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Science & Spirit Mission Statement: Our mission is to facilitate a rich and robust dialogue between the scientific and religious communities by forging a common vocabulary. We intend the result to be a more integrated and balanced approach to complex social issues. The following operating principles guide us:

— Science can be enabling and liberating.
— Values provide a path to human integrity.
— Religious traditions should provide bridges between science and values.

Articles
1999
Genetics
Sharp Eye, Open Mind; Keeping Watch on Cults: An Interview with Eileen Barker by Rebecca Bryant
Eileen Barker has spent 25 years in the field studying the eruption of new religious movements in an age of volatile belief. She talks about the hands-on work of supplying vital information about the movements - keep careful watch while maintaining respect for the believers - in this exclusive interview with Rebecca Bryant.

Second Glance: A Note from the Editorial Office by Kevin Sharpe and Chris Floyd
Would a clone have a soul? Is DNA sacred? Are the processes of procreation divinely ordained? Are we, as they used to say in the old horror movies, "meddling in God?s domain"?

Updating Our Origins; Biology, Genetics and Evolution: An Interview with Steve Jones by Kate Prendergast
In this exclusive interview with Science & Spirit, the renowned British geneticist, who ranks with Richard Dawkins and Stephen Jay Gould as one of the world's leading "popularizers" of the complexities of science, explores the uses and misuses of genetics.

Reading the Book of Life: Francis Collins and the Human Genome Project by Brent Waters and Ron Cole-Turner
As director of the Human Genome Project, Francis Collins stands at the heart of the hopes and fears spawned by the revolution in genetics. Yet he finds no conflict between his fervent religious faith and his scientific endeavors, he says in this wide-ranging interview with Science & Spirit. Our Genes, Our Selves: Genetics, Behavior and Personhood

Our Genes, Our Selves: Genetics, Behavior, and Personhood by Ron Cole-Turner
Researchers are uncovering more and more connections between genetic structures and specific behaviors, findings that cut to the core of human personality. How will these discoveries change our concepts of freedom and responsibility, and our ideas of what it means to be a person?

Natural Morality Part III: Motivated to Achieve: Lighting the Inner Fire by Kevin Sharpe
In the third of a series of articles, Science & Spirit Publisher Kevin Sharpe draws on the latest advances in physical and social sciences, as well as the heritage of the world's religious traditions, to explore the scientific underpinning of John Templeton's Laws of Life. Part III Motivated to Achieve: Lighting the Inner Fire

An Imperfect Union: Darwin, Divinity, and Design by Michael Ruse
Noted biologist Ken Miller attempts a marriage of evolutionary science and religious belief in his new book, Finding Darwin's God. Ruse finds Miller's science impeccable, as he demolishes arguments for Creationism and intelligent design. But is Miller's theology as sound?

Philosophy, Faith, and Science: Of Artichokes and Onions by James B. Miller
The final chapter of a four-part series examining the historical and philosophical background of the science-and-religion dialogue - and the implications of this past for the future of faith and society. Part IV: Contention and Engagement

The Merriest Days of the Year: Unearthing the Pagan Origins of Christmas by Kate Prendergast
The religious and cultural traditions that hold sway in the modern world have arisen from the rich loam of ancient faiths and rituals whose origins reach back into the murk of prehistory

The Depths of Reason: Biotechnology's Challenge to Public Policy by Mark J. Hanson
Developments in biotechnology are forcing leaders to make decisions that will have far-reaching - and unforseeable - effects on the course of human life itself. Yet they cling to "neutral" criteria that are not deep enough to address the moral and ethical issues at stake.

Designer Destiny: Parenthood at the Genetic Crossroads by Brent Waters
Rapid advances in genetic engineering are confronting parents, and society, with a bewildering array of choices and moral dilemmas. How far should we go in using technology to design "perfect" babies? Where should the line be drawn? And who will draw it?

Intergral Reason: Science and Religion in Russian Culture by Vladimir Katasonov
After decades of oppression and obscurity, the relationship between science and religion is alive and well in Russia, drawing on historical roots that have given the dialogue a unique national character.

Intelligent Design
The Spirit-Wrestler: An Interview with John Polkinghorne by Chris Floyd
John Polkinghorne, a central figure in the dialogue between science and religion, takes on some of the toughest questions in that great debate ? creation, evolution, evil, goodness, and the meaning of life ? in this exclusive interview.

