Science and Spirituality for the Curious

Ep 2.5: Review of ‘The Story of Everything’ Film

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2354641/fan_mail/new] This episode features a panel discussion and review of the controversial new film, The Story of Everything.  Philosopher of science Stephen Meyer is the screenwriter, and he draws heavily from his book, Return of the God Hypothesis.  The film was directed by Eric Esau.  It has had a limited release in U.S. theaters through Fathom Entertainment.     Panelists explored these questions:  1. Were there moments in the film that created a sense of wonder and awe for you?  2. Does the film raise new questions for you?  3. What were the film’s strengths and weaknesses?  4. Would you recommend this film to your friends and acquaintances?    Important Links:  * Science and Spirituality website:  www.scienceandspirituality.org [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/]  * Richard Randolph’s Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]  * The Story of Everything trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwL3ZKlwEoc [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwL3ZKlwEoc]   * Stephen Meyer, Return of the God Hypothesis, HarperOne, 2021  To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/support]   To access Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]

Ep 2.4: What Indigenous Traditions Can Teach Other Spiritualities

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2354641/fan_mail/new] Richard Randolph has a fascinating discussion with John Grim, a historian of religions focusing on Indigenous Traditions. During their conversation, John shares his experiences learning from indigenous peoples, including being adopted by Crow people from Montana and invited to participate in their Sun Dance ceremonials. He reflects on what people from other faiths and spiritualities can learn from Indigenous knowledge and wisdom. Links: * To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/support] * Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com] * John Grim is Co-Director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, for more information go to https://fore.yale.edu/ [https://fore.yale.edu/]; the Yale Forum current “Living Earth Community” can be found here, https://livingearthcommunity.com/ [https://livingearthcommunity.com/] Suggestions for Further Reading John Grim, The Shaman: Patterns of Religious Healing Among the Ojibway Indians, University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. John Grim, editor, Indigenous Traditions and Ecology: The Interbeing of Cosmology and Community, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Divinity School Center for the Study of World Religions, 2001. Robin Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed, 2013. N Scott Momaday, House Made of Dawn Louise Erdrich, Love Medicine Leslie Harmon Silko, Ceremony James Welch, Winter in the Blood Janet Campbell Hale, The Jailing of Cecilia Capture Susan Power, The Grass Dancer Eddie Chocolate, Cheyenne Madonna Gerald Vizenor, Bearheart Rebecca Roanhorse, Black Sun Joy Harjo (poet), An American Sunrise Linda Hogan (poet and novelist), A History of Kindness Simon Ortiz (poet), From Sand Creek John G. Neihardt, Black Elk Speaks To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/support]   To access Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]

Ep 2.3: Can Science Explain the Resurrection? A Conversation with Robert Russell

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2354641/fan_mail/new] In this episode, Richard examines one of the most profound questions in the Christian faith:  Can science explain—or prove—the Resurrection?  Drawing on conversation with physicist-theologian Robert Russell, this episode explores whether scientific cosmology can inform—and deepen—our understanding of resurrection.   Contents 1. This episode begins by noting that there has always been doubt about the Resurrection, going all the way back to Jesus’ disciples.  The disciple Thomas earned the nickname, “doubting Thomas,” because he initially doubted the Resurrection of Christ, while the Gospel of Matthew records that some disciples worshipped the risen Messiah, while “others doubted,”  Later, in 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul asserts that the Resurrection is central to the Christian faith. 2. Robert Russell believes that the Resurrection must be viewed within the context of God’s work as Creator.  He suggests that God’s work as Creator takes on three different forms.  The third form of God’s creative active occurs at the End-Times, when God renews and heals existing creation, rather than replacing it.  This is the “New Creation” described in the Book of Revelation 21, “Behold, I am making all things new.”   3. Jesus’ Resurrection on Easter morning is a promissory note, confirming the resurrection as part of God’s plan for the New Creation at the End-Times. 4. The New Creation is both continuous and dis-continuous with reality as we currently experience it.  On the one hand, the New Creation will be dis-continuous with present reality.  For example, the Resurrection currently appears to be in direct conflict with the laws of nature.  However, scientific cosmology allows for the possibility that the laws of nature as we know them are not set in stone.  One possibility in scientific cosmology is that there is not one, single universe.  Rather, there are multiple universes, creating a “multiverse.”  These different universes could have radically different laws of nature.  This suggests that the laws of nature could be transformed in the New Creation, so that Resurrection would no longer violate them.  Instead, resurrection would be a consistent with those different laws of nature. 5. On the other hand, in some ways, the New Creation would be continuous with reality as we know it.  An example of continuity would be that our personal identity continues in the New Creation.   6. Since Robert Russell situates the New Creation within the overarching creative framework of God, it has been part of God’s creative plan all along.  That is to say, the New Creation is not an afterthought—nor a corrective for some mistake.  It has been part of God’s intention from the beginning. 7. To conclude, while science cannot “explain” the Resurrection, science does not rule out the possibility of resurrection, either.  What science can do is suggest potential frameworks that may make resurrection more intelligible to persons of faith.  To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/support]   To access Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]

