Website of the Tyneside & Northumberland local group of Christians in Science
Update for November 2025
Another year drawing towards its close as we head for the joyful seasons of Advent and Christmas! We recently had another very successful CiS annual conference, this time in the Manchester area at the end of October, with a variety of contributions ranging from a light-hearted presentation by a Christian magician to serious considerations of the impact of Artificial Intelligence by some of the speakers in parallel sessions of short talks. Recordings of the event should be made available soon and can then be found through links on our Previous Events page or through the CiS website.
In the middle of November the Sunday Worship programme on BBC Radio 4, entitled Awe and Wonder at Jodrell Bank, marking 80 years since Sir Bernard Lovell founded this astronomy research facility, celebrated a combination of physics, music and faith in the personal experience of Steph Bevan, one of the Trustees of Christians in Science and formerly the organisation’s Development Officer. David Wilkinson, astrophysicist and theologian based in Durham, gave an address in his inimitable style. The recording of the programme is available on the BBC website (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002m965) but only until 16 December; it is well worth listening to.
It has recently been widely reported that the YouVersion Bible app for computers, smartphones and other devices has now been installed more than 1 billion times. Unlike many other popular online resources, it remains completely free and without commercial advertising to generate profit. This has prompted my latest article on the Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint page, looking at making money (or not) from science.
Update for September 2025
As we move on from the summer holiday period, various organisations are generating their autumn programmes, and you can see some of the attractions on offer in the ‘Future Events’ page. Prime among these, and now not far away, is the CiS 2025 conference, held this year in Altrincham Baptist Church a short way south of Manchester and easily accessible by the motorway network and other roads and by public transport. The theme is ‘God makes the difference’ with contributions from a range of speakers including a comprehensive set of short talks, some of which will be given in two parallel sessions. As an alternative to travelling, you can participate online.
I recently attended a short conference on ‘Baptist Perspectives on Science and Religion’ and this is the theme of my latest ‘Current science topic’. While I’m not convinced the distinctive Baptist elements were all that strong, the event was packed with interesting and valuable material and was well worth the visit, involving two substantial train journeys. The sessions were recorded, so presumably it will be possible in due course to view them online; I’ll add a link on the ‘Previous Events’ page when it is available.
Update for July 2025
A milestone! I have just made my 50th contribution to the collection of ‘Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint’ (almost coincident, as it happens, with celebrating my Golden Wedding Anniversary). This describes a couple of speaking engagements I had earlier this year, one being mainly a talk while the other was largely an evening of questions, answers and discussion. Recordings of both are available together with some associated links.
We’re still in the relatively quiet summer period, but September will undoubtedly see an increase in events being offered, both online and in person. These include the CiS 2025 conference, now confirmed for 24-25 October at Altrincham Baptist Church; the line-up of speakers is not yet complete, but is already looking very impressive and attractive. Tickets are available – see the ‘Future Events’ page. Also worth mentioning and recommending is a webinar to be given by Dr Dave Gregory, formerly a professional meteorologist and an ordained Baptist minister, currently leading the Baptist Union Environmental Network and working with the John Ray Initiative; this will look at photographic images used in science and nature documentaries from a faith perspective with a framework of Wonder, Play, and Order. This is on Wednesday evening, 1 October and I already have my ticket (they are free!).
Links have been added for recordings of ‘Previous Events’ except for the recent Faraday Institute summer course.
Update for May 2025
We’re coming to the quieter summer period when rather fewer events are organised except, of course, for personal holidays and for some major multi-day festivals such as the Keswick Convention. So there are just a couple of plans listed on the Future Events page. Recent events have been moved to the Previous Events page, where some of them do not have recording links available yet, but they will be added as soon as possible.
The CiS conference for 2025 has now been fixed for 24-25 October. It will probably be held in the Manchester area, but the precise venue has not yet been announced. Details of the programme will be provided when we have them. It is expected to be a hybrid event accessible also live online.
There’s a rather shorter ‘Current science topics’ article this time, referring to what has been called ‘The Quiet Revival’, a recent phenomenon of UK church growth involving mainly young men. I’ve been invited to help provide support for a group of these through a science-and-faith discussion evening at one particular local church, which I hope will not be just a one-off occasion as this development continues and grows.
Update for March 2025
Another belated update, I’m afraid, with March and April very busy this year, including family birthdays, our local church AGM, a scientific conference, and a full set of events in the Easter weekend. As usual there’s a fresh set of ‘Future Events’ with a wide range of topics; one of the Faraday Institute Seminars (available live online as well as in person) will be given by the Christians in Science President, Bob White, an international expert on volcanoes and earthquakes, and it promises to be a fascinating exploration of volcanoes and how we should understand them theologically.
Many of the recent ‘Previous Events’ now removed from the future listing have been made available as online recordings. These include a full set of daily prayer sessions for the British Science Week in March, each one put together and delivered by a different Christian organisation with interests in science. This was a new venture this year and is likely to become a regular feature in future.
A recent meeting of CiS Trustees set in motion a number of significant new developments, which will work their way through into public view in the coming months. The next update here may well include further information. This year’s CiS main conference is being planned for a Friday evening and Saturday in late October, with the exact weekend not yet fully decided. Possible venues include Birmingham and Manchester, and the event will probably be run in hybrid mode, with online participation possible.
The current economic turmoil globally, triggered by Donald Trump’s wildly oscillating tariff policies, has prompted the latest in the ‘Current science topics’, addressing the question ‘Can we afford ‘big science’?’. Even the most important scientific research is not immune to national and international financial pressures.
