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Science-Faith Lectures in Norwich Cathedral

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This was the tenth in a series of annual Science-Faith lectures that was first established in 2009 by Professor Derek Burke CBE DL, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of East Anglia (1987-1995). The Annual Cathedral Lecture is supported by the Dean of Norwich and by the Bishop of Norwich as a forum to explore important scientific issues from a Christian perspective.

Through these lectures, many distinguished scientists have been able to present their ideas to a broad audience in the striking surroundings of Norwich Cathedral. Professor Wyatt, for example, is Emeritus Professor of medical ethics at University College London and a research associate at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion at Cambridge.

Professor Derek Burke, who set up the annual Science-Faith Cathedral Lectures ten years ago and has had a long and distinguished career in science, strongly refutes the suggestion that science has made religious faith impossible. On the contrary, he says, open discussion between representatives of the science and faith communities can help them to reconcile and integrate their perspectives in a complementary way.

Professor Burke said that there are many challenging questions for church leaders and scientists to discuss in the 21st century. Is there really a God who made this world and all that is in it? What form does this creation take, and how does God influence the world today? What about all the problems that new science and technology bring to the way we live our lives? Most of all, can faith help us to live harmoniously in this confusing and sceptical world

Together with colleagues from UEA, Professor Burke set up a discussion group called Science and Faith in Norfolk, which hosts the Cathedral Lecture. The group has also developed close links with the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion in Cambridge. With the tenth lecture complete, Professor Burke has retired from his formal role but the group he co-founded holds a regular programme of lectures and discussions in Norwich.

Previous lectures include:

  • Why God loves science and science needs God (2017)
  • Evolution and Adam: Reality, myth and symbolism (2016)
  • Does the Universe have space for God? (2015)
  • God, Evolution and Cooperation: Saints from Selfish Genes (2014)
  • God, the Multiverse and Everything: Cosmology and religious belief
  • (2013)
  • The Evolution of Intelligence: Christian implications (2012)
  • Science and the Gospel Truth: What happened at Easter? (2011)
  • Is there a mind behind the Universe? Stepping stones from science to God (2010)
  • Creation or Evolution: Do we have to choose? (2009)

For more information, visit the SFN website or contact the secretary at sfnorfolk1@gmail.com.