More than likely, you’ll want to know something about me before devoting time to reading and considering my thoughts about becoming creation. When I encounter a website, blog or book about a topic that interest me, I attempt to find out just where the author is coming from and what his or her credentials are. I can only assume you came to this page for the same reason. So, let me tell you a little bit about myself, including my reasons for being interested in creation issues and for considering myself qualified to say something about them.
I have in mind two audiences of friends who may visit Becoming Creation: fellow Christians who are not familiar with my science background and those who do not share my Christian worldview. For both sets of friends I provide the following description of who I am.
My “qualifications” for writing about creation
I am a Christian.
First and foremost, I am a Christian. I believe that…
- There is only one true God who is Creator of all that exists.
- The Creator God has revealed himself to human beings, instilling in them a sense of his presence and calling them into meaningful relationship.
- Jesus of Nazareth was and is God’s Chosen One (the Messiah/Christ), rightly to be called both Son of God and Son of Man because he is the transcendent Creator who became fully present (immanent) in his own creation by becoming human.
- Jesus communicated and demonstrated the fullness of God to limited creatures. Jesus the Christ is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
- Jesus willingly laid down his life for humans by being executed on a cross, simultaneously demonstrating God’s uncompromising justice and unlimited love by bearing the fullness of God’s wrath against evil (human rebellion, failings and shortcomings) in our stead.
- Jesus actually came back to life from the dead, thereby proving his deity, demonstrating the fate to which God calls humans to participate, and ensuring that he has the power to keep his promise.
(As references, see John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-3; Philippians 2:5-11; the Apostle’s Creed)
I have been active in the church all my life.
My family heritage is characterized by a strong thread of genuine Christian faith. My grandparents on both sides were Midwestern Baptists, and my parents (both musicians by training) have always been active in Evangelical churches. I cannot remember a time when faith in God and involvement in church were not the defining theme of my family’s activities; nor can I remember a time when I did not believe in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. In 1972 (when I was 5) my family moved to Tehran, Iran where my parents worked as self-supporting missionaries.
When my family left Iran for good in 1979, I was twelve years old. I had a rough year adjusting to American schools and the narrow worldview of my peers. When my father eventually obtained a job as music pastor (and later missions pastor) at Elmbrook Church in Waukesha, WI, it meant a new start for me. I quickly became absorbed in ordinary youthful activities and was especially involved in the church youth group. I remained interested in missions, spending one summer in the Philippines with Teen Missions, Int’l and another in Kenya with a team from church. I attended Urbana Missions Conferences in 1984 and 1987.
In college at the University of Wisconsin, I participated in Campus Crusade for Christ and remained active in the local church. My senior year, I married Kim, who I had known from church since high school. Upon completing our respective botany and linguistics degrees, we lived in Texas for two years where we earned masters degrees at UT-Arlington. In Texas, we were active in a local Bible Church.
In 1991, we moved to St. Louis, Missouri so I could begin work on my PhD at Washington University. We lived in St. Louis for 7 years, where we were members of Memorial Presbyterian Church (PCA). I served on the Missions Committee and as a deacon and small-group leader. Kim was active in the nursery and with other young moms (all three of our children were born in St. Louis). I appreciated learning about the Reformed tradition and the Westminster Confession, which I highly respect as a meaningful doctrinal expression of Christianity.
We now live in Rockford, Illinois, where I work at a large biotechnology company that makes reagents for protein research, and where Kim works full-time schooling our children at home. We have struggled to find a like-minded church and Christian fellowship in Rockford but have remained passionate about doing so. My “liberal” views on evolution and related theologies and our worldwide, ecumenical “vision” are barriers to fellowship in conservative churches; our devotion to serious bible study and Christian discipleship are barriers to involvement in entertainment-style and country-club churches.
Why have I provided this lengthy autobiography of my Christian heritage? My only reason is to clarify for those who may wonder if my evolutionary creationist views are something that I brought from ”outside” the church. I did not come to faith late in life after being an evolutionist, nor did I have some crisis of faith or rebellious phase that precipitated my needing to “change the rules” to be acceptable to my own human standards.
I am trained in science.
Because I am not currently a teaching or researching professor at a college or university, most of my friends do not appreciate the extent of my academic training in science. For their benefit, here is a summary of my academic and research record.
