Science, Faith, Virtue

To connect back to the journaling activity, ask students to form new pairs and share the key ideas of their journal entries from the journal reflection homework assignment. Ask:

• Was there anything they were surprised that they wrote?
• What was their biggest idea?

After the students have had a chance to share, give them copies of the List of Virtues, which they can keep for future reference.

Now have students complete the activity Chemical or Not?. This activity raises the question for students of what virtues have to do with chemistry, making their assumptions explicit as a basis for further learning. Take photographs of the results of students’ card sorting, and save these photos for use in the last week of the course.

Next, the class can work through the activity Does Science Need Virtue?. (As you prepare this session, you might also look at Clothe Yourselves for a consideration of the same topic from a more theological angle.)

Once these activities are completed, you may discuss with students the different ways that connections have been made between science and faith.

So far, there has been a focus on:

• Ideas and assumptions (in Identify Assumptions 1).
• The way we treat one another as we learn (optional class covenant activity in Identify Assumptions 1).
• Placing faith and science conversations in the context of the community and our relationships (in the Identifying Issues homework).
• Reflecting on big questions (journaling).
• Connecting science and faith to virtue (activities in this current lesson).

Ask students:

• What are we learning about the enterprise of thinking about how science and faith relate?
• Does this relationship have one aspect or many strands?

You can find a short, accessible essay on this topic here.

As the discussion ends, you can give students the homework assignment Walk of Wonder. This activity reinforces the idea that there are connections that link careful observation of the natural world, science learning, and the biblical call to wisdom and worship. It engages students in an exploration of their immediate environment with a family member or other adult. Students will go on a walk with an adult partner, make observations, and record these to share with the class.