September 14, 2020

Troubling the Division: Faith, Science and the Doubt They Share, Part 2

43 minutes

With today’s episode we continue the second series of Faith Made Welcome, a progressive podcast on faith brought to you by Commonwealth Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia.

If you listened to Episode 5, you know that we’re digging into a multi-part, in-depth discussion about the intersections between faith and science. As with Episode 5, this one features Faith Made Welcome regulars Robin, Marty, Cheri and Paul and Dr. Graham Walker, Marty and Robin’s Theology professor from seminary!

In this episode of the podcast, Graham kicks us off with an important call to action: “if you want to avoid moving God slowly out of the face of modern humanity, then you have to be able to use methodological materialism to say ‘okay, I’m going to go research the world that God has created and I’m going to ask the questions that are there.’” Join us as we explore how faith and science frame and navigate narratives, and perhaps most interestingly: how both faith and science can be used to support destructive human narratives.

About Dr. Graham Walker

Graham is a professor at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. He describes himself as someone who has been working with “the interface between science and theology for a long time.” He’s worked with Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, a program through the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that focuses on facilitating dialogue between scientific and religious communities.

Scripture Mentioned this Episode

Mark 15:39

Colossians 1:5

Additional Materials Mentioned this Episode

We’ve elected to list these references in the order they appear:

Tikkun olam: Graham discusses this concept from Judaism, which means “to mend the world”

Oak Ridge Projects: Graham notes the dangers of scientific advancement, including this project which led to the first instance wherein a nuclear weapon was dropped on a human society.

Josef Mengele: Graham makes reference to the death camps of the Haulcaust as another example of science used against the good of humanity

Tuskegee Experiment: this experiment is the third example Graham provides of means in which science has been used to support terrible narratives.

Contact (Film): Paul and Graham both refer back to this film, which we discussed in Episode 5.

Che Guevara: Cheri references Guevara’s work on guerrilla warfare

Cheri Spiegel: Well, Cheri kind of references her own work on narrative and guerrilla rhetoric by discussing the line between a guerrilla vs. a terrorist; she has written this subject about on the This Most Unbelievable Life blog.

Augustine: Graham references his critique of the Manichaean interpretation of the world and the way it framed a dualist argument.

Peter Berger: Graham discusses further Bergers’ stance on pluralism, which is further discussed in this article “The Good of Religious Pluralism”

Jaroslav Pelikan: Graham references his book Jesus Through the Centuries

Hans Kung: Graham references Kung’s writing along with Pelikan as a second example of a theologian who has explored the place and divinity of Christ in Christian tradition.

Fossil Record: Paul makes reference to the fossil record and debating theories about the origins of humanity.

Daina Butler Bass: Robin refers to her book Grounded and how World War II initiated the church decline that we see happening so rapidly today.

Umberto Eco: Graham reference’s his Name of the Rose

James Ediwn Loder: Graham references his concept of eikonic eclipse, which Loder wrote about it The Transforming Moment.

James Fowler: Robin references Fowler’s six stages of faith, which are discussed in his book by the same name: Stages of Faith

Elizabeth Johnson: Graham reference’s Johnson’s Quest for Living God, which frames how we use metaphor to map religious experience

Edward Wilson: Graham makes another reference to his coming home experience in the opening of The Creation.

Religious New Service: Robin reference’s Katelyn Beaty’s article on RNS called “QAnon: The Alternative Religion That’s Coming to Your Church”

Leon Festinger: Graham mentions his When Prophecy Fails during his discussion of cognitive dissonance

About This Podcast

This podcast was envisioned as means to foster spiritual growth and conversations about faith, both within and beyond the faith community at Commonwealth Baptist Church. At the open of this episode, we discuss what spiritual formation means to our CBC pastors and the role community plays in our concept of faith.

Got a question or want to reach out to the Faith Made Welcome team? You can reach us at [email protected].

Faith Made Welcome is produced by Cheri Spiegel, Paul Fitzgerald and This Most Unbelievable Life.

A Note on the Links in these Shownotes

The links to books mentioned in this episode direct to Old Town Books. We’re not sponsored by this bookstore; we just believe in supporting our local community! If you’re not an Alexandrian, we hope you’ll check these out at your local bookstore!

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