“It’s kind of a subject pastors don’t talk about, but we should talk about it.”

Carrie Marston
Special to Spur Ottawa

The Laurentian Leadership Centre is hosting a public lecture exploring quantum physics and Christianity, Tuesday, August 30. The Centre is bringing in Arnold Sikkema, a Trinity Western University (TWU) professor of physics and president of the Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation (CSCA).

“We are scientists, but we also believe in the Bible,” explains John Brooks, the Ottawa contact for CSCA. “Too many people have an attitude that they have to choose between science and the Bible. We want to spread the gospel and teach people about science and about the Bible.”

Brooks says he hopes the event will cause people to think differently about the intersection of science and faith. He explains that their goal is to underscore that you can be an avid scientist, as well as a Christian.

CSCA is made up of scientists with a passion for connecting their knowledge, as scientists, to their Christian faith. They also aim to make scientific topics and discussions cool and acceptable in the Church.

Brooks says he is excited to have Sikkema in Ottawa and to hear the lecture on quantum physics.

“It’s kind of a subject pastors don’t talk about, but we should talk about it,” he says. “The hope is that this event will bring people together, bringing confidence to share our faith and [providing] the scientific evidence to do so.”

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Laurentian Leadership Centre, in downtown Ottawa. The event’s description gives the following teaser:

“About 100 years ago, physics left behind a Newtonian mechanical universe picture to investigate a cosmos of uncertainty, probability, indeterminism, subjectivity, and holism. This talk will explore resonances with and challenges to Christian theological and philosophical perspectives presented by quantum physics, closing with thoughts on human, divine, and biological agency.”

The lecture is sponsored by the Laurentian Leadership Centre (which runs an Ottawa-based TWU program), CSCA, and the Ottawa Christian Reformed Campus Chaplaincy.