Welcome to the atom + Eve Project!

The Washingon Theological Union, a member of the Washington Theological Consortium, with the support of a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, has initiated a program to encourage a lively conversation between scientists and theologians on big issues of common interest such as creation, evolution, and spirituality.  Is whole-hearted acceptance of evolution compatible with the Catholic faith or must believers choose between faith and the results of science? Can science teach us what God is like? How can the findings of neuroscience broaden our concept of what it means to have a human soul?  Karol Wojtyla, later Pope John Paul II, once said, “Science prunes religion of superstition; religion warns science against false absolutes.”

Under the leadership of  Rev. Joseph F. Wimmer, S.T.D. and Daryl P. Domning, Ph.D., four public conferences featuring scientists and theologians will be held between fall 2011 and spring 2013 on various issues of the interaction between science and religion.  The results will be published online and available to all.

 

 

Conference 3: The Moral Life of Virtue, Sin and Original Sin (November 10, 2012)

Scientists will review studies on the group behavior of higher primates which is homologous to human competition and cooperation, and look at the evolutionary roots of human morality.  Catholic biblical and moral theologians will lay out a contemporary view of evil, theodicy, original sin and moral life that is harmonious with contemporary science.  A major goal will be to offer ministers a more adequate way of addressing the “problem of evil” in a pastoral context.

You may register for this conference by filling in the green form to the right.

 

 

Conference 1: The Origin of the Universe

Scientists Stephen M. Barr (Univ. of Delaware) and Sten Odenwald (NASA), along with Catholic University theologians Robert D. Miller and James Wiseman, OSB, have provided us with much food for thought and a sophisticated understanding of divine creation in their November 12, 2011 presentations on the Origin of the Universe. A Conference 1 set of two CDs offered at $14.99 and two DVDs offered at $19.99 can now be ordered via the WTU website.

Video, audio, and written copies of the lectures from Conference 1 have now can now be viewed on the Conference 1 page.

 

Conference 2: The Origin of Life and Its Development

Evolutionary biologists  traced the scientific basis of the origin of life and its development, including that of higher primates and humans.  Catholic theologians proposed an enlightened view of the creation of the human soul that is in harmony with scientific findings.  Both groups sought to answer questions on the origin of life, from the viewpoint of their own discipline. Print copies, audio, and video of the presentations will be available soon.

 

Future Conference

Save the date for the remaining conference in the atom + Eve Project series:

Conference 4: Spirituality in an Evolutionary World  (March 16, 2013)