Contributors

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  Arkhat Abzhanov

  Associate Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University. Provides and demonstrates insight into how modern science understands the molecular changes that take place in the birds that so fascinated Darwin.

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  Xie Aihua

  Chinese Philosopher of Religion. He teaches at a university in mainland China

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  Denis Alexander

  Former Director, Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge and editor of the academic journal Science and Christian Belief. He is the author of several books on evolution and faith including "Creation or Evolution: Do We Have to Choose?" and “Is There Purpose in Biology?”

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  Peter Atkins

  Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, University of Oxford. He is an outspoken critic of any attempt to argue that science and religion are compatible.

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  Justin Barrett

  Formerly Senior Researcher at the Centre for Anthropology and Mind, University of Oxford. An experimental psychologist, he is presently Director of the Thrive Center for Human Development in Pasadena, California.

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  Martin Brasier

  Professor of Paleobiology at the University of Oxford and Emeritus fellow of St Edmund Hall. He is known for his study of microfossils and evolution in the Precambrian and Cambrian periods. His research examines the context and character of the early fossil record.

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  Luis Roberto Flores-Castillo

  Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He also has a very developed interest in the subject of consciousness. In addition he has responsibilities at CERN, the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.

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  Man Ho Chan

  Assistant Professor, Department of Science and Environmental Studies at the Education University of Hong Kong. He not only has research interests in astrophysics and cosmology but also the philosophy of science and the philosophy of religion.

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  Yu Wai Chen

  Biochemist, and Senior Researcher at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has a special interest in advancing knowledge in how biological structures affect human diseases.

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  Pauline Chiu

  Department of Chemistry, University of Hong Kong. Involved in major research, one of Professor Chiu’s interests is in the manufacture of synthetic products based on patterns of chemistry found in nature.

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  Jonathan Chung

  Associate Professor at City University of Hong Kong. His research work focuses on the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly batteries. Once an atheist, he is now a Christian.

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  Jennifer Clack

  Professor and Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology, University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge, she was an expert in the early development of four legged animals said to have evolved from lobe-finned fish. She died in 2020.

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  Carol Cleland

  Director of the Center for the Study of Origins and Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is especially interested in the nature and origin of life and also the search for extra-terrestrial life.

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  Francis Collins

  Former Director, National Human Genome Project. He is an American physician-geneticist noted for his landmark discovery of disease genes and his former role as head of the ‘Human Genome Project’ responsible for the discovery of the 3 billion letters of DNA, the basic instruction book of life.

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  William Lane Craig

  Department of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Christian apologist, theologian and philosopher. He is the author of the online and published Reasonable Faith. A Research Professor of Philosophy at Biola University, USA, Professor Craig has participated in numerous debates on the existence of God.

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  Paul Davies

  Director of The Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University. He is a cosmologist, writer and broadcaster. Although not a religious believer, he concludes that there is convincing evidence in the universe of a transcendent mind being involved in its construction.

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  Richard Dawkins

  Emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is perhaps the world’s most famous contemporary atheist and the author of the best-selling book "The God Delusion" and a regular critic of scientists with religious beliefs. He actively promotes atheism.

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  Celia Deane-Drummond

  Director of the Laudato Si’Research Institute and Senior Research Fellow in Theology at the University of Oxford. Having had an academic career in the natural sciences her chief interests were in botany. She is also trained in theology.

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  Daniel Dennett

  Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts University, Boston. He is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist. His research centres on the philosophy of mind, science and biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is a staunch atheist.

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  Brian Duggan

  Emeritus Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Hong Kong. He has a keen interest in Christian theology.

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  Peter Fenwick

  Neuropsychiatrist and neurophysiologist known for his studies of end-of-life phenomena. He is recognised as an authority on the relationship between the mind and the brain.

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  Chris Frith

  Emeritus Professor of Neuropsychology, University College London. His main interest is in how imaging can help understanding of sophisticated cognitive operations in the brain.

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  Paul Froese

  Professor of Sociology at Baylor University, Texas, USA and Research Fellow for the Institute for Studies of Religion. He is author of “The Plot to Kill God”, an analysis of why the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union failed to eliminate religion from the society.

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  Ryan Gou

  Chinese Historian of Science and Religion. He teaches at a university in mainland China.

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  Dean Hamer

  A Molecular Biologist, he is an American geneticist and author. Among his publications is the book "The God Gene" which argues that spiritual experience is merely a function of the brain. He is also known for his research on the role of genetics in impacting gender identity.

