Science/Technology

OXFORD, England (RNS) — When Charles Darwin published his landmark theory of evolution by natural selection in the 19th century, religious leaders were confronted with a powerful challenge to some of their oldest beliefs about the origins of life.Then...

Across Pennsylvania, Amish farming communities are differentiated from their neighbors by technological abstention. The members of the Clarion County Amish community are no exception. They do not own phones, and do not operate computers or motor vehicles...

Last week we watched death on our smartphones. We witnessed the light drain out of Philando Castile’s eyes and we knew that the stillness of Alton Sterling’s body after the bullets were fired was that of death. We watched. On smartphones and tablets and...

Before heading to church this past Sunday, I said something to my 14-year-old son that I had never said before: “No playing Pokémon Go during the service.” I’m not the only parent or pastor wrestling with the game that swept the nation over the weekend...

The 1996 discovery of Kennewick Man, one of the oldest North American human skeletons ever found, erupted in an unprecedented fight between scientists and Native American beliefs. Source: A Long, Complicated Battle Over 9,000-Year-Old Bones Is Finally...

Time is almost up for consumers to tell the FDA what "natural" food means. It's an ancient philosophical question with no easy answers. Source: What Is 'Natural' Food? A Riddle Wrapped In Notions Of Good And Evil : The Salt : NPR

“The usual notion is that Christianity would have a special problem dealing with intelligence out there, because it would take us away from being the center of the universe. For some people that’s very threatening, because somehow we won’t be as special...

On Being host Krista Tippett talks about her new book Becoming Wise, which explores what she has learned from a career discussing faith, science and spirituality. Source: 'Becoming Wise' Is A Meditation On Meaning : NPR

The two-foot-tall robot Xian’er dwells in a Buddhist temple, dispensing wisdom about religion and life. Source: A Robot Monk Captivates China, Mixing Spirituality With Artificial Intelligence - The New York Times

The first volume of the first Italian translation of the Babylonian Talmud took dozens of scholars, linguists, philologists and editors five years to complete. Source: Italians, Helped by an App, Translate the Talmud - The New York Times