"Why Haven't I Done This Earlier?"

By Russ Carlson
Biology
University of Georgia

Russ Carlson is Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of Georgia and the Technical Director of the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center. He has authored more than 125 articles.

It was such a simple thing, really.  It took less ten seconds. The first time I did this, I thought “Why haven’t I done this earlier?”

Each semester  I had always begun my course with this introduction:

“Welcome to Biochemistry 3100. I’m Dr. Russ Carlson. 

“Before we begin I would like to tell you a bit about myself so that you will know me a little better. I also hope to get to know you more during this semester.  

“I’ve been at the UGA for the past 17 years. My wife, Cheryl, and I have been married for 37 years.  We have six children, and seven grandchildren.

“Well, I guess it’s time we get started with our course.”

This time, all I had done was add two sentences:

“There has been a lot of activity in our home over the years and many important things to consider. However, what is most important to my wife and me is that we take our faith in Christ very seriously."

When Walter Bradley suggested to our Christian faculty group that we identify ourselves as Christians on the first day of class, I recall thinking “I can do that” and, “That seems pretty simple.” Some very exciting things can happen from doing very simple things.

The first year I did this, several students (four or five) came after class with questions about faith and science, e.g. what should they think about evolution, etc. Cheryl and I decided to invite the students to our home for dinner and a discussion on the topic “Faith and Science.”

Now it’s become a part of our schedule. We’ve greatly enjoyed doing this and have been very impressed with these young people. Out of classes of about 100, the number of students that attend each year is between 25 and 35. Students have told us:

“This is an issue (faith and science) that has always been particularly interesting to me. Evolution is one of my favorite biological topics, but I’ve always wondered whether or not it was possible to be an evolutionist and a Christian at the same time.”

“Although I cannot make your dinner Friday, maybe I can come to your office some other time and you can tell me your thoughts on the subject. It isn’t something that I hear about very often. I really am interested because I think that making a connection between the two (faith and science) could help me understand a lot of things.”

“I’m leaning towards probably coming to the discussion on Friday I do have to ask you one question though. Where do you stand on reincarnation and karma?”

“I was extremely intrigued by your invitation to dinner . . . I must be honest with you; I am not a very religious person. I thought that the scientific view completely contrasted the religious view. I am interested to hear the correlations made between the two. Thank you for extending such a great opportunity to our class.”

Controversy Brews

A recent decision of the Cobb County school board to permit teaching various scientific ideas about the origin of life, and not just evolution, increased students’ interest in the evolution question and faith. So we discussed the historical relationship between Christianity and the development of modern science. This was followed by an excellent video, Unlocking the Mysteries of Life’s Origins, which presents evidence supporting the idea of design in nature.   Interestingly, of the 27 students who came, 4 or 5 were planning on being biology teachers in Cobb county.

The second year we had the students over for this dinner/discussion, the results turned out to be a bit different; the student response was great, but this time there was an additional, somewhat unexpected, response. The day after our dinner/discussion, I left for a meeting in Galveston, TX. A couple of evenings later, on returning to my hotel room, I found that the light on the phone was flashing. Reporters for both the city and the university newspapers wanted to speak to me.

It turned out that another professor had complained to the university council about a couple of professors, Fritz Schaefer and I inviting students to their homes to discuss faith and science (I must admit, it was somewhat flattering to be mentioned together with Fritz). He felt that this was intimidating the students. I think it was just the week before that Cheryl and I had discussed the question “What if someone complains?” We both decided that that would be okay because we knew that having the students over was something that the Lord wanted us to do.

The result of this complaint was a series of newspaper articles (not just in the Athens paper, but in the newspapers of many cities throughout Georgia including the Atlanta Journal Constitution). In fact, the day after the complaint the front page headline in the newspaper, the Athens Banner Herald, was:

Professor: Students Intimidated by Fliers for Colleagues’ Talk

This resulted in several meetings with my department chair and the exchange of a number of letters with him and our University president.

Of course, the outcome of such a complaint is not known and could have been negative.  However, for us, the results of all this were positive. Throughout this whole process I learned several things about my colleagues in our Christian Faculty Forum (CFF), the colleagues in my department (and other departments), and I experienced something wonderful about, and through, the Lord.

First, I learned of the faithfulness of my friends in the CFF. They prayed, they wrote letters to the newspaper, they wrote letters to the president of the university, they encouraged me, and some, who were on important university committees, gave their vocal support. Christian Leadership Ministries, and Bill Hager in particular, were so helpful. Also, one of the first people to call and give me encouragement was Walter Bradley, and that meant a lot to both Cheryl and me.

Secondly, I learned that I have a lot of colleagues who, even though they may not agree with me, supported me on the basis of academic freedom. Their general view was “If you can’t discuss this issue (faith and science) on a university, where can it be discussed?” I also found that the respect I already had for my department chair, Dr. David Puett, was entirely warranted. After meeting with me, he wrote to the university president, stating:  

“I feel strongly in protecting Professor Carlson’s rights to discuss his interest in religion, particularly Christianity and science, with any students who are interested in discussing the issues whether they are religious or not. To single out this one topic as forbidden is inappropriate, and I do hope that the University of Georgia can adopt a policy that is consistent and fair when applied to everyone.”

Through this challenge the Lord has made it possible for me to more freely express my faith in Him. Because of the publicity, other students and colleagues have felt it was OK to discuss issues of faith and science with me. I have been asked to speak on this topic in several classes, and I have done so even though I am probably not the most elegant spokesperson for some of these matters. I am very thankful for this freedom.

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