Update for January 2025
Another new year! 2024 was a year of new records in many ways. Some that are of scientific and environmental importance are described in the latest ‘Current Topics’ item: they are a mixture of positive and negative news.
As expected, with the Christmas period behind us, quite a number of events, especially those hosted online and not requiring travel, have been planned by science-faith organisations and are listed on the ‘Future Events’ page. These range from single seminars, through a series of linked talks concluded by a panel discussion, to a whole week’s course. I’d like to draw your attention particularly to a second CiS Vision Evening on Monday 10 February, when some new opportunities and challenges will be presented and open for discussion.
A full set of 20 – yes, 20 – recordings is now available from the very successful CiS 2024 Conference held in Birmingham in October. These include the main sessions and short talks from the two parallel sessions. You can find a link to the complete collection on the ‘Previous Events’ page.
CiS has recently expanded its board of Trustees, who are beavering away behind the scenes ensuring that the organisation is complying fully with the requirements of the Charity Commission and contributing along with the officers and committee to develop the attraction, benefit and impact of CiS in our complex and busy world. Information on activities and resources is provided on the CiS website at cis.org.uk; one of the recent additions is an online discussion forum for CiS members, which is intended to provide a place for interaction and support – not a great deal on there yet, but it’s early days.
Update for November 2024
Coming up to Christmas, we’ve recently had a very successful 80th anniversary conference in Birmingham, attended in person and online by around 80 participants and with an excellent range of speakers and topics, followed by a purely online Members’ Vision Evening looking briefly back but with the main focus on current and future developments. Recordings for the former will be available to all from early January 2025, while the full recording of the latter can already be found on the CiS website and YouTube channel: see the ‘Previous Events’ page for details and links.
My fundraising for CiS by cycling from Land’s End to John o’ Groats in September has now passed its target of £1000. The JustGiving page for donations will be closed at the end of December 2024 so, if you’d like to boost it a little more, you’ll find the link in the July 2024 update further down this page.
Current and future developments and plans for CiS form the theme of the new ‘Current Topics’ item. The momentum built up in 2024 will continue into the New Year. The latest addition to CiS resources is a comprehensive online discussion forum for members; it has just been released and, at the time of writing, is awaiting its first contribution. There are opportunities to add to existing discussions and to create new ones. An exciting new venture is an exploratory partnership between CiS and ‘God and the Big Bang’, which focuses mainly on organising and delivering sessions exploring the relationship between science and Christian faith in primary and secondary schools.
May you all enjoy this season when we celebrate the huge miracle of the incarnation of ‘Emmanuel, God with us’ and be able to look forward positively to 2025.
Update for September 2024
As Autumn unfolds, you’ll find a whole string of activities listed under ‘Future Events’, all of which can be accessed online as well as some of them being available for in-person attendance. Of particular interest is the CiS Conference in Birmingham on the last weekend of October. This celebrates 80 years of CiS and features an impressive line-up of invited speakers as well as two parallel streams of speakers giving short talks that they have submitted. Around 60 or more in-person registrations have already been recorded, but I don’t know how many have arranged an online ticket. These are still available at the link given on the ‘Future events’ page.
The end of September also saw the successful completion of my 1000+ mile cycle ride from Land’s End to John o’ Groats. This has been featured in the monthly updates from CiS as well as on their website and Facebook page. I aimed to raise £1000 for the work of CiS in addition to some other charitable fundraising, and at present the total is just a few pounds short of this target. If you want to help achieve it, the JustGiving link shown in the July update below is still active!
The most recent ‘Current topic’ brings together faith, science, and the media and explores the way in which Christian faith and science, and the relationship between them, are presented to the public in print, on screen, and digitally.
Update for July 2024
At this time of year there are usually few future events listed and 2024 is no exception, with the only entry currently being the CiS Autumn Conference in October, for which full details and tickets are not yet available. There are recordings for some recent events and others will probably be provided in the next 2-3 months.
Work is ongoing behind the scenes to develop Christians in Science as a more attractive, effective and collaborative enterprise, and it is hoped to provide an update to our members and others at the Autumn Conference.
The latest ‘Current topic’ is on the relationship of science and technology to war, an unpleasant connection that represents one of the negative consequences of science, which in itself is morally neutral but can be put to both good and bad use.
The next update will be due in September. That’s going to be a busy time as I return from an international science conference in Italy right at the beginning of the month. I will be spending most of the month cycling a little more than 1000 miles from Land’s End to John o’ Groats. Many people choose to use such an opportunity to invite sponsorship for charitable causes and this will be no exception. I’m raising donations for two specific charities (while also inviting supporters to give to others of their choice instead), one of which is Christians in Science in this its 80th anniversary year. Please visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bill-clegg-CiS if you’re interested in giving your support.
Update for May 2024
Small changes have been made to the ‘Future Events’ and ‘Previous Events’ pages, with two seminars moving from future to past, now with links to their recordings. Further information has been added concerning the CiS Connect Conference on 15 June, which is a hybrid event so can be experienced in person in Aylesbury or onine, including a link for obtaining tickets. This and a larger conference in Birmingham in October are part of the events marking the 80th anniversary of Christians in Science in 2024.
The anniversary is also the subject for the latest ‘Current topic’. A lot of work is being done behind the scenes this year to enable CiS to be more effective and attractive to new members so that there is the prospect of 80 years in the future as well as in the past.
