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Fifty Years in Science and Religion: Ian G. Barbour and his Legacy

Fifty Years in Science and Religion: Ian G. Barbour and His Legacy Edited by Robert John Russell ISBN: 075464118X (paperback) 0754641171(hardback) Publication Date: 12/23/2004    Fifty Years in Science and Religion brings together nineteen leading scholars in the field to offer an appreciative yet critical assessment of the impact of Barbour's work on science and religion and to point ahead towards future critical areas, goals and tasks that await new research and visionary exploration. This book includes a unique autobiography by Barbour in which for the first time he shares and...
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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...
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Outstanding Books in Theology and the Natural Sciences Prize

In 1996, the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences created a new award for Outstanding Books in Theology and the Natural Sciences. The Outstanding Books Prize recognized exemplary scholarship in the dialogue between theology and the natural sciences and sought to foster outstanding scholarly investigation of the methodological relations between theology and science. Books were judged using the following criteria: Does the book make a convincing and scholarly case? Does it have real potential for affecting opinion makers and the general public? Will it be an important resource to be...
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About SATURN

The purpose of the SATURN program is to study the scientific warrants for and theological implications of randomness, propensities and indeterminism in nature. SATURN is an appropriate acronym for this research on the “Scientific and Theological Understandings of Randomness in Nature” because the rings of the planet Saturn exhibit the kind of self-organization that can come about in nature through random processes and gravitational interactions. To date, scholars in the theology and science community have made a strong case for three closely related claims: 1) that God acts at the atomic and...
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SATURN Participants

Principal Investigator: Robert John Russell Participants include Jim Bradley, Gerald Cleaver, George Ellis, Alicia Juarrero, Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Rope Kojonen, Joshua Moritz, Ted Peters, Karl Svozil, Robert Ulanowicz, and Kirk Wegter-McNelly. Robert J. Russell is Founder and Director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), and the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science in Residence at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA. He is a leading researcher and spokesperson for the growing international body of theologians and scientists committed to a...
CTNS Faculty

Dr. Robert Russell

Dr. Robert J. Russell is the Founder and Director of CTNS and the Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science at the GTU. He is ordained in the United Church of Christ to Ministry in higher education. Dr. Russell is the author of Time in Eternity: Pannenberg, Physics, and Eschatology in Creative Mutual Interaction, (University of Notre Dame Press, 2012), Cosmology from Alpha to Omega: Towards the Mutual Creative Interaction of Theology and Science (Fortress Press, 2008), serves as primary editor of theVatican Observatory / CTNS volumes on theology and science focused on science and...
CTNS News

Through a Techno-Mirror Darkly: Created Co-Creators, AI and Consciousness Uploading

CTNS Public Forum with Levi Checketts, Tuesday November 5th, 7pm

Dinner Boardroom, Graduate Theological Union Library, 2400 Ridge Road Berkeley, CA 

Free and open to the public.

In Technology and Human Becoming, Philip Hefner posits the idea of the “techno-mirror,” a reflection of human understanding of human nature through the technologies we create. Artificial Intelligence research, from its earliest days in the work of Alan Turing, has reflected this more appropriately than perhaps any other technology. The goal of “Good Old Fashion AI” researchers like Marvin Minsky was to create a...
CTNS Event

Science and Religion Hospitality Event at the AAR

Event Date: 
Saturday, November 23rd 2019, 7:00pm
Religion and Science Hospitality Event All are invited to discuss and learn more about the many different intersections of religion and science at the Religion and Science Hospitality Event! Representatives from the following organizations will be on hand to answer questions, engage in dialogue, and discuss possibilities for future work. We look forward to seeing you there! This event is sponsored by: * The Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) Program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) * The Zygon Center for Religion and Science * Zygon:...
CTNS Event

Through a Techno-Mirror Darkly: Created Co-Creators, AI and Consciousness Uploading

Event Date: 
Tuesday, November 5th 2019, 7:00pm
In Technology and Human Becoming, Philip Hefner posits the idea of the “techno-mirror,” a reflection of human understanding of human nature through the technologies we create. Artificial Intelligence research, from its earliest days in the work of Alan Turing, has reflected this more appropriately than perhaps any other technology. The goal of “Good Old Fashion AI” researchers like Marvin Minsky was to create a machine that thinks the way human beings do. Today, this legacy animates AI researchers and transhumanist entrepreneurs hoping to transcribe their brain patterns into computer...
AIartificial intelligencemachine learningtranshumanismTeilhard de ChardinLevi Checketts
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Get Involved