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  Alan Hargrave

  A senior priest at Ely Cathedral, England

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  Sam Harris

  Author of the book “The End of Faith” and contemporary critic of religion. A proponent of “New Atheism”, he argues religion is especially rife with unsubstantiated ideas. For him, science and belief in God are “on a collision course.”

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  Lixi Huang

  Responsible for an acoustics lab Hong Kong University. He investigated various religions before embracing Christianity.

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  Sik Hin Hung

  Director and Founding Fellow, Centre of Buddhist Studies, University of Hong Kong. His areas of research include meditation, awareness and mindfulness. He is a well respected international teacher on the subject of Buddhism.

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  Steve Jones

  Professor of Genetics, University College London. A prize winning author, he is generally contemptuous of any attempt to harmonise science with belief in God. He claims that “evolution is a series of successful mistakes.”

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  Kai-Man Kwan

  Philosopher of Religion and author, Hong Kong Baptist University. He is also the Director of the Centre for Sino-Christian Studies, established to promote an understanding of Christianity from within Chinese cultural and religious contexts.

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  Hakwan Lau

  Neuroscientist, Hong Kong University. He is also a Professor at the Brain Research Institute UCLA and has contributed more than 90 scientific papers on the subject of consciousness.

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  John Lennox

  Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science, Green Templeton College, University of Oxford He is a prominent defender of Christian faith and author of several books on science and religion including "Can Science Explain Everything?" and "Gunning For God: Why The New Atheists Are Missing The Target”.

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  Mario Livio

  Senior Astrophysicist, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore. In the book "Is God a Mathematician?" he discusses the uncanny ability of mathematics to describe and predict accurately the physical world.

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  Andrew Loke

  A Singaporean Christian theologian and philosopher. He is Associate Professor at the Department of Religion and Philosophy at Hong Kong Baptist University. He is Chairman of the Hong Kong Centre for Christian Apologetics and an author of several books on central Christian beliefs.

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  Maitreyabandhu

  Teacher, London Buddhist Centre. He has written a number of books on Buddhism.

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  Alister McGrath

  Andreas Idreos Professor in Science and Religion, University of Oxford. A prolific author he is an internationally renowned speaker and intellectual. He is particularly respected for his works on science and religion as well as theology.

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  Andy McIntosh

  Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory. He argues that the biblical account of creation and science are in conflict and that evolution theory misinterprets the evidence.

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  Ken Miller

  Professor of Biology, Brown University, Rhode Island. World renowned cell biologist and molecular biologist. Author of Finding Darwin’s God which argues that the very success of evolution is evidence of a constructive mind behind the natural world.

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  James Moore

  Darwin Biographer, Historian of Science at the Open University and the University of Cambridge, and visiting scholar at Harvard University. Author of several biographies of Charles Darwin. He gives fascinating insight into whether or not Darwin retains a role for the creator.

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  Andrew Newberg

  Associate Professor, Radiology and Psychiatry and American Neuroscientist. He has focused his professional expertise on the nature of religion, spirituality and their relationship with the functions of brain and mind. He has also studied how our belief systems arise.

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  Denyse O’Leary

  Co-author of "The Spiritual Brain" which examines how the brain processes religious, mystical and spiritual experiences. She concludes that spirituality is a manifestation of the reality of God. She believes that the brain and the mind are separate entities.

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  David Palmer

  Anthropologist, in the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences in the University of Hong Kong. His specialist subjects include religion and spirituality. A true international, he has studied in Canada, France and the Far East. He has a very detailed understanding of how world religions compare.

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  Andrew Parker

  Research Leader, Natural History Museum, London. Author of The Genesis Enigma which argues a curious harmony between the sequence of events in Genesis and the evolutionary paradigm. His specialist knowledge includes the Cambrian period, often described as “the big bang” of evolution.

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  Sam Parnia

  A physician, he is also Director of the Human Consciousness Project based at Southampton University. The project carries our long term research into near-death and out-of-body experiences. Dr Parnia is author of “What Happens When We Die”.

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  Steven Pinker

  Harvard College Professor in the Department of Psychology. One of the most respected cognitive scientists in the world, he was named one of "Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Thinkers" in 2004. He is known for his advocacy of evolutionary psychology and his theory of mind.

