Authors: David Boylan

When Does (the Sanctity of) Life Begin?

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When life begins is a question of current interest in theology, science and the media. The issue is clouded by emotion and personal beliefs. Some contend that life begins at conception. Some believe life begins at birth. Others say the beginning of life occurs in various stages of individual development. The “beginning of life” is germane to stem cell research, cloning, abortion rights, and euthanasia. As with many controversial issues, a clear understanding is seldom achieved. Definitions are, many times, drafted to suit a particular personal belief or political position.

‘And Man Became a Living Soul’: Powers, Probabilities, and Proteins- A Critique of Evolutionary Random Development of Living Systems

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Evolutionary scenarios usually propose some form of random chance, natural selection, and/or long time spans for the development of living systems. These scenarios include numbers which are both smaller and larger than those in common use. To understand these scenarios, a brief review and critique of such numbers may be helpful, and an understanding of powers, probabilities, and proteins is necessary. Powers For ordinary things the familiar numbers are adequate (1 through 1,000 or even 1,000,000). However, for the very small and the very large, ordinary numbers are inconvenient, and scientific notation is used.

Theology and Thermodynamics: The Synergism

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Science and Religion The relationship today between science and religion is, to say the least, strained. This has not always been so. Many of the early scientists were devout Christians.1 Their work was fundamental to the development of modern science. Their influence and the rise of Christianity liberated science from the superstitions and polytheism that for centuries viewed the material world as being filled with various spirits and gods.2 Under the Christian worldview true science emerged as the material world was shown to be a proper object of study.