Calvin Conference to Look at Faith, Science and Technology

July 14, 2006 == MEDIA ADVISORY

A decade after the birth of Dolly the cloned lamb a top-notch conference at
Calvin College will examine the relationships between Christian values and
science and technology.

"Embedding Christian Values in Science and Technology" will take place at
Calvin July 28-31, 2006 as the 61st annual meeting of the American Scientific
Affiliation (ASA).

Among the keynote speakers will be Francis Collins, director of the National
Human Genome Research Institute at the National Institutes of Health; Rudolf
Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute at MIT; and Karen Lebacqz of the Yale
University Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics.

It's a star-studded lineup. In fact both Collins, who mapped the human
genome, and Jaenisch, a cloning expert, were featured in recent issues of TIME
Magazine.

Collins was profiled in a piece called "Reconciling God and Science." That
article paid particular attention to Collins' new book: "The Language of God:
A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."

Jaenisch was part of a story on the perils and progress of cloning, 10 years
after the birth of Dolly.

Calvin professor of biology Hessel Bouma III is serving as program chair for
the annual meeting and says the mix of speakers and workshops touches on some
of society's hot-button issues vis a vis the intersections of faith and
science.

"We'll be looking at everything from the ethics of human stem cells to
evolution and how life began to the proper role of biotechnology in growing
our food," says Bouma, whose expertise is medical ethics. "These are the
issues that are the fodder for the nation's biggest and best newspapers, for
the country's broadcast networks and for a growing number of blogs and
websites that examine science and religion."

Bouma says that the ASA, and its counterpart the Canadian Scientific and
Christian Affiliation, are the premier organizations of Christian scientists,
theologians, philosophers and historians interested in the interesections and
interactions between science and the Christian faith in North America.

"As such," he says, "our annual meeting is always a place for people to come
together and talk about the important scientific and technological issues of
the day."

Contact Bouma at 616-526-6401 or boum@calvin.edu
For more, including the complete schedule, see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2005_06/asa_conference.htm

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Received on Fri Jul 14 09:44:55 2006