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  John Polkinghorne

  Particle Physicist and Theologian, Former President, Queens College Cambridge. A writer, Anglican Priest and former Professor of Mathematical Physics at University of Cambridge, he is also author of 26 books on the relationship between science and religion. He died in 2021.

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  Chung-Kwong Poon

  President Emeritus, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Trained as a chemist, Professor Poon holds doctorates of science and philosophy from the University College London. A devout Buddhist, he is convinced that Buddhism is closer to science in its philosophy than any other world religion.

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  Michael Ruse

  Professor of Philosophy of Science, Florida State University. He is author of "Can a Darwinian be a Christian?" and "The Evolution - Creation Struggle". He specialises in the philosophy of biology and is well known for his work on the relationship between science and religion.

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  Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

  Before his death in 2021, Lord Sacks was head of the Jewish community in London. He was a leading philosopher, theologian, author and public commentator. Few have been more widely respected for the ability to see to the heart of issues and present them in a clear and meaningful way.

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  Michael Shermer

  Founding Publisher and Executive Director of the Skeptics Society. Once a “believer”, he now advocates scepticism as a commendable means of establishing reality. The scientific method is key to that process.

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  Ken Spearpoint

  Consultant Nurse (Resuscitation), Hammersmith Hospital, London. He is involved in the Horizon Project which studies near-death experience.

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  Leung In-Sing Thomas

  Founder and President, Culture Regeneration Society, Hong Kong. He has dialogued with leading intellectuals in China. He embraced Christianity after an in-depth study of several religious alternatives.

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  Stephen Tsui

  Genome Scientist, Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is Professor and Associate Director (Research) at the School of Biomedical Sciences as well as the Director of the Hong Kong Bioinformatics Centre.

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  Bik Tye

  Molecular Geneticist, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Professor Emeritus at Cornell University, USA. She has been a pioneer of work on how DNA replicates itself. Her research led to the discovery of some of the mechanisms involved.

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  Henry Tye

  Chair Professor of Physics, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A world renowned physicist, Professor Tye’s work in part focuses on attempting to explain the origin and development of the early universe.

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  Alexander Vilenkin

  Director, Institute of Cosmology, Tufts University, Boston. He is a theoretical physicist who has been working in the field of cosmology for more than 25 years. His research is investigating the scientific evidence for how the universe could have emerged from “absolutely nothing”.

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  Yi Wang

  Cosmologist, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has a special interest in what happened in the first moments of the universe during its sudden expansion.

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  Keith Ward

  Emeritus Professor of Divinity, University of Oxford. He is a British philosopher and theologian with specialist interest in comparative theology and the relationship between science and religion. He is highly critical of the view that science can ever give a full picture of reality.

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  Wayne Ranney

  Geologist and expert in the evolution of life forms preserved in the Grand Canyon. He has travelled the world as a geologic commentator and on various natural history expeditions. He is author of the book "Ancient Landscapes, Carving Grand Canyon and Sedona Through Time."

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  Kimberly Weaver

  Astrophysicist, Exploration of the Universe Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. An expert in X-ray astronomy, she has demonstrable talent in the communication of complex scientific ideas in ways that most can readily understand.

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  Steven Weinberg

  Author – “The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of Origin of the Universe”. American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics. He argues that our existence within a universe of order is a consequence of us being “winners in a cosmic lottery”. Professor Weinberg died in 2021.

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  Robert White

  Professor of Geophysics in the department of Earth Sciences at Cambridge University and a former director of The Faraday Institute of Science and Religion. He is a fellow of the Geological Society and a member of The American Geophysical Union.

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  David Sloan Wilson

  Professor in the Department of Biology and Anthropology, Bingham University, New York. He argues that the evolutionary paradigm can adequately explain not only phenomena in the biological world but in the social world of religion and morality as well. He argues, therefore, there is no need for a creator.

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  Liu Xiaoting

  Chinese Philosopher of Science. He teaches at a university in mainland China.

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  Ge Yonghua

  Philosopher of Religion, Beijing Normal University. He began his academic career in physics before transitioning to theology. His research includes study of Christian theology in relation to Chinese philosophy.

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  Carver Yu

  President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor, China Graduate School of Theology, Hong Kong. An international speaker, Dr Yu’s main concern is to relate Christian faith to contemporary culture.

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  Shi Kuan Yun

  Western Monastery Abbot, Hong Kong.