Of Design and Deception: Kansas, Conflict and Creation by Robert T. Pennock
The Kansas School Board?s decision to remove evolution from the state?s curriculum standards has taken the often abstract debate between science and religion to a sudden flashpoint in the ?real? world of politics, policy and the everyday lives of ordinary citizens. Philosopher Robert Pennock examines the controversy and the Creationist?s claim that evolution is a ?conscious deception.?

The Arrow and the Archer: Reintroducing Design into Science by William A. Dembski
Can the concept of ?intelligent design? be made intelligible through the application of rigorous scientific criteria? William Dembski states the case.

Philosophy, Faith and Science: Of Artichokes and Onions, Part III by James B. Miller
The third of a four-part series examining the historical and Philosophical background of the science-and-religion dialogue ? and the implications of this past for the future of faith and society. Part Three: Trouble at the Foundations

The Verbal Corrosion of Medical Morality: by Brent Waters
At what point do the benefits of biomedical research outweigh their cost to the human spirit? Brent Waters explores this increasingly acute dilemma.

Causality and Creation: The Quantum Footprint by Kevin Sharpe and Jon Walgate
What ?caused? the Big Bang? The anthropic principle posits an intelligent creator; the ?many-universes? theory suggests a wild-chance origin against incalculable odds. Are they both trapped in an outmoded model of causality? The authors explore the ways that quantum physics is rephrasing the question of origins.

Eyes Wide Open: An Interview with Owen Gingerich by Chris Floyd
The Harvard astrophysicist and historian of science makes the case for a more nuanced approach to the question of creation, steering a course between the clashing rocks of the ?intelligent design? dogmas and the strictures of doctrinaire Darwinism.

Going to Extremes: The Design Question by Michael Ruse
Was the universe formed by conscious design, or has it evolved through processes that have no intrinsic purpose or meaning? This issue has sparked debate for generations, with Creationist anti-evolutionists and Darwinian atheists locked in combat. But are both sides giving the same wrong Answer to the question? And what might the right answer be?

Celestial Waves: Framing Spiritual Principles for Interstellar Communication by Douglas A. Vakoch
The attempt to formulate human spiritual concepts for transmissions aimed at potential listeners in the far reaches of space can help us take a closer look at the meaning of those concepts for the residents of our own planet.

Zen and Neuroscience: The Fire Sermon by Sanjida O'Connell
Zen monks in deep meditation are able to keep their exposed bodies from freezing in the snow. What are the physiological changes associated with meditative states?

Natural Morality: Reaping our Innate Rewards by Kevin Sharpe
In the second of a series of articles, Science & Spirit Editor Kevin Sharpe draws on the latest advances in physical and social sciences, as well as the heritage of the world's religious traditions, to explore the scientific underpinning of John Templeton's "Laws of Life." Part Two: Happy Whys

The Personal Touch: An Interview with Anne Foerst by Mary Lacombe
Anne Foerst, Harvard fellow and research scientist at MIT, talks about her efforts to bring theology into the strange world of Artificial Intelligence, part of her lifelong exploration into the nature of personhood.

The Science of Wisdom
Brilliant Disguise: Light, Matter and the Zero-Point Field by Bernard Haisch
Is matter an illusion? Is the universe floating on a vast sea of light, whose invisible power provides the resistance that gives to matter its feeling of solidity? Astrophysicist Bernhard Haisch and his colleagues have followed the equations to some compelling -- and provocative -- conclusions.

Of Artichokes and Onions : Philosophy, Faith and Science : Part II: The Division of the World by James Miller
The second of a four-part series examining the historical and philosophical background of the science-and-religion dialogue -- and the implications of this past for the future of faith and society.

The Limbic Fire: Neuroscience and the Soul by Chris Floyd
In this exclusive interview with Science & Spirit, noted neurologist V.S. Ramachandran examines how advances in neuroscience are changing and challenging traditional ideas about God, religious experience and the concept of self.

Broken Light: Wisdom and the Disconnected Brain by Warren S. Brown and Lynn K. Paul
New research indicates that a rich and lively collaboration between the brain's hemispheres plays a key role in forming the patterns of behavior and understanding that lead to wisdom.

