Evolution and Faith

The Lauriston Jesuit Centre

Finding God In All Things

Evolution and Faith

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Mondays from 26th October to 30th November 7.30 - 9.00 p.m.

Admission Free - All Welcome

In association with the Scottish Episcopal Church

‘Adventures in Faith’ Series, and to begin the second

Lauriston Environment Series Professor Brian Kilbey

will present a series of six talks on evolution and faith.

2009 is a major anniversary year of Charles Darwin, and his work on evolution, culminating in ‘On the Origin of Species’ published 150 years ago.

Evolution and Faith - These talks will attempt to show that evolution, as it is currently understood, is not only compatible with a belief in a loving creator God, its acceptance is important if we are to reach a better understanding of God’s activity in the world. The subject will be considered under the following headings:

1. 26 October - Established beliefs encounter new knowledge. Examples of the tensions which have arisen when new knowledge has challenged accepted beliefs. The solar system and beyond. Life on earth and its origins

2. 2 November - Charles Darwin and the theory of Evolution. Some pre-Darwinian theories. The basic observations which led to the Theory. How it works in practice. Concerns: Was there enough time for it? Is the fossil evidence reliable - what about missing links? Could such a process produce complexity? Intelligent design; what is it and does God really have to nudge and guide his creative process to achieve his objectives? Right click here to download the lecture in MP3 format (46MB). Or click below to listen to it right away.

3. 9 November - More questions and difficulties. Evolution assumes heritable traits but Darwin had no answer to how traits are inherited. Mendelian Genetics and what genetics tells us about the importance of chance in evolution? Can this really be attributed to a beneficent God? The question we need to ask ourselves as Christians is not, is evolution true but why was it the choice for creative action. Right click here to download the lecture in MP3 format (35MB). Or click below to listen to it right away.

4. 16 November - A Creator’s problems. Attitudes of Christians and of Scientists. Are there things even an all-powerful Creator can’t do? How can we visualise the implications of Creative Action? A story. What might this tell us about the Creator? What might it mean for our place in the cosmos? Right click here to download the lecture in MP3 format (29MB). Or click below to listen to it right away.

5. 23 November - How does all this affect me? How does this influence what I believe? Who was Jesus - really? What did he do - really? If God doesn’t interfere why do I pray? and other questions. Right click here to download the lecture in MP3 format (29MB). Or click below to listen to it right away.

6. 30 November - Over to Others - An opportunity for others to consider what these talks have meant for them. A chance to reflect, react and discuss. A panel discussion was held with Howard Thompson an Episcopalian, Jacqui Du Rocher a Catholic, and Rawdon Goodier, a Buddhist, who each responded to the series of lectures, and then engaged in conversation with Brian. Right click here to download to the panel discussion in MP3 format (34MB). O click below to listen to it right away.

Brian Kilbey graduated after reading Botany at UCL where he was also awarded the degree of PhD in Genetics. He then moved to Edinburgh where he worked for the Medical Research Council before transferring to the University of Edinburgh where he was awarded the degree of DSc. for studies in induced mutation and DNA repair. He was Reader in Genetics and, later became Professor of Molecular Parasitology while leading a group working on DNA replication in the Malaria parasite. He has also worked for some years in the USA and Canada and he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Evolution and Faith Professor Brian Kilbey