From Einstein to Experiential apologetics

There actually isn't much of a connection.

Today I finished the presentation, Can science kill God?
There were a lot of questions about Einstein's theory of general relativity and big bang cosmology.

We then discussed Soren Kierkegaard, experiential apologetics, and the associated reading. Here are the slides.

The reading for tomorrow is the chapter on Universities from Vishal Mangalwadi's book, "The book that made your world."

Writing and publishing seminar in Delhi

Last saturday in New Delhi I was invited by the North Delhi Intercollegiate Evangelical Union to present a seminar on Writing and Publishing. The audience was mostly postgraduate students and a few faculty. Here are the slides.

Has science buried God in Novi Sad?

Tonight I am giving a talk, "Has science buried God?" at a cafe in Novi Sad, Serbia. The event is sponsored by an IFES student group from the university, a local church, and Project Timothy. They chose the title, which is borrowed from John Lennox, who will be visiting at the end of the month.

Here are the slides for the talk.
I hope the questions and discussion after the talk are as lively as the event in Belgrade last night.

Higgs boson talk in Belgrade

Tonight I am giving a talk, "Higgs boson vs. God particle- scientific reality vs. media hype" in a cafe/bookstore in Belgrade. The event is sponsored by a local student Christian group.

The talk is particularly timely given that the Higgs boson is in the news again, following last weeks  announcement of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Here is the current version of the slides.

Genesis and science talk

Tonight I am giving a talk, "A scientist looks at Genesis" at HUB, a small Bible college outside Belgrade. The talk will be given with simultaneous translation into Serbian.

Here is the current version of the slides. I start with the excellent video, "Science and Genesis".

Some of the Faraday papers on science and religion have been translated into Serbian.

International church in Belgrade

This morning my wife and I enjoyed atttending the International Christian Fellowship in Belgrade. The special guests were a group of Roma [gypsy] Christians who sang some songs in Romani and shared personal testimonies. [A recent Christianity Today article chronicles many of the challenges Roma face and the growth of an indigenous church]. Another case of how the Gospel transcends culture.

One of the church attendees also is a research physicist; another case illustrating that science, intellectual rigour, and Christian faith and life can go together.

Talk on personal conflict and peacemaking

Last year at our church we worked through some material from The Peacemaker by Ken Sande. My wife and I also attended a weekend workshop to learn to apply some of the ideas in practical situations. I find it very challenging. But then the teachings of Jesus are!

Tonight in Ljubljana, Robin and I have been invited by ZVES a University student group to talk about some these ideas concerning personal relational conflict. Given that this part of the world has experienced conflict far beyond anything we have, we have a lot to learn. Here are the slides we are using for the talk. We look forward to learning from the participants in the discussion time.

Some Slovenian friends suggested this Youtube video [partly in Slovenian] is a somewhat amusing but cutting introduction to the issue.

At a deep theological and academic level, Miroslav Wolf's book, Exclusion and Embrace, provides a challenging perspective on the issue.

University life in Slovenia

My wife and I are currently visiting Ljubljana, Slovenia. I am working at the Stefan Institute, and giving a Physics Colloquium. I was invited by a student Christian group, ZVES to give a talk, "Striving or thriving at University", this thursday night. Here is the current version of my slides. I am looking forward to some lively discussion after the talk and learning more about life in Slovenian universities.

Previously, ZVES hosted my distinguished Australian scientific colleague, Professor Peter Gill, who gave a talk, "A Professor with two heads?", about being a scientist and a Christian.