Seeking God

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.

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. 

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.

When God Woke Up Wales

By erin conner, writer and communications associate

In an article published by Desiring God, Pastor Jeremy Walker writes a brief summary and analysis of the revival that took place in Wales, England in the  1700's. Walker notably writes that “the Lord was pleased to stir the listless and lethargic to liveliness and labor during the 18th Century in various parts of the world by various human instruments. In England, God raised up George Whitefield. In America… Jonathan Edwards, and in Wales… Daniel Rowland.” 

True Faith: Trusting and Aligning Our Desires with God's

By erin conner, writer & communications associate  

Ijeamaka Achebe, a senior at Yale University, recalls parts of her journey through her academic career, wondering, "What is my purpose?" While she has a clear goal of becoming a doctor, she realized that goals and existential purpose are not necessarily one and the same.

Through Christian Union Lux's ministry at Yale, in part, Achebe began to realize that, above all, she wanted her career aspirations to be in alignment with God's will. After two years of participating in Christian Union Bible courses, she shared that her outlook on career is different than it once was. "Our secondary calling is career," she shared, recognizing that while a career is important, it is subordinate to her primary calling as a Christian.

Christian Union Hosts Ken Fish at Recent Biannual Conference in NYC

By christian union

God is not simply a concept or theory. So often in the Western Church, Christians read the stories of the Bible and assume that signs and wonders were events that occurred in biblical times and simply don’t happen today. Ken Fish is one Christian leader in America who is here to explain otherwise. His 2023 book, On the Road with The Holy Spirit: A Modern Day Diary of Signs and Wonders, is based on a diary he kept over the course of five years while he was traveling extensively around the world. Fish spent time almost daily writing down the healings and miracles that the Lord was doing through hundreds of journal entries.

University Leadership Ministry Helps Students Develop a Robust Christian Worldview

written by christian union; edited By erin conner

As the Judeo-Christian worldview has receded in modern Western society, nihilism, atheism, secularism, post-modernism, and a resurgent paganism now present competing paradigms for explaining the meaning of life and our purpose here on earth. Bifurcation of facts from values has contributed to the identity dysphoria endemic to the dislocation of self in society that troubles many young people today. Issues related to sexual "empowerment" and individual gratification dominate public policy debate, even as our nation’s values related to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness find new definition in the reshaping of longstanding positions on private and public morality.

by Christian Union America

An Amazing Opportunity for American Christians to Seek the Lord Together 

By erin conner, writer and communications associate  

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9 

Christian Union America hosts regular national fasts with the intention of deepening our own relationship with the Lord and interceding for our nation to return to Him, and wants to invite you to join this January for 14 days.

Two powerful testimonies from previous CU America National Fasts illustrate the significance, in part, of joining this movement:

Fasting is an essential part of Christian life. It is modeled for us throughout the Scriptures and has a unique capacity to draw us closer to the Lord through humble dependence upon Him above all things.

Christian Union America will be hosting this 14-day fast from January 2 through the 15th with the special emphasis on a new year, new awakening, and pressing in for breakthroughs. In regard to this fast, founder and president of Christian Union, Matt Bennett, shared, "Jesus is everything to us, and we need His supernatural strength to remain faithful to Him through thick and thin. We want revival across America, and to see that happen, Christians need to faithfully seek His face no matter the obstacles or cost."  

Christian Leader in Media Shares Life-Giving Message in a Culture of Despair

By erin conner, writer and communications associate

Carrie Sheffield, a renowned columnist and broadcaster in Washington DC, released a memoir this past spring entitled Motorhome Prophesiesthat proclaims liberty is possible for the captives of trauma. Sheffield is a Harvard alumna, a member of Christian Union America, and serves in an advisory role for the Christian Union Washington DC board of advisors. 

Sheffield shares insights with millions of Americans on networks like CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, CBS News, CNBC, BBC, and more. From ABC’s Good Morning America to HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, PBS,and C-SPAN, she brings a voice of virtue to the American communications and media industry through boundless interviews, articles, appearances on television shows and podcasts, and at forums across the nation. 

Christian Union Provides Support and Resources for Spiritual Strengthening

By erin conner, writer and communications associate

A Call to Unite to Fervently Pray for Our Nation 

By christian Union america

The spiritual condition of our day demands a serious, wholehearted, unified response from the Church; the nation and the people of God in America need a fresh work of the Spirit of God. Unity in any human organization is powerful, but Christian Unity comes with supernatural power. At Christian Union, we say, “Unity of the Spirit precedes a filling of the Spirit.”

Rekindle the Gift of God to Overcome

 By Michael Racine, writer and ministry fellow at christian union lux at yale

Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord. I give thanks to God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, longing to see you, having been reminded of your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, receiving remembrance of the sincere faith that is in you—which was first in your grandmother, Lois, and in your mother, Eunice, and which I am convinced is also in you.

How Does Jesus Teach Us to Compute? 

by Erin conner, writer & communications associate

In a recent article entitled "To Gain the World and Lose Your Soul," published by Desiring God, writer Greg Morse powerfully illustrates the problem of ignoring the soul as a result of the distractions and deceptions of our modern world.

