Language of God

We welcome our first non-human guest to the podcast, the language model ChatGPT. The chatbot joins us to answer questions about science and faith. ChatGPT draws on extensive digital information to answer the same kinds of questions we have been asking our human guests over the past few years. The results are…interesting. Jim and Colin reconvene afterward to talk about what to take from it all. The voice of ChatGPT in this episode is given by Steven McClure. A note about the role of AI in making this episode: staff (humans!) at BioLogos generated the text for this in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, we reviewed, edited, and revised the language to our own liking and take ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication. Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum. Donate to BioLogos  

This Lent we’re reading reflections from Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing, by Gayle Boss. We’ll end with an interview with Gayle Boss in the last week of Lent.  The reflections from Wild Hope are grouped into five different weeks, with four creatures in each week, through the season of Lent and four more during Holy Week. Week one is "Tthe Hungry" and the story is about the red knot. Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing by Gayle Boss, illustrated by David G. Klein Copyright 2020:  text by Gayle Boss, illustrations by David G. Klein Used by permission of Paraclete Press www.paracletepress.com  

Jimmy Lin calls himself a scientific doxologist. The science part of that title describes his work to find cures and treatments for cancer and rare diseases and he talks about the real progress that has been made to that end. But for him, the science is merely his path toward doxology, the praise of God, and in this way, his work becomes a kind of hymn of praise.  Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.  

We welcome back host Jim Stump after having been away for several months. We hear about where he's been, what he's seen, and what will become of his wanderings and wonderings.

Every human bears the image of God and in God’s good future there will be a great diversity of people from all nations and tribes. But we don’t always live as if that were the case. Jemar Tisby joins us to talk about the church’s complicity in racism and what we can do about it. Jemar Tisby is the author of The Color of Compromise, a New York Times bestseller, and How to Fight Racism, as well as the recently published How to Fight Racism Young Reader’s Edition. He’s also the co-founder of The Witness: a Black Christian Collective and co-host of the podcast Pass the Mic.  Extras: The Witness The Witness Foundation This episode originally aired on January 13, 2022. Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.  

Each February, on the podcast, we make a point of increasing our comprehension about issues of race in America from within the BioLogos mission of exploring God’s word and God’s world. As Dr. David Anderson points out, conversation is an important step toward comprehension. Dr. Anderson tells his own story of how he came to be a pastor of a large multi-cultural church and bridge builder, and how he has integrated science and scientists into that work. Dr. David Anderson's books Praying for Scientists video Music in this episode by Joseph McDade. Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

In a world of increasing division, Mónica Guzmán offers advice for approaching conversation with curiosity. When we attempt to understand those who we disagree with, instead of merely attempting to change their beliefs, we are able to see people more fully and to even learn more about our own beliefs and ideas.  Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum. Donate to BioLogos

A reflection on dragonflies, neurobiology, attention and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Support BioLogos Music in the episode is by Brian Mulder. (Spotify) Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

Larry Molnar spent years with his astronomy students studying a contact binary star system. Their observations and data eventually led them to make the claim that the stars were headed toward an explosion called a luminous red nova, a major discovery. The story of these stars and of the scientists who study them highlight the ways that science leads to knowledge about the world, and not always in straightforward ways.  Support BioLogos Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.

The church has had a complicated relationship with mental health. Research shows that 1 in 5 adults experience mental illness in a given year and yet 66% of pastors talk about mental health in sermons only once a year or less. In the episode we break down what exactly mental illness and mental health are, what is happening in the brain, and how the church can respond in ways that help us all to be healthier individuals and begin to build a more understanding, empathetic and healthy community.   Theme song and credits music by Breakmaster Cylinder. Other music in this episode by Tiny Music, Lift Music, Magnetize Music, Sirus Music, Pink Marble and Vesper Tapes, courtesy of Shutterstock, Inc. Find Resources on Mental Health Support BioLogos Join a conversation about this episode on the BioLogos Forum.