Update for March 2024
Events in the first three months of this year have now been moved from ‘Future Events’ to ‘Previous Events’, with links to recordings and other available resources. In their place we now have several more planned seminars in April and June, a week-long course in July, and two conferences being organised by Christians in Science with details still to come. 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of the start of Christians in Science (originally called the Research Scientists’ Christian Fellowship), and further online talks are being planned.
I’d like to draw your attention to a new collection of videos with the overall title ‘God saw that it was good’. These have been written and produced by Dave Gregory, a former meteorologist who worked at the Met Office and the European Weather Centre and then went on to be a Baptist Minister in Milton Keynes and Croxley Green (Hertfordshre) and the President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain for 2018-2019.
There are 4 films, each lasting 20-30 minutes, with the themes Coasts, Sky, Trees, and Life. They are visually stunning, scientifically sound, and spiritually uplifting. They are free to access and you can download them for your own use or just view them online. They are to be found here: https://gstiwg.co.uk along with some background information and commendations from scientific and Christian leaders. There’s a strong environmental thread, one of Dave’s particular interests. I wholeheartedly recommend the collection, representing a couple of well-spent hours of viewing for individuals or groups.
The latest ‘Current science topic’ harks back to some others much earlier in the collection, examining ‘science scare’ topics, the main concerns this time being worryingly low levels of vaccination resulting in growing incidences of measles, and the addition of fluoride to drinking water – with an aside on dental fillings.
Update for January 2024
‘The best laid schemes…’ – the plan to make these updates earlier in the two-month cycle obviously needs more effort, as we’re now well into January and the new year is nearly 3 weeks old.
There are quite a number of events coming up in the next few months. These include, in early March, the first of a projected series of online events celebrating 2024 as the 80th anniversary of Christians in Science, on the topical issue of Artificial Intelligence.
I was quite unsure what to write for the ‘Current science topic’ this time, with several themes being considered and dismissed. The seasonal focus on wise men following strangely behaving stars, alongside taking on the task of directing a local pantomime while also adopting the role of its villain (yes, really! – it’s in March) brought into juxtaposition the relationships of astrology/astronomy and alchemy/chemistry and set off some odd musings on the historical development of these pursuits. Maybe they’re not very profound, but I thought they might be worth sharing.
The recordings of the talks and panel discussion from the Christians in Science autumn conference are now available. You can find a link to the collection on the ‘Previous Events’ page. In 2024 there will probably be one main CiS conference, most likely in the autumn in Birmingham, and a Connect Conference for students and early careers scientists in the late spring or early summer. Plans for these are being developed. At the same time CiS is going through a review process for its aims, priorities, governance and activities, including relationships with other Christian organisations concerned with science. We’ll provide reports as progress is made. At present I’m still serving as Chair of Trustees in what’s supposed to be an interim role that began about a year ago.
Update for November 2023
Another slippage on the bimonthly update – perhaps I should make a 2024 New Year Resolution to be timely with these! There are few forthcoming events in the diary at this time of year, coming up to Christmas; those planned for 2024 will be added to the ‘Future Events’ as they become known.
The latest ‘Current science topic’ reflects aspects of public opinion, in this case the perception of reliability and trustworthiness. It’s a characteristic not much recognised in a range of professions and roles, the standard joke being that estate agents come at or near the bottom of the list. How about scientists, and the whole enterprise of science itself? See if you agree with my thoughts on the subject.
Update for September 2023
With time pressures and a late holiday this year, this update is actually delayed to October. I recently attended the CiS Autumn Conference. It involved a return trip to Croydon and an overnight stay, but was well worth it for some excellent talks on the overall theme ‘Big Questions in Science and the Church’ as well as an opportunity to meet with friends old and new, and the catering and technical facilities were excellent. In due course recordings will be provided, and you’ll be able to find a link on the ‘Previous Events’ page here. The conference continued the general theme of the earlier Spring Conference in Edinburgh, and recordings from that are now available on the CiS YouTube channel, with a link provided under ‘Previous Events’ as well as on the cis.org.uk website. These talks too were very good.
If you’re interested in the whole issue of mental health, which these days is a major concern in many areas, and if you can spare a Saturday soon and £25 registration fee, you can take part online in a one-day course organised by The Faraday Institute. There’s a link under ‘Future Events’ or you can go direct to faraday.cam.uk and look under ‘Events’.
The latest ‘Current science topic’ is about science research funding and its dependence on political policies and decisions. This is one of the many adverse impacts of Brexit, for which a partial recovery has recently been achieved.
Update for July 2023
For a temporary but unspecified period I’m currently chairing the Trustees of Christians in Science, having been a Trustee for a few years. We recently had an online meeting and decided we needed to devote a day to serious discussion of the present state and future direction of the organisation. This was a real physical meeting for most of the attendees, in Bristol early this month. Together with the person who looked after most of the arrangements, I wrote a short report by request for the quarterly newsletter PreCiS, with a deadline just a few days later. This has now been sent to full CiS members, but is not yet on the CiS website. I’ve reproduced it as this month’s ‘Current science topics’ article.
The Connect Conference (aimed mainly at early career scientists) was one of the most successful CiS activities of this year so far, despite the disruptions caused by heavy snow in March, which meant it had to be rearranged as entirely online at the last minute. Excellent presentations under the general heading ‘Science, Faith and Ethics’ are now available for anyone to see and hear, and there’s a link on the ‘Previous Events’ page. They will be of interest not only to the principal target audience, the subjects being of general importance in today’s world of misinformation, abuse and selfishness.
