Pursuing Science and Faith in Kansas

Website of Keith B. Miller


Department of Geology
108 Thompson Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
e-mail keithbmill@gmail.com
office phone: (785) 532-2250













Public Science Education and the Science/Faith Dialogue

I am very involved at both the state and national levels in the advocacy for quality public science education and public science literacy.  Much of my efforts have focused on the historical sciences and particularly evolutionary science.  The public "Creation/Evolution" debate has been destructive to both the public understanding of science and to the discussion of important theological issues within the Christian community.  The widespread perception of a "warfare of science and faith" is an historically false caricature.  Christian theologians and scientists, including evangelicals, since the time of Darwin have seen no necessary conflict between orthodox theology and an evolutionary understanding of the history of life.  Modern science is not a threat to Christian faith, and people need not feel forced into a choice between evolution and Creation.

Challenges to modern evolutionary science are often rooted in fundamental misperceptions of the nature of science itself.  There is a widespread perception that the focus of science on natural cause-and-effect explanations is a thinly disguised effort to promote a godless worldview, rather than an inherent methodological limitation.  Furthermore, many people view "theories" as merely unsubstantiated guesses, rather than as the unifying concepts that give our observations coherence and meaning.  Science for many is simply an encyclopedic accumulation of unchanging observational "facts."  But science is a dynamic process with the continual construction and revision of theories based on new discoveries.  It is that dynamic process which makes science so inherently exciting.  Lastly, much of the popular critique of evolutionary theory is based on completely false views of its theoretical content and observational foundation.  As educators we need to improve how we teach both the content and methodological foundation of science.

I believe that it is critical that the science/faith dialogue be based on a solid and accurate grasp of the conclusions of the historical sciences and of the best theological scholarship.  

For a brief discussion of the NATURE OF SCIENCE click HERE.

Book Release

 I have edited a book entitled "Perspectives on an Evolving Creation" that has been published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.  This volume brings together a wide variety of specialists who each address evolution from the perspective of his or her own discipline.  There is a good balance between scientific and theological issues, with multiple voices representing a range of Christian theological traditions.  For more information about this book see my book announcement.


Speaking Events '14 and '15

Local Meetings of Interest

Local Church Fellowship Affiliation

I am an active member of the Manhattan Mennonite Church in Manhattan, KS.

Personal Web Resources

Audio/Video Presentations


 


 
 

Education

Geology Research








Past Courses Taught

Historical Geology, Sedimentation & Stratigraphy, Oceanography, Environmental Geology

Recent Courses Taught


YouTube Teaching Videos

  • Seismic Waves: a class demonstration of the properties of P and S seismic waves
  • Magma Viscosity: a demonstration of the effect of viscosity on the aount of gas trapped within rising magma, and the resulting type of eruption
  • Relative and Absolute Humidity: a simple demonstration to illustrate the wather concepts of relative and absolute humidity and dew point

    • Selected Publications

    To view an abbreviated bibliography of my publications click HERE.

    Web Resources on Kansas Geology and Ecology






    Geology of the Flint Hills: Three part video of presentation on Flint Hills geological and paleontological history made as part of the Konza Prairie docent training.

    Professional Memberships


     


     
     

    Science/Theology Annotated Bibliography

    Annotated Bibliography:  I maintain a sporadically updated list of some of my often recommended readings on science and Christianity.  If you have any suggestions for adding to this list please send me an e-mail message.

    Other Links


    Website Updated: January 20, 2015



    For something completely different you can link to my wife's home page:
    Ruth Douglas Miller, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
    My 18 year old son Ian Miller has a webpage called the pxlweavr related to his interest in writing Apps for the i-Pod, and creating devices opperated by the RaspberryPi and Arduino computer board..