A Scientific Challenge to the Proposals on Life's Origin
By Erin conner, Writer and communications associate
"I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
On a warm Friday evening in a packed lecture hall in one of Princeton's prestigious science buildings, Dr. James Tour began his presentation with a picture of his family.
He explained how much he loved them, and he acknowledged the support of his wife in the audience, who had traveled with him to four universities—Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, and Princeton—for speaking engagements that week hosted by Christian Union. In a world that uses people and values things, this man stood before his audience illustrating in a simple yet profound way that relationships are the meaning and reason for it all.
Dr. Tour is a world-renowned chemist, nanotechnologist, and professor at Rice University, known globally for his groundbreaking research in graphene, nanomedicine, and carbon nanomaterials. With over 700 research publications, 150 patents, and decades of pioneering contributions, he has been recognized as one of the foremost scientific minds of our time. During his presentation, he reviewed some of the projects that he and his team are working on in his research lab. All projects shared one trait in common: from traumatic brain injury research to more efficient ways of recycling expensive materials—all hold the potential to give life by better stewarding resources and by solving meaningful problems.
Slide by slide of his presentation, Tour, an expert chemist, poked holes in the origin of life researchers' claims about the scientific likelihood of a cell arising from random molecular processes. Exploring the nature of molecules, Tour shared, in part, that molecules never move toward life unless an organism is acting upon them. Simply stated, molecules have no propensity to evolve toward life.
As a professor, Tour used examples from the college classroom to illustrate concepts and explained that science is very good at examining the characteristics of life but not the meaning of it. He suggested we look in the Bible for that. So after explaining some principles upon which God designed the physical world to work, Dr. Tour began to explore the principles upon which God designed the metaphysical world.
Right in the middle of a chemistry lecture, Tour put up a slide that read, "If you declare with your mouth that 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9).
His audience of 150 people at Princeton that night, whether professors, science majors, PhD candidates, or non-science undergraduates, sat face-to-face with the truth of salvation—a significant part of the meaning of life. Tour explained the Bible can be "tested" by historians and still stand. He shared evidence of why.
The audience was given an opportunity to then ask questions. Dr. Tour answered them all, staying long past the 90 minutes assigned to this event.
Dr. Tour's talk revealed to his audience that we all have faith. We all believe in something. In the classroom that night, spiritually speaking, Tour tore down the idol of human achievement or accomplishment. As one of the most accomplished chemists in the world, he shared the powerful, countercultural idea that scientists are just mere men and women; they have flaws, insecurities, and issues like everyone else. They have temptations to take the easy way out, to do the wrong thing, or to be motivated for the wrong reasons, just like anyone else. They are not God. The people who do research, write articles, and peer review them are flawed human beings who do not know all things, nor do they always do everything with perfect motives and methods.
The part of the question-and-answer session in which Tour problematized a culture of exaltation of scientists and asked the scientists in the room to push back on research by challenging it in meaningful ways to lead to a deeper understanding of truth was arguably one of the most powerful parts of the lecture. What if scientists are wrong about something we all believe to be true? What if people are wrong about who Jesus is? Do we have faith in mere men or faith in God?
We all are placing our faith in something. This is the reality that Tour implicitly had his audience face, not just at Princeton, but at Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth as well. Following Tour's presentation at Dartmouth College, a doctor who attended, shared, "I can't recall a presentation so enlightening."
Every spring, for over two decades, Christian Union has proclaimed the gospel in a comprehensive way: through scientists, street evangelism campaigns, and other methods of outreach because, in a culture of deception and despair, there is nothing more logical and loving than sharing the truth of God's metaphysical love through the physical revelation of Jesus Christ.
As we step into the spring quarter, we thank God for his continued work on our campus and for your partnership in prayer and support. With new opportunities ahead, we ask for your prayers as we seek to make Christ known at Stanford!
Something big is continuing to stir at Yale! This past month has been nothing short of remarkable. God is moving mightily at Yale, and we are seeing students boldly proclaim the gospel like never before.
Night after night, 20-25 students are walking across campus, sharing the good news of Jesus and praying with their peers. The hunger for truth is undeniable. Just before our evangelistic prayer and worship event at Battell Chapel on February 21-22, an email titled, “What is the Purpose of Your Life?” was sent out to every student on campus. That email ignited a firestorm of discussion, going viral on Yale’s internal social media platform, Fizz, with 2,100 comments in a single day! The curiosity and spiritual hunger this initiative sparked is overwhelming.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” -Matthew 24:14
Even as the spring semester comes to a rapid close, we have had a flurry of great events here, and the campus is buzzing with spiritual conversations! In mid-March we hosted CU Proclaim!, a week of evangelism training and evangelism on campus where students at Princeton and students visiting from CU Lux at Yale, CU Vox at Dartmouth, and CU Lumine at Columbia honed their skills and boldly proclaimed the gospel across Princeton’s campus!