At a generally quiet time of year, there’s just one notice in the ‘Future Events’ listing. The autumn conference of Christians in Science continues the theme of the earlier conference in June, with the title ‘Big Questions in Science and the Church, Part 2‘. It will be held in south London but also available for online participation. The date is Saturday 7 October. Most of the speakers are now confirmed, and full details will be provided as soon as the rest of the programme is finalised; you should be able to find them here as well as on the CiS website.
Update for May 2023
I have a slightly longer ‘Current science topics’ article this time: after the brief mention in March of the recent passing of Tom McLeish, I decided to write more about him, as his influence on the whole science-faith interface has been enormous, including significant impact on my own experience. I hope the recording of his Thanksgiving and Memorial Service at York Minster (mentioned in the article and with a link provided under ‘Previous Events’) will remain available for some time, for those who will appreciate the richness and variety of its content. Some of the pieces of music have particular significance for me too.
The main event coming up quite soon is the Christians in Science day conference in Edinburgh on Saturday 17 June. Tickets are available through Eventbrite and you can participate in person on site or online from anywhere else. The theme (Big Questions in Science and the Church) is broad, and will be followed up by a ‘Part 2’ at the Autumn Conference, to be held somewhere in the south of England probably in October or November, also in hybrid format. An even bigger hybrid event is the week-long Faraday Institute Summer Course in early July, hosted in Cambridge but also available online.
Update for March 2023
First of all, it is sad to record the recent death of Professor Tom McLeish. Tom was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer some months ago. He was a prolific speaker and writer on issues of science and faith as well as a very distinguished soft-matter physicist. During his time at Durham University, before he moved closer to his home in York, he was one of the founders of the project ‘Equipping Christian Leaders in an Age of Science’, which provided funds for the series of public lectures in the Tyne Valley that led to the creation of this website. He spoke at the first Christians in Science conference to be held in Newcastle. His influence was huge and his contributions always profound, enthusiastic, and valuable. You can read an obituary on the Christians in Science website (cis.org.uk) under ‘Latest News’ on the home page.
As usual we have various new events listed for the coming months. These include this year’s CiS Spring Conference on 17 June in Edinburgh, a later date than usual. Final details are not yet in place, particularly the overall theme and list of speakers, but these should be available soon on the CiS website and will be added here too.
Newcastle University Christian Union recently ran their ‘Events Week’ with free food and talks in a marquee on campus; the theme was ‘Made for More’. Once again, as in the previous two years, we contributed by organising a question and answer session shortly before the Events Week, in February, with a panel of five Christian scientists from Newcastle and Durham Universities tackling questions posed by the student audience of 70-80. Topics raised this year included alien life, assisted dying, miracles, the origin of the universe, and the panel members’ own Christian life experience.
The subject of nuclear fusion has been in the news in the last few months, in the context of the financial and environmental costs of energy supplies, so this is the theme for the latest Current Science Topic, comparing and contrasting fusion with the confusingly similar sounding fission, which is already widely used in commercial energy production and has it strong supporters and vociferous opponents. If there are particular topics you’d like to see addressed, please get in touch with your suggestions.
Update for January 2023
We have quite a number of new ‘Future Events’ this time, including several online seminars and details of the CiS Connect Conference on 11 March (in Sheffield and also online). The Riding Lights Theatre Company tour has one more local performance, in Gateshead on 20 February – a one-act play about artificial intelligence.
AI is very much ‘flavour of the month’ at the moment. The recordings of the CiS Autumn Conference in November are now available on the CiS YouTube channel; you’ll find details under ‘Previous Events’. AI was one of the topics, along with other aspects of neuroscience, commemorating the centenary of the birth of the influential Christian brain physicist Donald MacKay. It’s tough stuff for a non-expert, but worth the effort to find out more about an increasingly important area of scientific research.
So perhaps it’s no surprise that the latest ‘Current science topic’ also addresses the issue of Artificial Intelligence in response to the recent launch of ChatGPT – and if you don’t know what that is, the article should interest you and raise some serious questions about the nature of intelligence.
The website of Christians in Science (cis.org.uk) has the first two in a planned series of topical blogs, giving basic information about some issues that have been and are in the news. You’ll find them on the home page under the heading ‘Latest news’ along with some other items. One is biomedical, about genome editing and similar techniques applied to the treatment of cancer, and the other is on physics and technology, an account of nuclear fission and fusion as current and potential future sources of energy.
I’m pleased to have been asked by the Newcastle University Christian Union to put together, for the third time, a panel of Christian scientists who will tackle questions asked by an audience of students on the evening of 15 February. As last year, this comes shortly before the CU’s annual large-scale ‘Events week’ providing lots of opportunities to engage with the message of the Christian gospel. The panel Q&A session serves to deal with one set of issues, the relationship of science and Christian faith, that can be an obstacle for some students and other people, and will raise awareness before the main week of activities.
Update for November 2022
Another delayed update – too much going on in the approach to Christmas this year and it’s now nearly here! – but I’ve kept the November data to maintain the bimonthly pattern. Quite a lot of links have been added in the ‘Previous Events’ page to resources from conferences and other events during the past year and even earlier, so there’s a lot of really good material here on many different aspects of science and faith, mainly from the organisations Christians in Science, the Faraday Institute, and Equipping Christian Leaders in an Age of Science. Further recordings should be made public early in the new year.