Become a member and receive our journal, Theology and Science, sign up for the CTNS E-News to hear about upcoming events, make a donation to support the work of the center or explore our many articles, videos and suggested books. Donations Directly support the CTNS mission of bridging science and religion with a financial gift. Membership Join the Center and receive Theology and Science, the CTNS E-News, conference discounts and more. E-News for Friends Receive CTNS news updates, with information on upcoming conferences, events, and publications. Events Find out about...
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Theology and Science

Begun in 2003, Theology and Science draws its academic strength from the background of over thirty years of CTNS development, the expertise of hundreds of scientists and theologians from around the world who have participated in CTNS research programs, as well as a cadre of more than 40 editors on the Editorial Advisory Board. From physics and cosmology to evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience and the environmental sciences, Theology and Science engages scientific discourse in dialogue with both Christian and multi-religious perspectives. With these affiliations, the journal provides a...
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2019-2020 Russell Family Research Fellowship in Religion and Science

Playful Encounters of the Third Kind: How Science and Religion Dialog Intersects with Interfaith Advocacy Fellowship Forum, Thursday, March 5, 2020, 7pm 2019-2020 Fellow: Adam Pryor, Assistant Professor of Religion, Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas Richard S. Dinner Board Room Graduate Theological Union (Flora Lamson Hewlett) Library 2400 Ridge Road, Berkeley, California, USA  This event is free and open to the public.   What if We're not Alone: Considering the Significance of Non-Intelligent Alien Life for Constructive Christian Theology Annual Russell Family Research Conference ...
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A Word from the Founder and Director

The universe is more mysterious than either science and religion can ever fully disclose, and the urgencies of humankind and the natural environment demand an honest interaction between the discoveries of nature, the empowerment afforded us by appropriate technology, the inherent value of the environment, and the demand that we commit ourselves to a future in which all species can flourish. We can no longer afford the stalemate of past centuries between theology and science, for this leaves nature Godless and religion worldless. When this happens, our culture, hungering after science for...
Daniel LehmannLetter from the PresidentPresident
CTNS News

2020 Townes Fellowship Seeking Applications

Announcing the 2020 Townes Graduate Student Fellowship in Theology and Science

  CTNS is pleased to announce the 2020 competition for the Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship in Theology and Science. The purpose of the Townes Fellowship is to publicly recognize and offer modest financial support to doctoral students of the Graduate Theological Union who have demonstrated the clear ability to do highly promising research on issues related to theology and science.  The selection is based on academic excellence and students in any Department of the Graduate Theological Union doctoral program whose research focuses on theology and science are eligible to apply....
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Vatican Observatory and CTNS Collaboration

Collaboration with the Vatican Observatory The Vatican Observatory/CTNS Project: Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action (VO/CTNS: 1990-2005). Beginning in 1990, the Vatican Observatory and CTNS co-sponsored a series of international research conferences on a variety of topics in “theology and science” that touch in varying ways on the overall theme, “scientific perspectives on divine action.” The series produced six scholarly volumes with contributions from over fifty distinguished scientists, philosophers and theologians. CTNS Founder and Director Robert John Russell served as the...
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The Ian G. Barbour Chair in Theology and Science

The Ian G. Barbour Chair is the cornerstone of the CTNS Mission, ensuring its central educational program into the future. In an age when science is often seen to conflict with religion, the Chair will continue to bring the natural sciences into the classrooms of Graduate Theological Union doctoral and seminary students in constructive new ways. It will ensure that future generations of faculty and students may enter into the constructive dialogue between faith and science and be empowered for research, teaching and ministry. The Chair will also provide leadership for ongoing CTNS research...
Robert John RussellIan G. BarbourBarbour Chair in Theology and ScienceTheology and Science
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About CTNS

The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) is an international program dedicated to the creative mutual interaction of science and religion through research, teaching and public service. The central scientific focus of CTNS is on developments in physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, and genetics, with additional topics in the neurosciences, the environmental sciences, and mathematics. With regard to the theological task, CTNS engages in both Christian and multi-religious reflection. The Christian theological agenda focuses on the various doctrinal loci of systematic theology...
Theology and Sciencescience and religionCTNS | Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences