Updates from the Universe: From Challenges to the Big Bang Model to Extra-terrestrial Life and More - AJ Poelarends - Friday Night Lecture - 6th June

 

In the past few months, several extraordinary claims have been made about discoveries that could turn our understanding of our universe on its head. From signs that the acceleration of the universe is possibly slowing down (challenging the standard Big Bang model), to claims of large quantities of biosignature chemicals (only known to be made by life on Earth) on an exoplanet approximately 100 light-years away. What are the implications of these claims and what do they teach us about the current state of science? And, perhaps more importantly, what do these claims mean for our understanding of reality and how Christian theology helps us to make sense of it all?

Arend J. Poelarends is the director of the Center for Faith and Learning at Anselm House, a Christian study center serving the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities). He received a Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis (MO). Prior to moving to Minnesota, he taught Physics and Astronomy for 11 years at Wheaton College (IL). For more than two decades he has helped Christians and non-Christians think deeply about questions at the intersection of Science and the Christian faith.