The ‘Future Events’ page is somewhat sparse just now, but there are events coming up in 2023 for which information should soon be available and this will be added as it appears. Among the things to look forward to are a tour by the Riding Lights Theatre Company of York with a new play about Artificial Intelligence, with performances in Durham and Gateshead among others, and the Spring Conference of CiS to be held probably in Edinburgh, also with an online component for those less willing or able to travel.
The latest ‘Current science topic’ relates to my own area of chemistry, with an environmental slant.
Update for September 2022
For various reasons, good and bad, this month’s update is rather late in the month. We’ve just had a period of upheaval nationally, with the death and funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, and a new King and new Prime Minister within two days of each other. I couldn’t think of any scientific topic related to these events, and the latest ‘Current science topic’ is about the James Webb Space Telescope, which began providing striking infrared images of distant space a couple of months ago.
There are a few new items in the ‘Future Events’, the principal one from a Christians in Science viewpoint being this year’s CiS Autumn Conference on Saturday 29 October. This is on subjects related to brain and mind, including artificial intelligence and questions of consciousness, which are hot topics in current research. The conference is being held in Birmingham, but it can also be attended online. Tickets are required; they are now on sale, with a discounted ‘early bird’ rate until 30 September, so you’ll need to be quick to catch that – I’ve just registered today for online participation (travel to Birmingham takes quite a while and might there be a rail strike…?).
Most of the presentations from our CiS Spring Conference in Durham (Communicating Science and Faith) are now available on the CiS YouTube channel; you can find a link on the ‘Previous Events’ page.
Update for July 2022
In terms of urgency, the main thing to mention first is the Faraday Institute Summer Course: Science and Faith Perspectives on the Art of Being Human, which runs from 3 to 8 July. Although there may still be a small number of tickets available for in-person attendance in Cambridge, it’s more likely you’ll choose to register as an online participant. There’s a very impressive list of speakers, headed up by Francis Collins, who was until recently the head of the US National Institutes of Health and before that directed the Human Genome Project. Online registration also provides access afterwards to the recordings of sessions you don’t manage to catch live in this full programme.
There’s also a short registration deadline of 15 July for a weekend training course in Cambridge, Communicating Science and Faith, from 16 to 18 September. I attended this course last year (avoiding the worst of Storm Arwen in the north-east!) and found it extremely useful, as well as quite hard work, including giving a short talk and a mock radio interview (I went on to do a real one soon afterwards for TransWorld Radio). The course costs nothing except your travel and time; if you’re interested in developing your skills and exploring possibilities for communicating about science and faith in various ways, I thoroughly recommend it!
As suggested in the last update, the ‘Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint’ article this time reports on the large recent research project exploring public attitudes to science and religion. The project’s summary report of 16 pages is well worth reading and may contain some surprises.
We’re now coming up to the summer season of major science conferences and I’ll be off to Portland (Oregon, USA) and Versailles (France) during July and August, giving presentations and chairing sessions. After two years without such events, it’s good to be able to experience them again, though environmental concerns mean I’m travelling to only one of them by air, using Eurostar to get to Paris. One of my talks, in response to being awarded a prize for 50 years of research and teaching, will be on a general theme of science communication, so that might be a springboard for an article here in the coming months. It’s a topic that has been touched on occasionally before, and was central to our recent Christians in Science Spring Conference in Durham in May: Science, Faith and Public Engagement. Recordings from this excellent event haven’t yet been made available, but a link will be provided on this website when they are.
Update for May 2022
The last update, for March 2022, came rather late and this one is slightly early, in order to give a reminder about the CiS Spring Conference in Durham on Saturday 7 May: Science, Faith and Public Engagement. We’ve been able to extend the ‘early bird’ registration deadline slightly, to the late evening of Sunday 1 May. After that, you can still get tickets to attend, but they will cost more and lunch won’t be included. We have an exciting programme in which four organisations will make major presentations in the morning and afternoon, and others will be taking part in a free-format exhibition during and after lunch. Further information, including the Eventbrite link for booking your tickets, is given on the ‘Future Events’ page.
The series of interviews with CiS members is now well underway on TransWorld Radio. The first few have been broadcast and are available ‘on demand’ on the TWR website. Again, you can find details on the ‘Future Events’ page.
This month we have a rather longer ‘Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint’ article, based on material I used for a short illustrated talk at a Faraday Institute training weekend in December. ‘What do scientists and theologians have in common?’ might sound like an intellectual joke question, but you can find one serious answer here. A major report has just been published, based on research investigating public attitudes to science and religion, and particularly the relationship between them, but it came too late to be the theme of this month’s article; depending on what else crops up, it may well be the topic for July.
Update for March 2022
This only just made it for March! The usual bimonthly update has been delayed until we had details available for a major event coming up on 7 May. This is the CiS Spring Conference 2022, to be held at St John’s College Durham with the title ‘Science, Faith and Public Engagement’. You can read more about it in the latest addition to the ‘Current science topics’ page, and it’s also listed on the ‘Future Events’ page together with a link to the Eventbrite booking site. Make sure you order your tickets by 30 April to save money and qualify for lunch on the day. It promises to be a popular and interesting event, bringing together a range of organisations involved in public engagement for science and Christian faith.
