Story of the Site
This site was created for my final project (my Question for Research and Exploration) as a Fellow at the Trinity Forum Academy. I spent much of the year thinking about the interplay of science and faith. When I had the opportunity to teach the other Fellows, I wanted to convince them that science is actually cool, so I gave the group crash courses in cosmology and neuroscience. The talks went over well, and the idea was floated to record them for later use. This thought eventually evolved into this website, where the talks on cosmology and neuroscience and brought together with the thinking I had done on science and faith. (Of course, the thoughts offered here are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Academy.)
I hope the ideas offered on this site can challenge you to think and draw you to worship our creator. If you would like to respond to any the thoguhts, please send an e-mail to scienceasworship at gmail dot com.
Acknowledgements
I have the deepest gratitude for Dr. Francis Collins, who mentored me for the year and guided me through many of these ideas. Many thanks also to David Norman, Grady Powell, and Sarah Powell, along with all the Fellows at the Trinity Forum Academy who encouraged me and challenged me as I wrestled with bringing together science and faith. Thanks also to the Trinity Forum and all the supporters of the Trinity Forum Academy for helping to make this project possible.
All praise be to the Lord, who is God of all the truth, God of both the Bible and the genome!
Sea to Land
We will now look at the evidence for descent from a common ancestor over long time periods. The first source of data is the fossil record. The fossil record provides a unique view into the history of life, showing the forms and features of species through time. As we encounter species long extinct, we begin to comprehend the scope of God’s creative work.
The overall picture of the fossil record is change through time with an increase in complexity of life. Rocks over 1 billion years old exhibit only fossils of small, single-celled organisms. Moving to rocks 550 million years old, there are also fossils of simple, multicellular animals. At 500 million years ago (MYA), we find ancient fish without jawbones, and at 400 MYA we find jawed fish. Gradually, new types of animals appear: amphibians at 350 MYA, reptiles at 300 MYA, mammals at 230 MYA, and birds at 150 MYA. Even within these groups, there has been major change through time. For example, dinosaurs dominated reptile fossils from 230-65 MYA, early birds had teeth and tails, and early mammals were no larger than a mouse. As the rocks become more and more recent, the fossils look increasingly like animals observed today.
Clearly, through time there has been significant change in the organisms present on earth. An important question is whether the fossil record supports the claim that new species arise through gradual change – a key requirement of evolution. To answer this, four examples will be examined from Darrel Falk’s discussion in Coming to Peace With Science.
Turtles
We will now look at the evidence for descent from a common ancestor over long time periods. The first source of data is the fossil record. The fossil record provides a unique view into the history of life, showing the forms and features of species through time. As we encounter species long extinct, we begin to comprehend the scope of God’s creative work.
The overall picture of the fossil record is change through time with an increase in complexity of life. Rocks over 1 billion years old exhibit only fossils of small, single-celled organisms. Moving to rocks 550 million years old, there are also fossils of simple, multicellular animals. At 500 million years ago (MYA), we find ancient fish without jawbones, and at 400 MYA we find jawed fish. Gradually, new types of animals appear: amphibians at 350 MYA, reptiles at 300 MYA, mammals at 230 MYA, and birds at 150 MYA. Even within these groups, there has been major change through time. For example, dinosaurs dominated reptile fossils from 230-65 MYA, early birds had teeth and tails, and early mammals were no larger than a mouse. As the rocks become more and more recent, the fossils look increasingly like animals observed today.
Clearly, through time there has been significant change in the organisms present on earth. An important question is whether the fossil record supports the claim that new species arise through gradual change – a key requirement of evolution. To answer this, four examples will be examined from Darrel Falk’s discussion in Coming to Peace With Science.
Reptiles to Mammals
We will now look at the evidence for descent from a common ancestor over long time periods. The first source of data is the fossil record. The fossil record provides a unique view into the history of life, showing the forms and features of species through time. As we encounter species long extinct, we begin to comprehend the scope of God’s creative work.
The overall picture of the fossil record is change through time with an increase in complexity of life. Rocks over 1 billion years old exhibit only fossils of small, single-celled organisms. Moving to rocks 550 million years old, there are also fossils of simple, multicellular animals. At 500 million years ago (MYA), we find ancient fish without jawbones, and at 400 MYA we find jawed fish. Gradually, new types of animals appear: amphibians at 350 MYA, reptiles at 300 MYA, mammals at 230 MYA, and birds at 150 MYA. Even within these groups, there has been major change through time. For example, dinosaurs dominated reptile fossils from 230-65 MYA, early birds had teeth and tails, and early mammals were no larger than a mouse. As the rocks become more and more recent, the fossils look increasingly like animals observed today.
Clearly, through time there has been significant change in the organisms present on earth. An important question is whether the fossil record supports the claim that new species arise through gradual change – a key requirement of evolution. To answer this, four examples will be examined from Darrel Falk’s discussion in Coming to Peace With Science.