Editor's Muse; The Laws of Life: Grounding Spiritual Truth in Science by Kevin Sharpe and Brent Waters
Are there natural 'laws' that can guide us toward proper conduct and greater fulfillment? If so, how should we follow them? And why should we follow them? The authors investigate the conflicts and challenges surrounding the 'science of wisdom.'

In the Beginning: An Interview with Olivera Petrovich by Rebecca Bryant
Young children see the world with fresh minds that embrace both scientific causality and metaphysical speculation, and their conceptions show striking similiarities across widely differing cultures, says Oxford psychologist Olivera Petrovich.

Harvesting the Fruits of Age: Growing Older, Growing Wise by Paul B. Baltes and Margaret M. Baltes
Behavioral scientists are finding good news about the prospects for successful aging as they delve ever more deeply into the science of wisdom.

The Word to the Wise: Proverbs and the Patterns of the Mind by Carmen Adriana Strungaru and Wulf Schiefenhoevel
The patterns of thought expressed in proverbs and folk wisdom are remarkably similar across cultures and historical eras, providing a window to fundamental aspects of human nature.

A Separate Peace: Stephen Jay Gould and the Limits of Tolerance by Michael Ruse
In his new book, Stephen Jay Gould calls for peaceful co-existence between science and religion. But Gould's apparent openness comes with strings attached, says Ruse in his feature length review.

Risks of the Quest by V.V. Raman
Which is more dangerous: science or religion?

Natural Morality: Reaping our Innate Rewards by Kevin Sharpe
In the first in a series of articles, Science & Spirit Editor Kevin Sharpe draws on the latest advances in the physical and social sciences, as well as the heritage of the world's religious traditions, to explore the scientific underpinning of John Templeton's "Laws of Life."

Seeing Things Whole: Evolutionary Biology and the Wisdom Tradition by Jeffrey Schloss
Human behavior is deeply rooted in biological processes which press inexorably, sometimes ruthlessly, toward the goals of survival and replication. Yet we are also capable of remarkable acts of self-sacrifice that transcend the dictates of our biology. How to account for this paradox? The key to this evolutionary puzzle could lie in the concept and fact of wisdom.

The Vision of the Chariot: Transcendent Experience and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy by Clifford Pickover
Temporal lobe epilepsy has been linked to divine encounters, artistic creation and fearful visitations from other realms. Pickover examines some of the implications of current research into this mysterious disease.

Evolutionary Biology
A Trick of the Light: Richard Dawkins on Science and Religion by Chris Floyd
In an exclusive interview with Science and Spirit, one of the world's leading Darwinists speaks out on religion, culture and his feeling for the " transcendent " dimension of life.

Human Cloning: In Defence of the Yuck Factor by Brent Waters
Objections to the prospect of human cloning are often dismissed by its proponents as knee jerk reactions. A steady Mantra citing the benefits of this new technology is offered to assuage public opinion - but must "Yuck" give way to "Yes"

God's Purpose: A Contradiction in Terms? by Kevin Sharpe and Rebecca Bryant
Editor's Muse: New Discoveries in genetics and biochemistry are changing our understanding of human nature in profound ways, posing a challenge - and opportunity - for religion.

Of Artichokes and Onions: Philosophy, Faith, and Science by James B. Miller

Book Review: A Flawed Gem: E.O. Wilson's Consilience by Donald Brown
In Consilience, Wilson describes a path to bridge the huge chasm that has developed between the humanities and the sciences - Donald Brown evaluates his new book.

The Widening Gyre: Religion, Culture, and Evolution by Merlin Donald
Can religion, with its deep roots in our genetic makeup, provide any answers to the modern world's cultural free-fall? Will the falcon hear the falconer? Donald offers an evolutionary view.

Conversation at the Crossroads: An Interview with Billy Grassie by Rebecca Bryant
The editor of META talks about his efforts to merge intellectual discourse and computer technology on the Internet, part of a lifetime of interaction between hard science and spiritual searching.

The Light of Reason: Evolutionary Psychology and Ethics by Anthony M. Matteo
If human psychology grows out of our biological nature, what are the implications for ethics and morality? MAtteo explores the possibilities of an enlightened moral realism.

Tangled Up in Blue: The Evolution of Relationship by Randolph Nesse
What are the roots of our tangled relationships with others? Can an understanding of the evolutionary basis of commitment help us to improve these essential connections?

