C2: Chemistry and Christianity

Summary

Christianity and Chemistry are ubiquitous yet the interaction between them is poorly understood by most congregations.  Often Christian engagement is protesting at a use of chemicals and supporting “organic” against “chemical” in food chains.  However this is often a situation of blaming chemistry for corporate greed.  When the banks failed we blamed the bankers not the pound in our pocket, yet too often we blame the “chemicals” and not the people behind them.  This course would aims to give sufficient chemistry understanding for a congregation to appreciate the benefits, and dangers of a chemical industry and to approach it from a biblical framework. We will produce an adult education course, with associated audio-visual resources, that will initiall be used in the four congregations of Ayrshire and Renfrewshire circuit of the Methodist Church but will then be released to the wider Christian community in Scotland and beyond.  Through this course we look to promote a Christian approach to the application of chemistry in the modern world.

Key Questions

1. How should Christianity and Christian congregations engage with the chemical industry? 2. How can we appreciate the benefits, and dangers, of the chemical industry and approach it from a biblical framework? 

Churches pictured below (clockwise from left)

1. Paisley Methodist Central Hall
2. Barrhead Methodist Church
3. Greenock Methodist Church
4. Girvan Methodist Church