Ep 2.2: Exploring Ecology and Religion, with John Grimm

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2354641/fan_mail/new] John Grimm, and his spouse Mary Evelyn Tucker, are co-founders of the Yale Forum on Ecology and Religion.  Previously they also organized a series of conferences at Harvard University, resulting in a multi-volume series on Religions and Ecology.   Contents:  1. The conversation begins with John describing the process he and Mary Evelyn used to create the multi-volume collection of essays examining the relationship between Ecology and various religions and spiritualities.  John explains the process of retrieval🡪 re-evaluation 🡪 re-construction that various authors adopted in their examination of how sacred texts could contribute meaningfully to healing the environment.   2. John provides background on the founding of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology.  Then, he discusses the many resources available on the Yale Forum’s websites.   3. John and Richard also discuss the emergence of “eco-anxiety” and “eco-grief.”  John shares how Yale Divinity School has begun offering its students instruction on providing pastoral care for those suffering from eco-anxiety and eco-grief.  For further exploration: The Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology has multiple websites: * For the Forum homepage, click here:  https://fore.yale.edu/ [https://fore.yale.edu/]  * For a brief listing of various resources on the Forum, click here: https://fore.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Forum_flyer_2024.pdf [https://fore.yale.edu/sites/default/files/files/Forum_flyer_2024.pdf]  * For the video Journey of the Universe website:  https://www.journeyoftheuniverse.org/ [https://www.journeyoftheuniverse.org/] To watch the video, go here:  Journey of the Universe | Videos & Movies on Vimeo [https://vimeo.com/36950412]. The password is whowouldyoube619.  * For the new Living Earth Community project, click here:  https://livingearthcommunity.com/ [https://livingearthcommunity.com/]  * For resources on eco-anxiety and eco-grief, go here:  https://fore.yale.edu/Resources/Eco-anxiety-Resources [https://fore.yale.edu/Resources/Eco-anxiety-Resources] To check out Science and Spirituality’s new Substack page, click here: https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]. To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/support]   To access Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]

Ep 2.1: Understanding the Powers of the Universe, with Brian Swimme

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2354641/fan_mail/new] In this episode, Richard interviews Dr. Brian Swimme, a mathematical cosmologist and evolutionary philosopher, best known for articulating a “universe story” in collaboration with the late cultural historian and theologian Thomas Berry.  Their work integrates contemporary cosmology with spiritual reflection through a story that explores cosmic evolution—from the Big Bang to the emergence of galaxies, to life and human consciousness—while inviting deeper reflection on its meaning for human identity and planetary responsibility.    Contents:   1. Brian and Richard begin their conversation by discussing the relationship between science and spirituality.  Brian goes on to describe what he means when he says that the universe sacrifices for the evolutionary development of the universe, especially for the flourishing of life.  2. Brian and Richard discuss the notion of a “cosmic Christianity” and Brian provides examples of how God is revealed through the development and processes of the universe.   3. One of Brian Swimme’s major contributions to how we think about the origin and unfolding of the universe is his description of the “Powers of the Universe”:  1. Centration  2. Allurement or Attraction  3. Emergence  4. Homeostasis  5. Cataclysm  6. Synergy  7. Transmutation  8. Transformation  9. Interrelatedness  10. Radiance  4. Brian and Richard discussed Brian’s understanding of “resonance” and “reverberation.”  They each shared examples of reverberating events in their own lives.    For further exploration  * Check out Brian’s website at https://storyoftheuniverse.org [https://storyoftheuniverse.org/]  * Check out Richard’s new Substack blog at www.scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [http://www.scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]. Also, look for his reflections on Brian Swimme’s contributions to science and spirituality, in a blog to be posted at the end of this week.   * To see the Emmy award-winning documentary, Journey of the Universe, written by Mary Evelyn Tucker and Brian Swimme—and narrated by Brian—go to  https://storyoftheuniverse.org/videos [https://storyoftheuniverse.org/videos]    Books:  *  The Universe Story : From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era--A Celebration of the Unfolding of the Cosmos, Brian Swimme with Thomas Berry,  HarperOne, 1994.  * Cosmogenesis, An Unveiling of the Expanding Universe, Brian Thomas Swimme, Counterpoint, 2022. (Brian’s intellectual and spiritual autobiography.)  * Hidden Heart of the Cosmos (Ecology and Justice Series), Brian Swimme, Orbis Books, 2019.  To financially support this podcast series, go to www.scienceandspirituality.org/support [http://www.scienceandspirituality.org/support]   To access Richard’s new Substack reflections, https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com [https://scienceandspiritualityblog.substack.com/]