The Colossian Forum Receives Grant for Project on Evolution and The Fall

The Colossian Forum has received a $303,732, three-year grant from The BioLogos Foundation for their project, Beyond Galileo – to Chalcedon: Re-imagining the Intersection of Evolution and the Fall. This project is led by Dr. James K.A. Smith (Calvin College), Dr. William Cavanaugh (DePaul University) and Michael Gulker (President – The Colossian Forum). The Colossian Forum was one of 37 winners out of 225 applicants to the Biologos Evolution & Christian Faith grants competition.

This project gathers a multidisciplinary team of leading scholars to pursue a communal research project on evolution, the Fall, and original sin, asking a pressing question: If humanity emerged from non-human primates—as genetic, biological, and archaeological evidence seems to suggest—then what are the implications for Christian theology’s traditional account of origins, including both the origin of humanity and the origin of sin? The integrity of the church’s witness requires that it constructively address this difficult question. The team believes that cultivating an orthodox theological imagination can enable Christians to engage these tensions without giving up on confessional orthodoxy. So its confessional methodology is as central to the project as its topic.

The team embraces the church’s ancient wisdom in the Council of Chalcedon as a model and template for how to faithfully grapple with contemporary challenges. The team believes the resources for such theological imagination are carried in the liturgical heritage of the church—in the worship practices and spiritual disciplines that enact the biblical story in ways that seep into our imagination, helping Christians see creative ways forward through this challenge. Research will be shared in a culminating conference and resulting scholarly book. In addition, the fruit of the team’s research will also be “translated” and distributed for pastors, Christian educators and students through forums, web publishing, and curricula.

For more information about The Colossian Forum on Faith, Science and Culture, visit http://colossianforum.orgsite.2016.

The Biologos Foundation Announcement – http://biologos.org/blog/evolution-and-christian-faith-grantees-announced.

Contact: Brian Cole, Director of Operations
Telephone: 616-328-6016
Email: bcole@colossianforum.org