The Regent World

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News from the Regent World

Pastoral Science:
Reading, Teaching and Delighting in God's Two Books

Regent College recently embarked on a unique endeavour that addresses what has unfortunately come to be seen by many in the Christian community as the conflict between science and faith. Regent College is one of seven institutions chosen to participate in The John Templeton Foundation's Science for Ministry Initiative, which "invites organizations to develop programs that will help ministers and the congregations they serve to move away from simplistic ‘solutions' to the tensions between science and faith."

With the Templeton Foundation's generous financial support, Regent College has begun working with cohorts of pastors, across North America, to promote accelerated sustained change on the topic of Science for Ministry. Regent College's project focuses on equipping pastors to appreciate the origin, activity, nature, interpretation and social implications of science as it is integrated with faith. Associate Professor of Mission Studies, Ross Hastings, when asked why this project is important, stated: "At Regent we feel that theology must be done in response to all reality and that necessarily includes science." Ross Hastings is joined in this project by Dean of Students and Associate Professor of Bioethics, Jennie McLaurin; Regent student, Andrew Dwight; Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Loren Wilkinson; Research Associate for the Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, Paul Teel; and President of Global Concerns Consulting, Paula Rowland.'

Together with the pastors invited to participate, the group hopes to form and communicate a creational meta-narrative within which the Christian faith and the scientific endeavour can be seen as mutually coinherent. Their goal is to help leaders in Christian ministry to understand the deep connections between science and worship, locating all attempts at discovering and understanding God and his creation within the human response of wonder, grateful worship and wise stewardship of the cultural mandate.

The project began this summer, with fourteen pastors joining Regent College faculty members, and scientists connected with the Regent Community, for a time of intense teaching and discussion. Two additional cohorts will be gathered over the course of three years, with follow-up meetings for each group to be held at regular intervals. Participants in this project will also assist with facilitation of the 2010 Pastors' Conference, which will be entitled: "The Pastor and the Scientist."

For further information on Templeton's Science for Ministry Initiative please visit their website: www.scienceforministry.org. For further information about Regent College's project and its participants, please visit the "Pastoral Science" website: cosmos.regent-college.edu.