ASA Voices

Thoughts about Psychopathy and the Moral Law

By Iain Strachan, on August 8th, 2010

Hi, everyone, I’m back after a long gap. Hopefully in this new format the waters will be calmer than they were at the end of last year.

Here are some thoughts I’ve been having recently that surely touches the interface of science and faith, but is not one I’ve seen discussed much as the usual favourites (evolution, . . . → Read More: Thoughts about Psychopathy and the Moral Law

Science, Faith, and Public Policy

By Randy Isaac, on July 22nd, 2010

The 2010 ASA annual meeting is set to begin on Friday July 30. The first plenary talk will feature Congressman Venon Ehlers, an ASA member for many years. Other plenary speakers and contributed papers can be seen in the final program and the abstract book.

Audio files of talks are being posted at
http://www.asa3.org/ASAradio/ASA2008podcast.xml

Attendees and ASA members . . . → Read More: Science, Faith, and Public Policy

ASA Origins Survey with Correction

By Richard Blinne, on July 16th, 2010

Recently the ASA sent a poll to its members concerning origins. Roughly half responded. The ASA is a fellowship of professional scientists and technologists who are Christians. The American Geophysical Union did a similar poll concerning global warming and found a huge difference of opinion between climatologists and petroleum engineers with 97% of climatologists affirming anthropogenic . . . → Read More: ASA Origins Survey with Correction

Hamilton’s Rule

By , on July 8th, 2010

A recent poll of ASA members showed some interesting results.

1. 73% of Christian professionals in the sciences affirmed the following: “Plants and animals developed through evolutionary processes” (with natural and/or non-natural causes from ancestral forms)
2. 60% affirmed “Plants and animals developed through evolutionary processes with natural causes from ancestral forms.”
3. 61% affirmed “Biologically, Homo Sapiens evolved . . . → Read More: Hamilton’s Rule

Randomness, Political Polling, and Intelligent Design

By , on July 1st, 2010

Political polling wunderkind, Nate Silver, has done it again. First he saw how Strategic Vision was making up polling data and now his low rating of Research 2000 has lead to a lawsuit of R2K by the Daily Kos for fraud. I would like to look at how the alleged fraud was detected. Namely, physical phenomena . . . → Read More: Randomness, Political Polling, and Intelligent Design

Book review:”Fire, ice and paradise” & My progress

By William Hamilton, on June 19th, 2010

I’d like to call your attention to the above titled book by H. Leighton Steward, which is reviewed on my blog at
http://bricolagia.blogspot.com/2010/05/more-satisfying-view-of-anthropogenic.html. It seems that many geologists take a different view of AGW than climatologists, and their views should be taken into account.

Now about me: I’m making good progress. I am in my third cycle of . . . → Read More: Book review:”Fire, ice and paradise” & My progress

Where’s the Outrage?

By Richard Blinne, on June 19th, 2010

Since I’m revisiting the BP spill disaster, you might assume from my title I’m talking about the President. I’m not. Rather, I’m talking about evangelicals in general and global warming skeptics in particular.

I’ve been debating global warming here for years because I believe that evangelicals have been manipulated by the energy companies and their political and . . . → Read More: Where’s the Outrage?

Thoughts on Craig Venter’s Synthetic Cell

By Terry M. Gray, on May 27th, 2010

On May 10 ScienceExpress published on-line Craig Venter’s Creation of a Bacterial Cell Controlled by a Chemically Synthesized Genome. A talk by Venter given last year at TED.com is a good introduction to the work.

Venter’s achievement is remarkable and embodies two critical accomplishments–first, the use of a chemically (vs. biologically) synthesized chromosome. Venter’s chromosome had never . . . → Read More: Thoughts on Craig Venter’s Synthetic Cell

Building a Bridge Between Faith and Science

By Randy Isaac, on May 11th, 2010

Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, astronomer and currently president of the ASA Executive Council, is the featured guest May 11 and May 12, 2010, on the radio show “Afternoons with Dr. David Anderson” from 3pm to 4pm EDT on WAVA 105.1 FM in Washington, DC. The program can be heard on the internet. Listen to the show and . . . → Read More: Building a Bridge Between Faith and Science

Is Inerrancy the Defining Feature of Evangelicalism?

By Terry M. Gray, on May 10th, 2010

The response of ASA members to the resignation of Bruce Waltke from RTS prompts me to write this. Perhaps I am mis-reading my fellow ASAers, but it seems that there is little grasp of a divide that occurred in evangelicalism over forty years ago–a divide that continues to this day as I see it. This is . . . → Read More: Is Inerrancy the Defining Feature of Evangelicalism?