Is nature inherently valuable if there is no God? According to one scientist, without faith that’s an almost impossible question to answer. But if there is a design to it all? That changes everything – including how we should treat the natural world.
Meet our guests
Andrew Gosler is Professor of Ethno-Ornithology at Oxford University. His main area of study is the relationship between humans and birds. He has written broadly on the subject of conservationism. Andrew came to faith well into his academic career, his conversion fuelled in no small part by the works of Richard Dawkins.
Links
Why do we care for the world? Why does environmentalism actually matter?
According to our guest – a conservationist who converted to theism, and then Christianity, well into his scientific career- it’s through faith in God that caring for the world around us makes sense at all.
Zondervan Academic sponsor this season of Undeceptions. Get discounts on MasterLectures video courses and exclusive samples of their books at zondervanacademic.com/undeceptions
A special thank you to our supporters that have helped us reach the milestone of 100 episodes. Here’s to the next 100 of letting the truth out!
Check out these helpful links below for more info on what was discussed in this episode.
To Read
- Starling murmurations are an amazing thing. Here’s a great New York Times piece on them, complete with a video
- Here’s that paper from the journal Nature, ‘Does evolutionary theory need a re-think?‘
- And here’s The Guardian’s great coverage of it.
- The paper also did this sobering coverage of the crisis facing bird populations.
- And here’s the latest ‘State of the world’s birds’ report.
To Watch
- Here’s the debate between Richard Dawkins and Denis Noble on the ideas in The Selfish Gene.
- Our guest here explains what makes a good ornithologist, for those interested.
- Here’s what to expect in a day in the life of an ornithologist.
- And we couldn’t resist this detailed video on Tolkien’s friend of the birds, Radagast the Brown, courtesy of the excellent Nerd of the Rings channel.
To Listen
- Dr Laurel Moffatt has some more reflections on birdwatching in her beautiful podcast Small Wonders. Check it out here.
- Here’s our episode with scientist Alister McGrath, where he shares his story of moving from atheism to faith.
The Pallas’s Leaf Warbler, that Andrew waited 50 years to see!
Check out Andrew’s amazing tattoo!
Undeceptions Plus offers exclusive bonus content to members. By becoming an Undeceiver, you can unlock uncut interviews, extra question and answer sessions, and peeks behind our creative process as we put the shows together. We’d love to have you with us.