Degrees:
- PhD Population and Evolutionary Biology, Washington University in St. Louis (2000)
- MS Biology, University of Texas – Arlington (1991)
- BS Botany, University of Wisconsin – Madison (1989)
Scientific Research Experience:
- Research Specialist (1999-2000) with Dr. Venkata Reddy, UIC College of Medicine at Rockford, IL
- Assisted in research into molecular mechanisms of Mycobacterium pathogenesis
- Used a broad range of protein and molecular biology techniques, especially antibody production and purification, 1-D and 2-D gel electrophoresis and Western blotting
- Graduate Researcher (1994-1998) for PhD dissertation, Washington University in St. Louis, MO
- Designed and proposed entirely independent thesis project
- Conducted research involving plant DNA extraction, PCR, DNA cloning and DNA sequencing
- Analyzed data involving analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and phylogenetic structure
- Laboratory Researcher (1991-1993) various projects at Washington University in St. Louis, MO
- Performed DNA fingerprinting analysis of clonal structure of an endangered milkweed species, analyzed data and prepared manuscript for publication
- Examined the effects of extension temperature on Taq DNA polymerase fidelity in the PCR
- Prepared species descriptions and identification keys for new Anthurium species
- Field Research Assistant (1989) for Dr. Emile DeVito, Monteverde, Costa Rica
- Collected and identified plant voucher specimens for an ecological study of tropical fruits
- Plant Mounter and Filer (1988-1989), Herbarium, University of Wisconsin – Madison, WI
Here are scientific papers that I have authored or co-authored (listed in reverse chronological order based on the year of original research):
- Reddy, V.M., F.G. Suleman and D.A. Hayworth (2004) Mycobacterium avium binds to mouse intestinal mucus aldolase. Tuberculosis 84:303-310.
- Reddy, V.M. And D.A. Hayworth (2002) Interaction of Mycobacterium tuberculosis with human respiratory epithelial cells (HEp-2). Tuberculosis 82:31-36.
- Hayworth, D.A. (2000) Hierarchical domains in concerted evolution of ribosomal DNA intergenic spacers in Arabidopsis (Brassicaceae). Dissertation, 249 pages, Washington University.
- Schaal, B.A., D.A. Hayworth, K.M. Olsen, J.T. Rauscher, and W.A. Smith (1998) Phylogeographic studies in plants: problems and prospects. Molecular Ecology 7:465-474.
- Hayworth, D.A., M.L. Bowles, B.A. Schaal and K.E. Shingleton (2001) Clonal population structure of the federally threatened Mead’s milkweed, as determined by RAPD analysis and its conservation implications. Proc. 17th N.A. Prairie Conference, pp. 182-190.
- Schaal, B., P. Olson, T. Prinzie, L. J. C. B. Carvalho, N. J. Tonukari, D. Hayworth (1994) Phylogenetic analysis of the genus Manihot based on molecular markers. Proceedings of the Second International Scientific meeting of the Cassava Biotechnology Network, pp. 62-70.
- Croat, T.B., E.D. Yates, D.A. Hayworth (2005) New taxa of Anthurium and Philodendron (Araceae) from western Amazonia. Willdenowia 35:345-358.
- Robinson, J. V., D. A. Hayworth, M. Harvey (1991) The effect of caudal lamellae loss on swimming speed of the damselfly Argia moesta (Hagen) (Odonata: Coenagrionidae). American Midland Naturalist 125:240-244
- Hayworth, D.A. (1991) Flavonoid systematics of the linear-leaved species of Nama (Hydrophylaceae). Thesis, 50 pages, University of Texas at Arlington.
It may seem pretentious of me to list these credentials, but fellow scientists will not be particularly impressed by them. My curriculum vitae (as an academic resume is called) is extremely modest. Unlike scientists who remain active in academic research, I did not independently publish papers in prestigious journals based on my dissertation research, was never awarded significant research funding, and never developed an ongoing original research program.
My only purpose in providing these specific details is to clarify that I do have sufficient training and experience to know what I’m talking about when I comment about evolution. With few exceptions, I am more qualified than nearly any church pastor or high school teacher to talk about what is known about natural history from science.
Finally, I have studied and read about science/faith topics.
As ought to be obvious from this website as a whole, I have thought a lot about the relationship of scientific and theological knowledge. I have always had a Christian understanding that trusted in the unity of God’s truth as revealed in the Scriptures (sometimes called the book of God’s word) and in nature (often called the book of God’s works). Since the mid 1990′s, I have been a member of the American Scientific Affiliation (ASA; see www.asa3.org), which is an affiliation of Christians in scientific disciplines. The ASA publishes a journal called Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith (PSCF), which includes thoughtful original articles, commentaries, dialogues and book reviews on current science-theology topics. In 2007 I attended the joint annual meeting of the ASA and our European counterpart, Christians in Science (CiS) in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Here is a link to an essay that I wrote several years ago for PSCF; this essay provides additional background information about me and my general approach to understanding creation:
Recent Comments