wfn.org | Episcopalians: Colorado conference explores 'What Makes Us Human?'

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

May 23, 2003

2003-113

Episcopalians: Colorado conference explores 'What Makes Us 
Human?'

by Deborah McCanne

(ENS) Scientists, philosophers, and theologians challenged 
assumptions and explored possibilities together at What Makes Us 
Human? Engaging Faith and Science, a conference jointly 
sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado and the 
University of Colorado, held May 15-16, 2003. The conference 
featured as keynote speakers the Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne and 
Dr. Norman Pace, who stimulated a wide-ranging conversation with 
panelists and participants.

Polkinghorne, a noted British physicist and theologian, 
described the soul in scientific language. After the fourteenth 
day of human embryonic development, the undifferentiated cells 
of the embryo begin to assume a specific pattern established by 
the divine creator for eternity, he explained, and this 
definition of "soul" opens the door for the use of embryos of 
less then 14 days in stem cell research. 

Polkinghorne spoke on Thursday evening about the place of humans 
in evolution as a "stunningly novel" development. He delineated 
several attributes which make humans uniquely different from any 
other species: a sense of the future, moral beings, language, 
exploration of mathematical truths, creativity, culture, god 
consciousness, distortion of perception, and altruism.

On Friday, Pace spoke from the scientific perspective stressing 
the dangers of human overpopulation of the earth and arguing 
that humans had a responsibility to solve the problems of 
ecology and overpopulation. He put humans in their place in the 
process of evolution--not a ladder, but a great spreading tree 
overwhelmingly composed of microbial life. Humans are on a 
"twig" at the end of the one branch containing all of animal 
life, Pace said. He argued that humans are "nothing special" and 
that all organisms are unique.

A panel of theologians and philosophers then explored the 
question of what is unique about human beings, what it means to 
be "created in the image of God," and whether morality is 
universal or cultural.

More than biology

Lively discussion ranged from the esoteric (the nature of a 
soul) to the practical (genetic testing), and from scientific 
possibility (such as cloning) to compassion (care at the end of 
life). Most of the discussion centered around how to make 
ethical and moral decisions about the uses of scientific 
advances, and whether scientific discoveries are changing how we 
think about God and the place of humanity in the universe. 

The scientists and the theologians clearly came from different 
perspectives. While the concept that a human is "more than 
biology" recurred in both the scientific and theological 
presentations, the scientists tended to talk about the effect 
environment and experiences have on people, while the 
theologians tended to think in terms of the eternal pattern of 
unique individuality and the mystery of the soul. 

However, as Dr. Cynthia Cohen observed during the response to 
Polkinghorne, the "benighted myth" of conflict did not appear. 
Theology asks, "Why?" or "What does it mean?" Science asks, 
"How?" and "What?" 

Halfway through the second day of the conference, Pace presented 
a model where science and religion both overlapped a circle 
labeled spirituality. Physician David Manchester commented that 
in clinical practice, he had noticed that the more patients 
understood the possibilities and limits of science and the moral 
choices they faced, the more they moved to a middle ground of 
thoughtful decision making rather than an automatic adoption of 
a preconceived view.

Beginning a dialogue

In convening the groundbreaking conference to explore 
relationships between religion and science, Colorado bishop 
William J. "Jerry" Winterrowd said he hoped to raise fundamental 
questions and begin a dialogue. 

Winterrowd said that society must avoid either the automatic 
rejection of new scientific thought based on an outdated 
religious perspective and morality or the thoughtless acceptance 
of the possibilities of science regardless of the consequences. 
At the end of the day, the panelists called for more 
opportunities for open discussions with the goal of encouraging 
questions and thoughtful response, not implementing an immediate 
political solution. 

Pace, professor of molecular, cellular and developments biology 
at the University of Colorado-Boulder, is a 2001 MacArthur 
Fellow. His research continues to identify biochemical and 
genetic threads that link all organisms. A graduate of Indiana 
University, he received his doctorate from the University of 
Illinois. 

The panel of theologians responding to Pace's presentation on 
Friday morning was moderated by the Rev. William Pounds, adjunct 
professor at Denver's Iliff School of Theology. The panelists 
were Dr. Ira Churnus, professor of religious studies at the 
University of Colorado-Boulder; Dr. Robert Pasnau, professor of 
philosophy, University of Colorado-Boulder; and the Rev. Julie 
Swaney, chaplain at University Hospital in Denver. 

Polkinghorne, who is canon theologian at Liverpool Cathedral in 
England, is the recipient of the 2002 Templeton Prize for 
Religion and Science, a Knight of the British Empire and Fellow 
of the Royal Society. He earned his doctorate in quantum field 
theory at Cambridge. He is the author of several books including 
The God of Hope and the End of the World and Quantum Theory: A 
Very Short Introduction.

The panel of scientists responding to Polkinghorne's 
presentation on Friday afternoon was moderated by Dr. Cynthia B. 
Cohen of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University. 
The panelists were Dr. Gregory Carey, professor of psychology, 
University of Colorado-Boulder; Dr. Leslie Leinward, department 
chair and professor of molecular, cellular, and developmental 
biology, University of Colorado-Boulder; and Dr. David 
Manchester, pediatrician and geneticist at Children's Hospital, 
Denver.

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--Deborah McCanne is editor of the Colorado Episcopalian.