On 15 September Tom McLeish, Professor of Physics at Durham University, gave incredible insights into the breadth of his research in two presentations at the CSSRS.

McLeish spoke at a lunchtime seminar about his recent OUP publication Faith and Wisdom in Science in which he argues that the problem with the contested “science and religion” relationship lies in the conjunction. Neither science nor religion, he contends, does “and”. Instead, McLeish posits a case for the importance of a “theology of science”. In a fresh reading of the book of Job, McLeish argued that science — as the attempt to understand the natural world — is a deeply human and deeply religious activity. Focusing particularly on the passages that detail God’s response to Job in chapter 38, McLeish argued that questions like “canst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?” are not only musings…