27 July 2018 | St Andrews, Scotland [Tim Standish /tedNEWS]
A new film featuring St Andrews University Professor of Chemistry, Dr John Walton, highlights one top scientists’ view on the origins of life.
If you have ever heard of “free radicals,” then you know something about the work of Dr Walton, a professor of chemistry at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Dr Walton’s work concentrates not only on the destructive chemical reactions that come to mind when most people think of free radicals, but also on their positive effects. He also studies the potential of free radicals in industrial and environmental chemistry.
What we know about free radicals because of the research of Dr Walton and other chemists can also inform our understanding of how life came into being. Based on his life as a scientist and the research he has done, what does Dr Walton believe to be the most reasonable explanation of life’s origin? This is the subject of a new 22 minute episode of the Seeking Understanding series, which is available to stream from the Geoscience Research Institute webpage: Seeking Understanding: John Walton.
Victor Hulbert is Communication Director of the Trans European Division of Seventh-day Adventists and producer of Reformation Journey, a series of nine videos bringing themes of the Reformation to life for today’s audience. He hosted a recent preview of this Seeking Understanding episode at Newbold College of Higher Education in Binfield, England.
Afterwards, he noted that, “We had a challenging, inquisitive audience present. Christian youth today want to understand faith and origins and need to hear how top scientists like Dr Walton have developed their sense of wonder in God’s creation.” He went further adding, “In today’s modern world, where the pressures of secularism are immense—both in education and across the media—films like this one are essential to faith development for our young people.”
Hulbert was also pleased to point out that this is the second of the Seeking Understanding films to feature a top scientist in the UK. An earlier episode featured Dr Isabel de Moraes, recently appointed as Principle Research Scientist in protein X-Ray crystallography at the National Physical Laboratory in London. She is a structural biologist who studies membrane proteins.
“I can’t think of a better film to mark three months until Creation Sabbath,” says Dr Timothy Standish, Senior Scientist at the Geoscience Research Institute in Loma Linda, California. Standish is the producer of the Seeking Understanding series.
“I am constantly asked, ‘what resources do we have for Creation Sabbath?’ and the answer is that there is an astonishing variety of resources for all ages. The GRI website has many, more are available at creationsabbath.net and The John 10:10 Project has fantastic films, and don’t forget the important resource of our local church pastors.
Films like this one about Dr Walton are powerfully faith-affirming. In the hands of highly trained and dedicated Adventist pastors and lay people, films about Bible-believing scientists constitute a formidable tool supporting the mission of the Adventist Church to spread the everlasting gospel of Revelation 14:6-7 in the communities where Our Creator has placed us as His witnesses.”
Seeking Understanding is a series of short films featuring scientists who embrace the documentation of history and view of reality found in Scripture. Each scientist brings a fascinating personal story and compelling discoveries that explain why they and so many other scientists do not deny, but rather embrace, the reality recorded in God’s Word. [tedNEWS]
If you liked this you may also like:
Darwin Revisited – from Hope TV UK. Four scientists explore their religous beliefs in the context of Darwin.
What we believe – Creation – A series of videos, articles and resources. Dr Walton and other scientists and theologians explore origins in the light of the Bible and science.
Focus Magazine – Why I am a Seventh-day Adventist, including an interview with Dr Walton and others from a range of backgrounds. Also available to purchase from the Stanborough Press, Grantham, England.
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tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Sajitha Forde-Ralph, associate editor
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