The science of Christianity

A new book by Abbotsford resident Jon Morrison hopes to reconcile faith and science for the teenaged generation.

Entitled "Clear Minds & Dirty Feet," the book covers cultural misconceptions about faith and science, evidence for the existence of God, and Christian responses to life's deepest questions.

"I really just want people to see that when they come to church, they don't have to check their brains at the door," said Morrison. "Christianity has a robust intellectual tradition that I think is for everybody to consider and to look at. It's been inspiring for me to learn what others have said and then to pass it on now to the next generation."

Morrison was a pastor for five years in the Lower Mainland, and had people constantly asking questions he found difficult to answer. He left to study Christian philosophy at Oxford university in the U.K. to obtain clarity on some of those questions. There he attended church with science academics and was inspired to witness that some of the world's leading intellects saw no conflict between faith and science.

Upon his return to Canada, Morrison began work on his book.

At the same time, he became involved with a new organization recently founded by friend Andy Steiger, called Apologetics Canada.

Based out of Abbotsford, the organization does live what Morrison aims to accomplish through the book – that is, inspiring the younger generation to better understand Christianity.

"Our mantra is 'challenging thinkers to believe and believers to think.' We want to get people thinking about these things again," said Morrison.

Apologetics Canada organizes speaker conferences, which several thousand people have already attended in the organization's four-year history. Another large event is planned for March 2013 that Morrison expects will draw another several thousand alone.

"A lot of Christians think, wrongly, that it's just about blind faith," said Morrison. "And then some people take objection to faith and science. Can you be a person of faith and still be able to teach in the scientific community? I think there's a misconception, especially among the 18 to 25 crowd, that you can't do it."

"Clear Minds & Dirty Feet" is available on Amazon.com and at the House of James bookstore in Abbotsford.