Researcher to Examine Biosciences, Faith
Denis Alexander, emeritus director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion and Fellow at the University of Cambridge, lectures about the biosciences and how they relate to Christian faith in two separate talks. The Pascal Society Lecture, “Whatever Happened to Adam and Eve?” is on Thursday, Jan. 21, at 7 p.m. He examines the emerging field of behavioral genetics in a lecture, “Are We Slaves of Our Genes?” on Friday, Jan. 22, at 3:30 p.m., both in Winter Hall’s Darling Foundation Lecture Hall (Room 210). Both talks are free and open to the public.
“Whatever Happened to Adam and Eve?” sponsored by the Gaede Institute for the Liberal Arts, examines whether the biblical accounts of human origin conflict with contemporary understanding of human evolution.
“Dr. Alexander will describe emerging discoveries in biology and faithful interpretations of Genesis that allow fruitful conversation between science and faith,” says Jeff Schloss, T.B. Walker professor in the natural and behavioral sciences.
Alexander speaks with a prominent voice in the field of science and religion, serving as a member of the executive committee of the International Society for Science and Religion and editing the journal Science & Christian Belief from 1992-2013.
“Are We Slaves of Our Genes?” examines recent proposals for a biological basis for many behaviors, from religiosity to political affiliation to sexuality. “These claims are debated by other sciences and raise challenging, theologically significant questions for notions of human freedom and moral responsibility,” Schloss says.
Alexander is an accomplished research biologist, former chair of molecular immunology at the Babraham Institute, Cambridge, and founding director of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at St. Edmunds College, Cambridge. In addition to his widely-recognized scientific research, he has written numerous books on faith and science, including the best-selling “Creation or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose?”