New Wineskins for Old Wine: A Credible Theology for a Scientific World by Arthur Peacocke
If theology is to survive as a credible vehicle of truth, it must have the courage to embrace scientific knowledge and reconceive itself accordingly, says Peacocke in this call for a "mnimalist " approach.

Eyes on the Prize: Evolution and Direction by Michael Ruse
Are human beings the crowning acheivement of evolution, the product of intelligent design? Or is random selection the lord of all? Ruse examines the case for directed evolution.

Second Birth: A Vision Revived at Boston University by Wesley Wildman
Changes in Education Policies are Reviving Interest in Science and Religion Education Programs

Giving up the Ghost: The Epic of Spiritual Emergence by Terrence Deacon
Science is undermining the basis for belief in a "spiritual essence" separate from our evolved biology. Will this lead to a nightmare of dead mechanism, a world emptied of meaning and depth? Or open the way to a creative, liberated spirituality?

Once More Into the Breach: Divine Action in Modern Science by Nicholas Saunders
Is there any real sense in which God is able to "act" in the world described by science? Saunders looks for answers in the spaces left unclosed by scientific understanding.

Quantum Physics
Journey through the Dark of Night: Interview With Biologist, Lewis Wolpert by Alison Goddard

Refracting the light of forgiveness by Everett Worthington

Gathering of the Realms: The Convergence of Science and Religion by Charles Townes

Call and Response - an interview with Barbara Smith-Moran by Rebecca Bryant

The Quantum Wave of Faith by Raymond Chiao

Meeting at the crossroads: The Quantum Link between Science and Theology by Thierry Magnin

On The Edge of Physics by Jean Staune

Physics and Philosophy: Perspectives on Reality by Bernard D'espagnat

Patterns of The Real: Quantum Nonlocality by Kevin Sharpe and John Walgate John

1998
Journeys in Science and Spirit
Science and Spirit: A Hindu Perspective by V. V. Raman

Whose Heritage? The Conflict between Living and the Dead within Archaeology by Kevin Sharpe and Helen Fawbert

The Power of our Genes: An interview with Dean Hamer by Rebecca Bryant

Science and the Spiritual Quest: A Muslim Perspective by Mehdi Golshani

Science and the spirtiual quest: Linking the Two by Pauline Rudd

Optimism
Our Haunted Beliefs by John A. Teske

Interview with Nick Saunders by Yemi Benedict

Personalising Physics, Socialising Science - Interview with Margaret Wertheim by Rebecca Bryant

Connecting Science and Religion in the Qu?ran by Fethullah Guumllen

Islamic Medicine - the tradition of spirtual healing by Muzaffar Iqbal

Living with pessimism and optimism by Kevin Sharpe and Rebecca Bryant

Positive Social Science by Martin E.P. Seligman

Ten Commandments for Quality in Science and Spirituality by William Drees

Buddhists, Biologists and Bussiness Cards: Coming to terms with the stickiness of life by Jeremy Sherman

Faith and Medicine
Medicine's neglected spirit: The positive therapeutic effect of spirituality by Onoyemi Benedict

Happy endings and the Just World Effect by Kevin Sharpe and Jon Walgate

Psychology, Applied Spirituality and Health - Do They Relate? by David G. Myers

Holy Ghosts:Sacred space in the modern world by Madeleine Bunting

Can Spirituality Affect Health? by Kevin Sharpe and Rebecca Bryant

Moving Toward the Mind-Body-Spirit Connection by Ed Morris

How Spirituality Affects Recovery from Depression by Dan Kauffman

Spirituality and Health: Interview with C. Everett Koop by Dan Kauffman

Epic of Evolution
Evolutionary Direction and Humanity's Place: Is evolution evolving or just wandering about? by Russell Merle Genet

Science as epic:Can the modern evolutionary cosmology be a mythic story for our time? by Willliam Grassie

The Search for a Darwinian Science of Ethics by Larry Arnhart

The Epic of Evolution: Religious and cultural interpretations of modern scientific cosmology. by Connie Barlow

1997
Computers and The Spirit by Philip Clayton

Brains, Computers, and Persons by Michael Arbib

God is Also a cosmologist by Margaret Wertheim