Morse writes, "One great feature of modernity, from Satan’s standpoint, is the sheer rejection of the soul. We live in a world stupefied by the material. Ask ten people on the street about their souls — if they don’t wonder aloud, 'What does this babbler wish to say?' (Acts 17:18), they will tell you that if they do have a soul, they have not thought much about it. Even ancient pagan philosophers wrote dense treatises on the soul, but the mass of men today live as though they are soulless. And yet these same people investigate the silliest things under the sun. If anything is worth thought, is it not your soul? 'Claiming to be wise, they became fools'” (Romans 1:22).

A Closer Look at Episodes 2 and 3 of a Newly Launched Christian Podcast

By Erin conner, writer and communications associate 

51 million Americans listen to podcasts at least once a month, making it a powerful platform for Matt Bennett, Founder and President of Christian Union and the Heritage Pastors Association, to use to deliver messages about national revival and reformation. 

In two episodes of his newly launched podcast, Bennett explores ideas in Megan Basham's best selling book Shepherds for Sale; a book that investigates how deeply secular billionaires have infiltrated America’s churches. Shepherds for Sale "documents how progressive powerbrokers set out to change the American church… and warns of what happens when the church trusts the world’s wisdom instead of Scripture" (Amazon.com). In review of the book, Os Guinness shares, "Some will quibble over details, but no one should miss the powerful warning in this book. We face a gathering storm, as Winston Churchill warned a century ago, but this time the enemy is inside as well as outside the gates. Every convinced and unashamed Evangelical should read, ponder, and pray over this important book."

Christian Union National Fast: America Returning to God, August 1-14, 2024

by peter ahlin, coo/CFO at christian union

“But when he came to himself, he said, “How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” -Luke 15:17-20

Jesus loved to tell stories of heaven’s rejoicing at the salvation of lost souls. He depicted a widow exulting over a found coin or a shepherd delighting as he held a recovered sheep; He spoke in terms that resonated with all. But no story ever became as iconic as that of a loving father whose son rejected him, plundered him, and left him, and how that father watched for him, waited for him, and wept for him. The story captured perfectly how great the father’s love and how hopeful those may be who trust wholly in it.

Many of us also watch, wait, and weep for beloved children or others who wander without hope and without God in the world. We want to follow Scripture’s clarion call to “pour out [our] hearts like water to the Lord, [to] lift up [our] hands to him in prayer, pleading for [our] children” (Lamentations 2:19). So how do we pray for the prodigal?

Host a CU Fire Retreat This October in Your Own Home or Church 

by Christian union america

"Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord."-Romans 12:11

Over ten thousand people joined Christian Union to fast and pray for America to Return to God through the CU National Fast this August. As Americans continue to seek God for the nation's return, Christian Union is offering an opportunity for believers across the country to host an in-home retreat this fall to keep the fire of our faith burning.

Join Christian Union for a powerful simulcast retreat on October 4-5 to build on the spiritual momentum from the fast, strengthen your walk with the Lord and deepen your friendships with others who are passionate about revival in your own lives, as well as in the lives of your families, churches, and communities.

Mentorship Pair Shares Insight into Christian Union's Alumni Program 

by Christian union america

Part of Christian Union’s mission is to transition alumni into the workforce or into graduate school well, linking them with a broad Christian network to support and sustain their faith for life through a meaningful mentorship program. In this program, mentors and mentees, paired largely based on common career paths, meet monthly to discuss topics such as seeking God, developing a bold faith, connecting to a local church, and navigating the workplace as a believer. 

Ann Brooks is among the dozens of accomplished and faithful mentors with whom Christian Union America collaborates. After joyfully attending her mentee's wedding, she and her mentee, Delaney Thull, sat down to share some insights in the interview below:

Christian Union National Fast: America Returning to God, August 1-14, 2024

by michael racine, writer and ministry fellow for cu lux at yale

If you want to see a miracle, what should you do? It’s a question that children in Sunday school could readily answer: Ask God, and have faith. This message runs all throughout the gospels, in the numerous healing accounts in which Jesus says, “Your faith has made you well,” “Be it done to you according to your faith,” or something similar, and in His explicit and repeated teaching on the subject to His disciples. “Ask, and you shall receive” (Matt 7:7; Luke 11:9). “Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

All too often, though, we find ourselves crying out like the afflicted boy’s father, “Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief!” (see Mark 9:24). How can we remove the nagging doubt that chokes our mustard seed of faith and keeps it from bearing fruit? First, it helps to understand what exactly “faith” is, as defined by the Scriptures. Faith is not, as many would suggest today, willful belief without evidence. It is, quite simply, that which underlies our expectations and convinces us of things we haven’t seen (Heb 11:1). All of us believe a million different things beyond what we’ve personally seen, and quite rationally. Why? Because we’ve been told, and we deemed the source reliable. “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Anointed” (Romans 10:17).

Christian Union National Fast: America Returning to God, August 1-14, 2024

by grace ann arvey, director of christian union america

"Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust… All the nations are yet as nothing before Him, they are accounted by Him as less than nothingness and emptiness." - Isaiah 40:15,17 

In these verses, the prophet Isaiah magnifies the incomparable greatness of our God, putting the importance of our nation into a right perspective. The nations, with all of their pomp, power, and multitudes, are yet as nothing before Him. They are but a drop in the bucket, insignificant and easily lost. The coastlands, lifted like fine dust, signify the ease with which God can govern the greatest of a nation’s endeavors.