about his path from atheism to Christianity and his belief that science provides evidence of God. He cited the Big Bang theory and the fact that the universe had a beginning out of nothing. He added that the laws of physics have precisely the values needed for life to occur on earth and argued that would seem to point to a creator.

Barbara Bradley Hagerty, the religion correspondent for National Public Radio, discussed how the brain reacts to spiritual experiences. She talked about the current debate over whether transcendent experiences are merely physiological events or whether they reflect encounters with another dimension. Bradley Hagerty said she believes that “God is a choice,” that people can look at scientific evidence and conclude that everything is explained by material means or that they can look at the universe and see the hand of God.

To read the event transcript, click here.

Report from the Christian Telegraph

AUSTRALIA: BUSHFIRES UPDATE – 3rd March 2009 (Urgent Warning Update)

Reports from Victoria suggest the expected extreme weather has not proven to be as bad as feared. However, fire authorities are suggesting that the worst may be yet to come, with winds in the west of the state reaching 125 km an hour.

Residents in bushfire threatened areas are being warned not to be complacent as the fire threat is real and not an empty threat. However, many people are beginning to think that authorities are crying ‘wolf’ and exaggerating the threat. It seems some people haven’t yet grasped the reality of what occurred on Black Saturday when 210 people were killed (confirmed – 37 people are still missing).

Given the terrible conditions in Victoria it is incredible that arsonists are still lighting more fires around the state. New fires continue to occur around the state.

A grassfire began late this afternoon to the south of Ballarat and an urgent threat message is current for the communities of Dereel, Corindhap and Rokewood.

In some areas fire-fighters have been withdrawn because conditions are far too dangerous due to falling branches and trees.

A southerly wind change is tipped to hit Victoria tonight, but all this will do is swing winds around to a new direction with similar strength to the current northerlies, thereby opening up new areas of threat to the north of fires.

The southerly change could finally end the major fire on Wilsons Promontory as the fire will probably turn back on itself and burn out.

BELOW: CFA vehicle captures the bushfires near Wandong on Black Saturday

BELOW: Footage of the fire at Buxton on Black Saturday