“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts.” -Acts 2:46
Home to the students at CU Libertas is the Judson Ministry Center. This is a warm space on campus where student leaders flock together for Bible courses, discipleship meetings, and to break bread with one another. Before spring break, the students arranged a fasting day, prayer, and a meal together at the ministry center. The students agreed to fast for the entire day to pray for the campus, our ministry, and one another. The fast was finished together that evening with prayer and a meal with one another. The word that comes to mind when I think of the growth thus far with CU Libertas is “unity.”
Dear CU Lumine Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
Grace and peace from New York City.
As our students return from spring break, please continue to pray for Columbia University and Barnard College. During the past couple of weeks, we’ve had protests taking place on and around campus. Our students are becoming weary and overwhelmed at times, as you can imagine. However, they believe God is stirring the hearts of their peers and see this as a great opportunity to share the gospel with those who are struggling during these difficult times.
Dear CU Vita Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
What an incredible month March was here at Christian Union Vita! The winter weather finally lost its hold on Cornell’s campus for some much-needed sunshine and relative warmth, and students and faculty alike experienced lifted spirits and joyful gratitude to feel the sun’s warming rays after months of bitter cold, gray skies, and lots of snow.
"The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world."
-Psalm 19:1-4 ESV
One of the greatest ways that people are exposed to the gospel is through the inimitable beauty of nature. You can’t miss the grandeur of God's creation, especially in a place like Dartmouth! And the great thing about what God has made is that it’s not just on the surface. No matter how deep you go, it just gets more incredible. Far from being in conflict, the deeper you look, the more science and religion work together!
Our Lord Jesus Christ has charged us to keep our lamps burning. Many are praying together for the light to increase across NYC and advance his kingdom. Scripture makes it clear that when Christians are strong in the Lord, when their lamps are burning brightly, they can expect increased blessings and flourishing in their own lives and in their communities and cities.
“The essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices himself for man and puts himself where only man deserves to be.” – Fleming Rutledge, The Crucifixion
As we enter this Easter season, our eyes are fixed once again on the cross—the place where justice and mercy meet perfectly, not in abstraction but in a Person. At Harvard Law School, where many are striving to uphold the law and seek justice in a broken world, we are continually reminded that the truest justice was poured out on Christ and the deepest mercy offered through Him.
Dear CU Gloria Cornerstone Partners and friends of the ministry,
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
-Romans 10:9
Many of us know this verse well and can even quote it by heart. But to hear this verse uttered to 90+ Harvard students and affiliates gave it totally new significance to me. And praise God—this is exactly what happened! On April 1st, Christian Union Gloria hosted Dr. James Tour for a talk on evidence related to the origins of life. Dr. Tour is a “world-renowned chemist, nanotechnologist, and professor at Rice University, known globally for his groundbreaking research in graphene, nanomedicine, and carbon nanomaterials. With over 700 research publications, 150 patents, and decades of pioneering contributions, he has been recognized as one of the foremost scientific minds of our time.”
published by Christian Union
Science and faith are always in opposition, right? It’s a basic assumption that arguably most people believe, but is it true? Dr. Craig Keener, in a 2022 article for Christianity Today, dives into one of the most misunderstood assumptions of our time—that science and faith are contradictory.
A Powerful Bible Study on the Book of Job
By Erin conner, Writer and communications associate
Christian Union seeks a spiritually vibrant nation marked by Christian values permeating every corner of society. This vision is being advanced through the publication of Christian Union Bible Studies that are available to anyone who seeks to know the Lord and His word better.
Christian Union's latest Bible study on the Book of Job was released April 1st on Amazon.
Based on the Bible course model that has been developed and implemented in the Christian Union Universities ministries, CU Bible Studies will empower you to learn Scripture as never before. These guides are more exegetically focused and academic than a devotional book, yet more accessible and application-oriented than a commentary.
Christian Union Bible Studies empower you to grow in your relationship with God by feasting on His word. These guides provide more substantive, exegetical teaching than a typical devotional book yet remain more accessible and application-oriented than an academic commentary. Proven effective at the schools where Christian Union serves, these Bible studies facilitate a diligent pursuit of God with heart and mind, consistently delving into three essential questions: 1) What does the Scripture say? 2) What does it reveal to us about God—what He is like, what He loves and values, and what He hates? And 3) What shall we do with that information?
