BY MORRIE PONGRATZ

Bob Reinovsky led off the Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum summer series with a great talk on faith and science interactions.  His lecture was titled “Why Can/Should Faith and Reason/Religion and Science Interact”  Bob spoke of the commonality of the approaches of faith and reason.  He described the foundational approaches to begin the processing of information: Revelation (faith) and Physical observation (reason).  Then two (human) institutionalizations of those ways of processing information; two “Applications” of the out-come of processing information: Religion and Science.

Bob also referenced the work of Rice University professor. Elaine Ecklund, and her book, “Why Faith and Science Need Each Other.”  Ecklund has developed a fascinating list of 8 such values or virtues and groups them into two categories – categories that apply to both science and religion.  These categories include: Those related to the process of inquiry: Curiosity, Humility, Doubt, and Creativity. And Those related to the concept of redemption, physical or spiritual: Healing, Shalom, Awe, and Gratitude.

The Los Alamos Faith and Science Forum summer series continues next Wednesday.  Consult the website (www.lafsf.org) for details.