In this final edition of The Explorer for the 2006-07 academic year, we spotlight a topic consistently identified by student attendees as one of the most important issues raised on campus: "Does modern day science render Christian faith obsolete? Can science and faith possibly arise out of the same ultimate reality? And how does one impact the other?"

We delve into these questions by sharing part of the story of the first Veritas Forum at MIT this past March. Last year, a team of undergrads, grad students, faculty, and campus ministers gathered and eventually led a unified effort of 13 campus fellowships to organize a three-day forum themed, "Science, Faith, and Technology." Speakers included numerous MIT faculty, an Apple executive, a Harvard philosopher, and Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project. See www.veritas.org/MIT for the complete schedule and www.veritas.org/media for free recordings of each event.

Over the course of the forum, more than 2,000 students, faculty, and community members attended the events, organizers handed out more than 300 copies of Mere Christianity, and over 200 participants indicated interest in a follow-up opportunity.

In the articles below, we provide an excerpt of Dr. Collins' talk and we interview three student leaders from the planning team. We also introduce our newest release from Veritas Forum Books, The Dawkins Delusion, by Alister McGrath of Oxford University. These examples illustrate the multi-faceted way in which we hope to connect the hardest questions of the university with the person and story of Jesus Christ.

As another academic year draws to a close, we are grateful for the many blessings and answered prayers making this a special year for The Veritas Forum. With the tireless efforts of local planning teams and the visionary support of many co-laborers, we have hosted Veritas events on a record number of campuses with increasing relevance and impact. Please join us in praying for the seeds that were planted this year to bear much fruit.

With the Hope of Christ,

As a graduate student in physical chemistry at Yale, Francis Collins had decided that truth was to be found in a second order differential equation. He rested comfortably as an atheist until one day during medical school when a dying patient asked Collins what he believed.

"Faced with her clear, honest question, and her clear honest faith, which somehow made my own atheism seem rather thin, I had some work to do. Work because I was a scientist, right? I was not supposed to draw conclusions about important questions without considering the evidence, right? I had drawn a conclusion about the non-existence of God without considering the evidence on the other side. And that seemed like something I better take care of. Expecting of course, that that investigation would shore up my atheism and cause me no longer to have these uncomfortable feelings when people asked me the question "What do you believe?"...

Collins studied the world's religions, got very confused, and finally in desperation knocked on the door of a Methodist minister who lived down the road. He gave Collins a book.

"I went home and I opened the pages and within the first three pages I realized that all of my arguments about the implausibility of faith had just been laid to ruins by the straightforward, logical, clear arguments of an Oxford scholar named C.S. Lewis. Lewis whose book Mere Christianity had just gotten to me....

Collins wrestled with Lewis' arguments, read more about faith, and continued to study the world's religions for over a year.

"The evidence was demanding a verdict, and in my 27th year I became a believer, and a follower of Jesus. Well, but you're a geneticist? Isn't there a problem here? Doesn't your head explode? Well no..."

"I have now been a believer for thirty years. I have found no instance during those thirty years nor do I tonight that what I know as a rigorous, show-me-the-data scientist conflicts with what I have learned and believe as someone who worships God and is a follower of Jesus. If you find those conflicts I would urge you to look at them closely and see exactly where they are coming from, whether the information that is put in front of you is in fact the only way to look at the circumstance. Because there is great joy to be had here, folks. And I would very much be sorrowful if I had to step away from either of these worldviews. And I have not compartmentalized them so that one day I am thinking spirit because it's Sunday and other days I am thinking science because it's Wednesday. These things coexist on any given Thursday afternoon quite comfortably... I can find God in the genome; I can find God in the cathedral. He is both in my mind."

Click here to listen to the full talk.

Stephanie Chiang, Marie-Eve Aubin, and Daniel Tam worked with other students, faculty, ministers, and campus groups from across the university to create the first Veritas Forum at MIT. The planning team did an exceptional job in their first year, and their efforts were recognized by an MIT student leadership award for "Outstanding Event." The Explorer asked the planners to reflect on their experience hosting this extraordinary forum.

Explorer: Can you describe the particular needs you see on your campus, and why the good news of Veritas is relevant to them?

Stephanie: A lot of students on campus think about "spiritual" things. They seem to realize that there is something more to this life that they don't understand. Most people can point to specific moments when they realize that even though they have everything they should want from this world, it's not enough. There's something missing. Students are looking for something, but they don't know what it is.

Marie-Eve: Veritas at MIT attempts to provide a place where people can explore how Jesus is the answer to our innate longings for something that this world cannot satisfy. Our events were centered on issues and topics that students here think about lot, which provided a good entry-point for discussion about the relevancy of Jesus Christ to our lives.

Explorer: What challenged you as you planned the first Veritas Forum?

Daniel: I think it was difficult mobilizing people to help put together the first forum. Many people in the Christian community heard about the idea of bringing Veritas to MIT, but since there was no existing method of assembling people who wanted to get involved, we didn't have the strength in numbers performing the numerous tasks that needed to be done. But eventually we gathered a team that represented every part of the university: undergraduates, graduate students, junior and senior faculty, and ministers from numerous Christian ministries on campus.

Explorer: How did the campus react to the forum?

Marie-Eve: In general, I think the forum generated a positive response. It sparked a lot of discussion. What was most encouraging was the number of people who, after the talks, requested video or audio copies of the event. Most people thought it was an "interesting" topic, and would go again if they had the opportunity. And around 200 people signed up for one of our follow-up activities.
In particular, the first night generated a lot of excitement. People were eager to hear Francis Collins, and about 1,000 people showed up. We ended up having 10 overflow rooms, and people were still excited to be there.

Explorer: Do you have any memorable stories or anecdotes from the forum that you'd like to share?

Stephanie: I had a spiritual discussion with a person from my dorm at the beginning of the school year. When I asked about her spiritual background, she was fairly closed to the idea of exploring religion, let alone Christianity. She went to the Francis Collins talk on the first night of Veritas and came back raving about how good it was: "I'm not religious at all, but I really liked it! I think he made a lot of interesting points! I'm really interested in reading Mere Christianity." I think hearing that comment made the all the efforts worthwhile.

Click here for the full schedule of events at The Veritas Forum at MIT in March.

World-renowned scientist Richard Dawkins writes in The God Delusion: "If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down." The volume has received wide coverage, fueled much passionate debate and caused more than a little confusion.

Just out from Veritas Forum Books, The Dawkins Delusion is a reliable assessment of The God Delusion and the many questions it raises—including, above all, the relevance of faith and the quest for meaning. Oxford scholar Alister McGrath, along with his wife Joanna, are ideal to evaluate Dawkins's ideas. Once an atheist himself, he gained a doctorate in molecular biophysics before going on to become a leading Christian theologian. He wonders how two people, who have reflected at length on substantially the same world, could possibly have come to such different conclusions about God. McGrath subjects Dawkins's critique of faith to rigorous scrutiny. His exhilarating, meticulously argued response deals with questions such as:

• Is faith intellectual nonsense?
• Are science and religion locked in a battle to the death?
• Can the roots of Christianity be explained away scientifically?
• Is Christianity simply a force for evil?

Click here to order your copy from InterVarsity Press.

Watch Professor McGrath's discussion on Dawkins at The Veritas Forum at Columbia.