Notes on translation, historical background, literary genres, and the meanings of Hebrew and Greek words will help you gain clarity about what exactly the text is and is not saying. These studies draw from the best biblical scholarship available, presenting it in an accessible and concise format, along with observations drawn from the author's devout meditation on the text at hand and the Scriptures as a whole. Application questions throughout will challenge and encourage you to be a doer of the word, not merely a hearer. In ten lessons, this study will help you dive deeply into the book of Job, either on your own or in a group context.
The first Bible studies published by Christian Union in 2022 are available here: Psalms 1-41, Psalms 42-89, and Psalms 90-150.
Christian Union's newly released Bible study on the Book of Job is available here.
January 2025 Devotional from Christian Union America's National Fast
By marcus buckley, vice president of development for christian union
"As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good."- 2 Thessalonians 3:13 ESV
Over twenty years ago I was recruited to be a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This may seem an odd situation in which a young pastor would find himself, but there I was. I wasn’t worried about the polygraph, the drug test, the background check, or any of the other myriad tests that stood before me and the start of training at Quantico.
Faith and Work of an 18th Century Abolitionist
By christian union; first published in 2015; revised & edited in 2025
Christian leaders have been influencing the world for millennia. While the full impact of their work can never be truly measured, many leaders have already made their mark in history, bequeathing the ensuing generations with wisdom and examples to inspire and guide them.
One such figure is 18th century British abolitionist William Wilberforce. Known and noted for his devout Christian faith, William Wilberforce led the anti-slave trade movement in Britain during the 18th century. Just three days before his death on July 29, 1833, Wilberforce learned that the Slavery Abolition Act – which would free almost all the slaves in the British Empire – would pass through parliament.
Christian Union Libertas Celebrates Spring Baptisms
By sheri casali, ministry fellow at christian union libertas at brown
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."- 1 Corinthians 5:17-19
We are praising the Lord for four baptisms back-to-back the last two Sundays! This past Sunday, two of our seniors, Amaya Allen and Nikki Tang, were baptized at Aletheia Church in Providence. The prior Sunday, two of our freshmen, Claire Piron and Chia Ikeyi, were baptized at Sacred City Church. Each lady shared powerful testimonies of how Jesus has transformed their lives in miraculous ways. Their steadfast commitment to serve Jesus has been an encouragement and brought much joy to their peers. There is something so beautiful about watching a believer take this step of obedience in their walk with Christ.
Devotional from January 2025 Christian Union National Fast
By Sheri Casali, ministry fellow at Christian Union Libertas at Brown University
"'Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.'
'Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God.'"-Jeremiah 3:22
The words of the Lord can pierce our hearts when we are convicted as faithless. We may sometimes believe that we are walking in faith, when in reality the Lord sees us as faithless. Yet He is full of unending love and mercy with the promise to heal our waywardness, given we return to Him with a repentant heart. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are invited to respond to Jesus and resist hardening our hearts in stubborn rebellion when He speaks to us.
A Closer Look at Humility: The Beauty of Holiness
By christian union; first published in 2014, edited and revised in 2025
"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise."- Psalm 51:17, ESV
In Andrew Murray’s book, Humility: The Beauty of Holiness, published in 1895, he observes that there are three great motivations to seek humility. They are our status as a creature, as a sinner, and as a saint. Humble dependence, then, is the proper posture for creatures before their Creator, sinners before a holy God, and the saved before their Savior.
Movement Must Be Concerted, United, and Sustained
by christian union; first published in 2021; republished 2025
The following article, by the late scholar and preacher of revival Dr. J. Edwin Orr (1912-1987), was reprinted with permission from www.jedwinorr.com.Dr. A. T. Pierson once said, “There has never been a spiritual awakening in any country or locality that did not begin in united prayer.” Let me recount what God has done through concerted, united, sustained prayer.
Christian Union Asks Student Body, "What is the Purpose of Your Life?"
By Erin conner, Writer and communications associate
"God is moving mightily at Yale, and we are seeing students boldly proclaim the gospel like never before," said Jeffrey Walsh, the ministry director of Christian Union Lux.
Night after night this semester, 20-25 students are walking across campus, sharing the good news of Jesus and praying with their peers. Just before Christian Union Lux's evangelism prayer and worship event at Battell Chapel on February 21-22, an email titled “What is the Purpose of Your Life?” was sent out to every student on campus. This email ignited a firestorm of discussion, going viral on Yale’s internal social media platform, Fizz, with 2,100 comments in a single day. "The curiosity and spiritual hunger this initiative sparked is overwhelming," Walsh said.
