Published on September 1, 2011 by Steve Donaldson  

The Samford University Center for Science and Religion and Dawson Memorial Baptist Church have received a $30,000 Scientists in Congregations grant (funded by the Templeton Foundation) to implement a program designed to foster dialog and critical thinking among Christians about major issues in science and religion.  

A 10-week series of seminars beginning Sept. 7 serves as the kickoff event for the new program. The seminars are being led by fellows in the Center for Science and Religion: Dr. Tom Woolley, whose discipline is statistics; Dr. George Keller, biology; Dr. Wilton Bunch, ethics and physiology; and Dr. Steve Donaldson, computer science.

The series seeks to cultivate a richer, deeper engagement between scientific and religious perspectives and will explore what science has to say about big questions of meaning and value. A related goal is to foster relationships with those outside the church who perceive Christian beliefs as scientifically naive.

The seminars meet Wednesday from 6 until 7:15 p.m. at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church through Nov. 16. Anyone may attend, and the sessions are structured to be independent of each other.

Dr. Gary Fenton is senior minister and Dr. Todd Harrington is minister of spiritual formation at Dawson.

For information on the program, contact Dr. Donaldson at (205) 726-2447 or sfdonald@samford.edu.
 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.