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Family-friendly sessions reconciling faith and science


Do you or those you speak to struggle to reconcile Christian faith with current scientific thinking? Do you feel you have to choose one or the other? Would you like to explore whether the two could go together?
 
If so, you are invited to an event on Saturday 26 November 2022 at New Hope Baptist Church in Coseley (near Wolverhampton)

 
Faith ExperimentThe Faith Experiment is a programme comprising of a series of seven interactive, family-friendly sessions. It looks at perceived conflicts between established science and the Christian faith and discuss how we might reconcile the two.  
 
The co-directors are Matthew and Davinder Gardner, both experienced healthcare scientists and Christians and members of New Hope Baptist Church in Coseley. They bring in their practice in healthcare science to help address these questions. 
 
All of the sessions are made accessible to youth and adults of any ability, so that they can feel educated and prepared when engaging with questions on science and the Christian faith.  
 
Davinder says, 'Science and faith don’t have to be opposed to each other. And we want to prove it. Our sessions are interactive and family-friendly, breaking down misconceptions and encouraging curiosity.

'Because, let’s face it, we all end up getting asked questions like “what about the dinosaurs?” regardless of how much science we know!'
 
 
The Faith Experiment was relaunched in June with an event at the ThinkTank Science Museum in Birmingham, where attendees spent a full day exploring all seven Faith Experiment sessions.

Faith Experiment-2

Here are some quotes from attendees at that event:
 
'I loved all the exercises. You made it very interactive. You are reaching an excellent people group - ordinary church members.'
 
'Revived my interest in science.'
 
'Made science and faith discussion very accessible to anyone, without any background in science.' 
 
'We came here with a concept there could be conflict between God and science. The day has proved that there is no conflict at all.'

 
A taster session is being run 10:00-14:00 on Saturday 26 November 2022 at New Hope Baptist Church in Coseley (near Wolverhampton). The Faith Experiment team would also love to hear from other churches interested in hosting future events. 
 
This taster session explores the following topics:

  • Can Science and God co-exist? Does it matter that the Bible largely lacks scientific detail? Can science answer all of the questions that matter to us?
  • What are the odds of you? Does life simply need the right conditions – or is there more to it?
  • Genesis – creation or just creative? Do we have to reject one of the scientific or biblical account? Can we reasonably interpret what these accounts say to find agreement?

 
The Faith Experiment relaunch and events are run thanks to a grant awarded by the ECLAS Scientists in Congregations initiative. Scientists in Congregations and the ECLAS project are funded by a £3.4million grant from the Templeton Religion Trust, running 2020-22. ECLAS is led from St John’s College, Durham University in partnership with the University of York and the Church of England.
 

If you would like to join us or have any further questions, please get in touch by emailing thefaithexperiment@faithinscience.co.uk 
 
The Faith Experiment website is: thefaithexperiment.co.uk

For more information and to book the taster session on 26 November, visit Eventbrite





 
Baptist Times, 21/10/2022
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