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Spain Symposium

Science and the Three Monotheisms: A New Partnership?August 23-25, 2002 Hotel Alhambra Palace, Granada, SpainConference OverviewRecent world events signal the urgent need for dialogue among the three monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If we are to respond to these events, we must understand the complex mutual influences between the spiritual traditions and their wider cultural contexts. At this symposium—held at an historic meeting ground of Jews, Christians, and Muslims— we focused on these three traditions as they engaged with one of the most pervasive of cultural...
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Kazakhstan Colloquium

September 19- 20, 2002 National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan Almaty, KazakhstanInstitute of the Oriental Studies of the Ministry of Education & Science of the Republic of KazakhstanPurpose of Colloquium:The main purpose of the colloquium was to bring together, in Central Asia, scholars who share an interest in Education, Science and Religion. The colloquium explored general issues relating to education and religion in the region, at all levels, but also took the opportunity to open up dialogue between different universities in order to develop joint scientific and...
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Founder

Professor Robert J. Russell is the Founder and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), and the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU), Berkeley. He is the author of Time in Eternity: Pannenberg, Physics, and Eschatology in Creative Mutual Interaction (University of Notre Dame Press, 2012) and Cosmology from Alpha to Omega: Towards the Mutual Creative Interaction of Theology and Science (Fortress Press, 2008). He has co-edited a multi-volume series of books focused on scientific perspectives on divine action...
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SSQ Collaborating Speakers

Collaborating SpeakersThis page contains brief biographies of people who were not involved in the SSQ workshops but whose involvement in the field of science and religion has made them valued participants in SSQ public events.Please note: these bios date from the time of the SSQ program. In the time since the program, some of the participants have moved institutions and some have passed away.Imad Ad Din AhmedImad Ad Din Ahmed is astronomer and Professor of Social Change and of Religion and Progress at the John Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies and at the University of Maryland...
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The Center

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences   From 1981-2015 the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) was an independent, self-incorporated affili­ate of the Graduate Theological Union (GTU). During this time, CTNS depended primarily on program grants to support the salaries of faculty and staff. These grants includ­ed three international and interfaith mega-programs: The Science and Religion Course Program (SRCP), Science and the Spiritual Quest (SSQ) and Science and Transcend­ence: Advanced Research Program (STARS), funded by the John Templeton Foundation.
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Genetics and Evolutionary Biology Group

Genetics and Evolutionary Biology GroupThe field of genetics has come to public attention in recent years as scientists have developed procedures for germ line intervention and cloning. Both scientists and the general public are aware of the massive ethical questions raised by the capacities we now have for genetic manipulation. In the United States, at least, there is also widespread public interest in the tensions that arise between the dominant theories of biological evolution (Darwinian evolution plus the science of genetics) on the one hand, and on the other religious belief in the...
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Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship in Theology and Science

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences established the Graduate Student Fellowship in 2005, in order to help support doctoral students of academic excellence at the Graduate Theological Union working in theology and science. The Fellowship was renamed the Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship on September 16, 2006 in recognition of Dr. Townes' work with physics graduate students at UC Berkeley and for his generous and longstanding support of CTNS. Dr. Townes was a Nobel Laureate in Physics for his role in the discovery of the maser and laser, Professor of Physics in the...
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Sciences of the Human Person Group

Sciences of the Human Person BiosIn recent years increasing attention has been given to questions of what (if anything) constitutes the uniqueness of the human person in light of contemporary science. This group was staffed by specialists in the various sciences which study or are related to the human person: the neurosciences, quantum physics, primatology, cognitive psychology, computer science and Artificial Intelligence, computational theory, clinical psychology, medicine and consciousness studies, to name a few. Each specialist brought his or her disciplinary training and empirical...
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Computer Science and Information Technology Group

Computer Science and Information Technology Some of the most fascinating questions about the nature of spirituality are raised by the various fields of computer science and information technology (CSIT). The role of intelligent machines and computational models for human thought have already been discussed. But the advent of technology also raises crucial ethical and social questions for society today. The scientists in the CSIT group, specialized as they are in the development and use of these new technologies, discussed the probable effects of future technologies on human social and...
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Physics and Cosmology Group

Physics and Cosmology GroupCosmology, or the scientific study of the origin and development of the universe, raises fundamental religious questions: Where did we come from? What or who, if anything, created the universe in the first place? Must some cause be posited to explain the singularity from which our universe arose, or is the universe self-explanatory? Is the notion of God required to explain the lawlikeness of the universe, or to account for its proclivity to produce intelligent life? And what is the final fate of the universe; is the so-called heat death of the universe, or its final...
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Two years into my retirement

Dear CTNS Members and Friends:                                                           Now, two years into my retirement, I am writing you a “letter” to reflect on the background, creation and history of CTNS over the past four decades, to frame the tremendous changes at CTNS these past two years since my retirement, and to look ahead briefly to where my retirement journey will --- hopefully --- take me into vistas of research and reflection in theology and science. As you undoubtedly know, I formally retired as the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science and the Founding...
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History

Founded as a California non-profit corporation in 1981, the Center is now a program of the Graduate Theological Union, an ecumenical and interfaith consortium of seminaries and centers based in Berkeley, California. Interested individuals may fully participate in the dialog by becoming a member, receiving Theology and Science, the Center’s refereed journal, CTNS E-News, and other benefits.
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STARS

Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series (STARS) July 1, 2005-May 31, 2010 STARS: Asking new questions of ultimate reality How immense the ocean of our questions, how limited the shoreline of our knowledge. "Humanity stands at the crossroads of destiny. STARS is the most exciting initiative yet on confronting the challenge of who we are and how we fit into the great cosmic scheme." --Paul Davies The goal of STARS was to sponsor research by small teams of scientists and humanities scholars on the ways science, in light of philosophical and theological reflection, points towards...