Another event – or rather a whole series of them – is described on the ‘Future Events’ page. The Christian broadcaster TransWorld Radio has recorded interviews with 14 members of Christians in Science from a range of science backgrounds, in which they describe the interaction of science and faith in their work and personal lives. I’m one of the people interviewed, several weeks ago now. It was an interesting experience and not as scary as I expected, especially as I knew the questions in advance and could think about the answers! Among other things, you’ll discover the identity of some of the scientists of the past whom we admire and look to as role models. The interviews can be heard as broadcast (7 am on Saturdays repeated at 7 pm on Sundays) but will also be available for listening later in ‘catch-up’ mode. The series runs throughout April, May and June.
Update for January 2022
A happy New Year to you all! Future events listed here seem to have a definite focus on issues of brains and minds; Dr Sharon Dircks is speaking twice in a week with very similar headings, at different times of day. The continuing serious Covid situation means that a number of events are still being run online. Looking further ahead, there’s this year’s Faraday Summer Course, planned in hybrid mode so you can access it online as an easier alternative to spending several days in Cambridge in July. There’s a very impressive list of speakers, headed by Francis Collins, who has just stepped down as Director of the US National Institutes of Health and was previously the head of the Human Genome Project.
The recorded talks from the CiS conference on the very topical subject of climate change (the day conference was held just before COP26) are now available online; see the Previous Events page for YouTube links.
This month’s article in the “Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint” considers the credibility of miracles, including those we hear about in the Christmas story; it includes references to C S Lewis, one of my favourite authors. You may well have read his Narnia books, which are much easier going than the book with the title Miracles!
In December I took part in a weekend course organised by the Faraday Institute in Cambridge, on “Communicating Science and Faith”. As a result I’ve recently been interviewed for Trans World Radio and may have another interview with Premier Christian Radio; dates and times for broadcasts will be provided when they’re known (not before May for TWR). I’m also hoping for some useful interaction with “God and the Big Bang” and their involvement in local schools, and there’s the possibility currently under discussion of a CiS day conference in the northeast around May with an overall theme of public engagement in science and Christian faith. Watch this space!
Update for November 2021
The “Future Events” listing includes activities ranging from one-hour seminars to a two-day workshop, all of these being available online as well as (in some cases) in person elsewhere in the country. If you’re interested, please make sure you look up the details in good time, as some of them require advance registration and payment of a fee.
We’re now a few days into COP26. Some major announcements of commitments have been made by governments, banks and other agencies, but it remains to be seen to what extent these will be honoured and enacted in the coming years.
The CiS conference on Climate Change last month had some excellent talks, which I hope will be available as YouTube recordings before long; when they are, you’ll find a link here.
As suggested in September, the latest “Current science topics” article is a slightly amended version of a short talk I gave in a Climate Sunday church service (amended to remove some specific references to the particular church setting), providing a scientist’s Biblical viewpoint on the topic, complete with relevant Bible references. It’s a little longer than usual and is intended to complement earlier articles on climate change written from a more directly scientific perspective.
Update for September 2021
A couple of other events have been added, taking place in October – these are all climate related! There are also details now about the booking arrangements for the CiS Autumn Conference on “Climate Change – A Christian Response”. You’re more likely to want to attend this online than travel to Croydon for the day (Saturday 16 October), but you do need to register in advance using the Eventbrite link you’ll find via the “Future Events” page.
As the IPCC report on Climate Change was published recently, in the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow in November, and has certainly hit the news including even the tabloid headlines, I’ve made this the theme of the latest “Current science topics” series. It focuses on aspects of scientific evidence, which is the main thrust of the IPCC report, but I may follow up it next time (during COP26) with a complementary theological argument.
We await developments to see how feasible it is to organise in-person events in the coming months.
Update for July 2021
As usual, even in this peculiar year of continuing pandemic impacts, the summer holiday period is a relatively quiet one in terms of events related to science and faith. The list of Future Events is very short and these lie well ahead in October; possibly some September dates will be filled in later, and further details will also emerge for the CiS day conference on Climate Change, which of course is planned as part of the lead up to the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
The Faraday Summer Course in July was extremely good – I saw and heard all the talks either at the time or soon afterwards on the website provided for registered participants. I found the talks on neuroscience (dealing with questions of brain and mind and how these are related to faith) particularly informative, this being rather outside my own area of expertise. I hope and expect that all the talks will later be made available to all on the Faraday Institute website; as soon as I know this, I will provide a link.
At some stage before long, I hope to write an article that isn’t related to Covid! However, this month I thought it was a good idea to explain something about virus variants and how these are related to mutations, as the so-called Delta variant has come to dominate the news recently with its disruptive impact on government plans to launch and celebrate the lifting of formal restrictions on 19 July. The new article ‘Variants of Concern’ is on the Current Science Topics page and is kept as simple as possible, which means experts in the field may well find fault with some generalisations and omissions! Feedback on any of these articles is always welcome, especially if you find them helpful but also if there are points for debate and discussion.
Update for June 2021
Recordings are now available for talks given at the CiS Northern Conference in May, covering various aspects of Christian faith and life in a digital age. This conference, postponed from last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, was particularly relevant after a year of lockdown during which so much activity was carried out online. I particularly recommend two of the talks: ‘Digital Church in a post-COVID world?’ by Peter Philips, which should be viewed by church leaders in particular, and ‘What would Jesus post?’ by David Robertson, a thought-provoking personal viewpoint on social media. You can find these and the other talks on the Christians in Science YouTube channel; links are given here:
https://www.cis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/2021-05-CiS-Update.pdf
Events coming up in June include two CiS webinars on ‘A scripturally coherent view of science’ and ‘A scientifically coherent view of the gospel’; a talk on palliative care in the context of the coronavirus pandemic; a talk linking theology and the environment; and a seminar suggesting ways of using science in church preaching. Further ahead, there’s this year’s Summer Course of the Faraday Institute, 4-9 July, and details are being worked out for a CiS day conference on climate change on 16 October around the time of the COP26 international summit in Glasgow. See the ‘Future Events’ page for details.
