Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowships in Science & Religion

Cambridge, England.

From Charles Darwin to Richard Dawkins, science has been seen as an ally of atheism, religion’s aggressive adversary.

Historically, religious faith—and its denial—have played a major part in science, says Keith Ward, author of The Big Questions in Science and Religion. The pioneering work of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler all came into conflict with church authorities and doctrines, although these astronomers and cosmologists insisted they were sincere believers. In fact, theology was once considered the “queen of the sciences.”

When Orlando-based missionary and author Grady McMurtry talks about science and the Bible today at St. Cloud Church of the Nazarene, one question is bound to come up: How should evangelicals respond to the burning issue of global warming?

Relying as much on his degrees in agriculture and environmental science as on his theological education, McMurtry uses Scripture to argue his case that there is no global warming, no thinning of the Earth’s ozone layer.

In lectures devoted entirely to climate change, he argues that what warming there may be is cyclical and natural, not caused by human activity. Christians, he insists, should not pay attention to what he calls junk science that argues the contrary, as opposed to his controversial brand of biblical science.