The Seven Series with Gregg Davidson
Welcome to The Seven Series Podcast, where we tap into the Biblical number of perfection in creative ways to explore theology, science, and culture. Your host, Dr. Gregg Davidson, along with various guests, provides insights into the Biblical theology, the intersection of the Bible with science, American culture wars and influencers, and political intrigue. Topical links with the podcast title may be on the symbolic use of 7 in the Bible, or a series of 7 episodes, people, examples, points, or minutes. Wait and see how creative we get!
Episodes
Young Earth advocates claim that dating methods using tree rings, annual sediment layers (varves), or carbon-14 cannot be trusted because they are all based on untestable assumptions. In fact, geologists have ways of testing ALL assumptions using the methods of empirical science. In this episode, I'll share my own contributions to the subject showing how tree rings, sediment varves, and carbon-14 can be combined in really, rea...
In the second of a two part conversation with embryologist Dr. Jeff Hardin, we get into the ethical/moral implications of experimentation with embryos, how a human embryo should be treated in terms of its human nature or capacity, fixing vs enhancing genes, creating trans-species chimeras, and attempts to make humanzes (human-chimp embryos. Wild times in which we live!
In this two part conversation, I am joined by Dr. Jeff Hardin, a zoologist at the University of Wisconsin and co-author of the textbook World of the Cell. In part 1, we spend most of the discussion on the amazing and sometimes mind-boggling science of the embryo, including splitting an embryo to create two or more fully developing individuals, two or more embryos merging to form one chimera, trans-species chimeras, glow-in-the-dark...
Materialists argue we are essentially brains with legs - what your brain does is who you are. No brain function - no person. This episode is part 2 of a conversation with neuroscientist and Christian, Dr. Paul LaPenna, for a fascinating conversation on the relationship between brain function and who we are as soul-bearing individuals. What does it mean if someone’s personality changes after brain trauma? Does existence continue in ...
Materialists argue we are essentially brains with legs - what your brain does is who you are. No brain function - no person. In this episode and the next, I am joined by neuroscientist and Christian, Dr. Paul LaPenna, for a fascinating conversation on the relationship between brain function and who we are as soul-bearing individuals. What does it mean if someone’s personality changes after brain trauma? Does existence continue in t...
Science is frequently described as advancing as religious belief is overcome. I am joined by Dr. Ted Davis, a historian of science and Christian faith, to talk about the development of scientific though in pre-Christian/pre-Western cultures, the interplay of faith and science during the Scientific Revolution, and the drift from open expressions of appreciation of God in the opening pages of scientific texts to the modern ban on any...
In this first episode in a new series on the Web of Science & Christian Faith, I am joined by archaeologist Dr. Steven Ortiz from Lipscomb University. Dr. Ortiz has led many digs in Israel and surrounding lands and was a contributor to the book Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith. Topics include expectations and the reality of archaeological evidence for the Exodus, a Jewish kingdom at the time of David, and the mixed remnant...
Final episode in the 7-part mini-series Designed for Discovery!
The creation has not just been designed to explore the history of our planet, but others as well. In this episode, I am joined by Planetary Scientist Dr. Roger Weins to talk about things like how we can tell a meteorite on earth came from a planet 100 million miles away, and how we can decipher the history of water on the Martian surface that has been gone for billions ...
Mary Schweitzer is best know for the discovery of surviving organic tissues in 65 million year old dinosaur fossils. Her story is fascinating, for she started her educational journey as a young earth creationist intent on disproving evolution, but studying actual fossils not only convinced life had truly adapted over time, but also that modern birds trace their origins back to theropod dinosaurs. More importantly, she never lost he...
Whales and hippos share a common terrestrial ancestor? And we can tell that how?
In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ryan Bebej about the story of discovery of whale evolution from a four-legged land ancestor. The conversation takes us from early speculation on the origin of whales, the discovery of transitional fossils in the Middle East, and how the discovery of ankle bones allow competing hypotheses to be put to the test.
This episode continues the Designed for Discover series, but shifting from evidence of intentionality in creation to stories illustrating how creation is designed to allow discovery of earth's ancient past - long before human eyes were around to see.
In this episode, you get a glimpse of what my geology students learn about how we figured out that continents move, how we know they were once all together, and how we can test the...
The universe is not only finely tuned for life to exist (see Ep 29), but our unique position in the solar system and galaxy also appears intentionally crafted for scientific exploration and discovery. Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, co-author of The Privileged Planet, joins me in this episode with a special focus on just how unique our earth-moon-sun system is, and our position in the Milky Way galaxy.
Multiple physical properties turn out to require incredibly precise values for stars, planets, and life to exist. I am particularly intrigued by how weirdly easy it is for stars to produce carbon, an atom that turns out to have no equal in its ability to support life, and the cosmic distribution system for supplying that carbon to planets.
I am joined in this episode by Dr. Luke Barnes, co-author of A Fortunate Universe: L...
New series: Designed for Discovery! Our universe has the hallmarks of being intentionally fashioned with exploration and discovery in mind, allowing scientific methods to be applied to discover ancient earth history (before any humans were around to observe), and to find bread crumbs to a trail that leads back to a Creator.
In this kickoff episode, I share my own expertise on water, delving into the unique properties of wa...
In the 7th and final episode in the mini-series on Questions of Creation, I am joined by author Dr. Joel Edmond Anderson to discuss his newly revised book, The Heresy of Ham. Joel shares his story of loss of employment and severed relationships that resulted from questioning young earth dogma, and explains why he now believes the young earth message to be legitimately labeled as heresy.
The Heresy of Ham
https://www.am...
Young Earth arguments often sound very convincing, though too often because critical information is left out, opposing arguments are misrepresented, quotes are taken out of context, or claims are made that simply not true. In Friend of Science, Friend of Faith, I have a full chapter devoted to the methods employed by Young Earth organizations that are aimed more at winning converts than communicating truth. In the long run, barrier...
Young Earth arguments often sound very convincing, though too often because critical information is left out, opposing arguments are misrepresented, quotes are taken out of context, or claims are made that simply not true. In Friend of Science, Friend of Faith, I have a full chapter devoted to the methods employed by Young Earth organizations that are aimed more at winning converts than communicating truth. In the long run, barrie...
In this episode of the Questions of Creation series, I discuss how the definition of Intelligent Design (ID) has changed over the last few decades, in ways that are not an improvement over the original formulation. Modern ID has attempted to take on a scientific mantle, with theological and logical baggage.
In an effort to defend the Bible as teaching accurate science, many claim it contains descriptions of nature that preceded scientific discovery by thousands of years. Examples include the hydrologic cycle, ocean floor topography and currents, a spherical earth, and an expanding universe. In this episode, we take a closer look at the verses in question, asking what they would have meant to the original audience, if a consistent herm...
In the second episode in the series Question of Creation, I am joined by British doctor and author Jon Garvey, to discuss his book God's Good Earth, The Case for an Unfallen Creation. What started as a personal quest to understand historical and contemporary Church understanding about the Fall turned into a book - with some unexpected discoveries.
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