Update for May 2021
The ‘Future Events’ page has been updated. Please take note particularly of the CiS Northern Conference being held online next Friday evening and through much of Saturday (7 and 8 May), looking at various aspects of ‘life online’ and how we can best relate to this and use it well as Christians. You need to register in advance and pay a small amount for a ticket (through Eventbrite), but this covers the cost of a small conference pack that will be sent to you by post, so it’s important not to wait until the last minute, or you won’t have the pack in time!
News has just come through in the last few days that the schools project God and the Big Bang has received a new grant to expand its science-faith work with 9-18 year old students and it is moving its base from Manchester to Durham. The latest ‘Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint’ article tells you more about this and its potential for some collaborative engagement in our local area, and you can see further information on the GATBB website via this link: The Expansion – God and the Big Bang (gatbb.co.uk)
Update for March 2021
The ‘Faith in Science’ panel Q&A session was recorded and is available to view at the same YouTube address: https://youtu.be/7L4XQ_hunFU
There are lots of new entries in the ‘Future Events’ page, most of them online and free but requiring some kind of registration in advance to help the organisers with planning.
The latest topical science article has just been posted; it’s a bit behind normal schedule, but I changed my mind about the subject!
Faith in Science: the first joint CiS-NE/NUCU event
Our link with Newcastle University Christian Union (NUCU) sees its first joint venture with a 4-member panel taking questions in a NUCU-hosted ‘Big Questions’ evening live on the NUCU YouTube channel. The event is also sponsored by the Christian Medical Fellowship. It is open for all to view, 19:00 to 20:30 on Wednesday 24 February, using this link:
The members of the panel come from a variety of science backgrounds.
Chris Done, Professor of Astrophysics, Director of Research, and member of the Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy at Durham University
Darren Evans, Professor of Ecology and Conservation at Newcastle University
Bill Clegg, Emeritus Professor of Structural Crystallography and Baptist Chaplain at Newcastle University
Cherryl Hunt, Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Theology and Religion at Exeter University with previous molecular biology research experience
A new link: CiS-NE and Newcastle University Christian Union
Science, engineering and medicine are big subjects for research and teaching at Newcastle University, which has a strong international reputation in some of these fields. Many members and followers of our local CiS group are on the staff of Newcastle University, working with their Christian faith in research, teaching and support roles. We have now set up a connection to support and work with the Christian Union in their ministry to Christian students and in outreach, not only for those studying science and related subjects, but also for all who are interested in the connection between science and Christian faith or who question whether there is any such connection. As such, CiS joins several other organisations including the Christian Medical Fellowship and Christians in Sport (confusingly with the same initials!) and is listed under Resources on their website.
We are jointly planning an online event later in February with a panel of Christian scientists taking questions from a student audience. Details will be available later, as soon as we have them (updated now: see the item above).
Updates and enhancements for 2021
This website has been restructured to some extent and new features added in January 2021. Navigation has been added to some pages so that particular items can be more easily found from an index list; this is particularly so for the growing record of Previous Events and for the Current Science Topics with a new article every two months.
The article for January 2021 looks at some widely-believed ‘atheist myths’ about the astronomers Copernicus and Galileo, following much interest in the Grand Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn just before Christmas 2020. No, they weren’t brave rebels against a persecuting church; read it for yourself. Feedback is welcome on any of these articles.
Contacts and links have been extensively updated. Here you will now find more information about Christians in Science and how you can get more involved in its resources and activities, including various membership options. You can also sign up to receive occasional information by email about our local activities and related topics.
Future Events now provide a list of online events organised outside the local area, as it is just as easy to join those as nearer ones; during the pandemic restrictions, geography is largely irrelevant! This list will be kept up to date, with headline information and links for further details. Please note that some events require prior registration (even when there is no charge for taking part), so you should check the information in advance and not wait until the last minute.
We are currently exploring partnerships with other organisations: watch this space!
Why you won’t find me in the Tyne Valley Express any more
From March 2017 until July 2020 I regularly contributed articles on topical science issues, written from a personal viewpoint as a Christian, to the local bimonthly what’s-on and advertising magazine Tyne Valley Express. These were generally put together to occupy a single page of the printed magazine, roughly 800 words plus some illustrative pictures. The contributions were a response to an invitation from the editor after I asked to insert some notices advertising talks on the science-faith interface during 2017.
The text of the various articles can be found on the ‘Current science topics from a Christian viewpoint‘ page of this website. There was no article for May 2020 because the magazine was not produced and distributed during this stage of the coronavirus pandemic. The July 2020 article covered two pages and was on the topic of viruses.
I wrote an article for the September 2020 issue covering the topical subject of conspiracy theories, as many of these have been circulating on social media and elsewhere with particular reference to the current pandemic situation, many concern scientific topics, and they need to be countered as baseless. The editor refused to publish it because he disagreed with its contents, saying that “your perception of reality is so far removed from the actual reality around us in my opinion”. Despite my repeated request for clarification about the disputed points in the article, I have heard nothing in reply.
When the magazine was distributed, it was obvious that my article would have been in direct contradiction of one by Sarah Fae, entitled Masquerade, which promoted several conspiracy theories! Her previous article Immune to the System had already claimed that the mainstream media manipulate and control our perception of reality with a blanket of lies and hiding the truth, and she cited online resources that are connected to QAnon and other known extreme conspiracy organisations. In this one she repeats the attack, extending it also to government health advice, which “was never about our safety”. She objects to face masks as an inhuman symbol of control by a corrupt system, suggests Covid-19 death rates are exaggerated, implies the “pandemic” is not real by use of those quotation marks, and mentions vaccines in a negative context. She is clearly an admirer of the arch-conspiracy theorist David Icke and objects to the fact that he has been de-platformed because his views are considered a threat to public safety (this is a man who believes the world is controlled by a race of mutant reptiles, climate change is a hoax, and the scientific method is complete rubbish – his own choice of words is ruder than that). She recommends two resources, one of which is a huge online collection of some of the worst conspiracy theories in circulation, and the other is a so-called documentary film that has been thoroughly debunked for its misinformation and distortions (not to say, outright lies).
The magazine editor refers to the “pearls of wisdom” provided by his writers in this issue (I have no problems with any of the other articles!) in his short editorial that also rails about mask wearing in public places and refers to “a fascist regime” as part of his response to it.
I’m sorry to say that the Tyne Valley Express has chosen fantasy over fact. I have not received the usual reminder and invitation to write another article; the newly developed magazine website makes no mention of me as a writer and does not include my last published article on viruses in its collection, while the article by Sarah Fae from the same issue attacking mainstream media is featured. What’s that about de-platforming? I am very sad to see this useful publication rejecting objective evidence-based truth and promoting unfounded and dangerous nonsense. They clearly don’t want to hear from me again.
What makes a scientist tick?
This talk by Bill Clegg was originally given to the Stocksfield Retired Men’s Association in March 2020, just before we went into Covid-19 lockdown nationally. It was slightly changed in October 2020 and recorded in video form (by audio recording into the original Powerpoint presentation) for Perspectives Christian Vision for Men, a local organisation that usually arranges monthly breakfasts with speakers. It combines autobiographical elements with a discussion of the character of science and scientists.
A website with a renewed purpose…
April 2019
The bigquestions-anyanswers website was originally set up in 2017 to support and resource one particular funded project addressing the interface between science and the Christian faith. Although that particular project ended, all its material is retained here for reference and further use; this includes audio recordings and slide presentations for most of the nine talks given in various locations in the Tyne valley area.
The website is now serving the work of the Tyneside & Northumberland local group of the national organisation Christians in Science (cis.org.uk), which aims to address the same sort of issues.
This local group has an email distribution list, which is used to send out information about plans and activities; it is used infrequently, and the email addresses of recipients are known only to the list managers. If you would like to be added to this list, or to know more about it, please contact bill.clegg@ncl.ac.uk
…and a new event
We organised the 2019 Christians in Science Northern Conference in Durham in May. This was designed for anyone who’s interested in the subject, not just experts in the science or theology.
Details of the conference, together with audio recordings of the talks, can be found on the ‘Previous events’ page. They are also being made available on the Christians in Science national website (cis.org.uk)
Where do we go from here?
November 2017
Our Templeton-funded project has reached the end of its programme of nine talks by invited speakers, giving a Christian perspective on topical science issues, but this isn’t the end of ‘Big Questions – Any Answers’! Please see the invitation below to contribute to an online survey of reactions and opinions to what we’ve done so far, so that we can make plans for the future. And watch this space for further activities and events!
In the meantime you can catch up with talks you’ve missed, by visiting the ‘Previous Events’ page, where you’ll find audio recordings, presentation slides, video clips, and other links and resources.
New items and features added!
October 2017
- You can now read some related articles from the Tyne Valley Express – see the link in the menu list to the right.
- Short video summaries of some of the talks, alongside the full audio recordings, can be found on the ‘Previous Events’ pages. Video introductions to the project are available below.
- There’s an online Survey Monkey questionnaire to explore the way forward in the science-faith interface following the end of our funded series of talks in November 2017. If you’d like to contribute to our ideas and future planning, please follow this link (it will open as a new browser tab or window) and get your friends to do the same:
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/K5QNMBW
or alternatively goo.gl/vhuxTi
What’s it all about?
Big Questions – Any Answers?’ is a series of talks arranged for the Tyne Valley area, in which leading scientists who are Christians tackle some of the big scientific issues of today and what the Christian faith has to say about them.
Generous funding from an international charity means that we can attract world-recognized experts as speakers and hold the talks in convenient venues around the area, while making all the events completely free for anyone to attend. This is a rare opportunity, not to be missed.
The talks are intended for a general audience. No scientific expertise or training is needed, and no particular attitude to religion is assumed. Everyone is welcome, whatever your background, and there are opportunities for questions and discussion.
The first series of 5 talks took place on weekday evenings between Easter and the school summer holidays, and featured scientists from Cambridge and Newcastle Universities. A second series of 4 talks followed in September–November after the school holidays. Posters for both series are shown below. Further details can be found on the “Previous Events” page, including audio recordings and presentation slides from the various talks together with other links and resources.
Use the archive material for an exploration of some of these Big Questions, and see if we can provide Any Answers to satisfy you. We’re sure you’ll find it interesting and informative, and maybe even challenging and inspiring!
Video introductions:
- by the science co-director, Bill Clegg
2. by the church co-director, Pete Jorysz:
Big Questions - Any Answers 