How the arts and sciences reveal God’s genius: Dr. Jonathan Witt discusses “A Meaningful World”
Is the world a meaningless churning of random intersecting events or a beautiful place of genius that reveals the reality of God as the ultimate Genius? Dr. Jonathan Witt joins The Denison Forum Podcast to discuss this central question of his book, A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature When we encounter, discover, or help to create things in our world that express the unmistakable qualities of depth, harmony, clarity, and elegance, how do we explain them? What are they pointing us to? From great literature to music, to mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics, the majestic fingerprints of an all-powerful, good and majestic creator are all around us—if we have the eyes, ears, and heart to receive them. It just may be that breathtaking beauty and order will lead us to the greatest discovery of all. Topics Introducing Dr. Jonathan Witt | 00:00 Dr. Witt’s journey of faith | 03:42 Why do the beliefs of Darwin, Dawkins, and similar thinkers hold so much sway in our culture? | 10:03 How did Christianity influence the rise of modern science? | 15:19 What’s the difference between science and scientism? | 21:11 Post-pandemic, should we “trust the science”? | 22:04 Why Dr. Witt wrote A Meaningful World | 25:19 How Hamlet reveals God (The four characteristics of genius) | 28:58 What does genius mean? | 38:16 How does human genius reflect God’s genius? | 39:38 How does elegance reveal God’s genius? | 43:33 How does mathematics reveal God’s genius? | 50:48 How can a loving, genius God allow pain? | 54:49 Where can listeners learn more about Dr. Witt? | 1:00:43 Resources Read the prologue to A Meaningful World. Download the unedited transcript (PDF). Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature, Dr. Jonathan Witt The Discovery Institute Center for Science & Culture Return of the God Hypothesis: A conversation with Dr. Stephen Meyer, The Denison Forum Podcast Your Designed Body, Steve Laufmann and Howard Glicksman The Wonder of Water, Michael Denton About Dr. Jonathan Witt Jonathan Witt, PhD, is Executive Editor of Discovery Institute Press and a senior fellow and senior project manager with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. His latest book is Heretic: One Scientist’s Journey from Darwin to Design (DI Press, 2018) written with Finnish bioengineer Matti Leisola. Witt also authored Intelligent Design Uncensored (IVP, 2010) with William Dembski, and A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature (IVP, 2006) with Benjamin Wiker. He is also the author of The Hobbit Party: The Vision of Freedom That Tolkien Got, and the West Forgot (Ignatius, 2014), written with Jay Richards. Witt is also the lead writer and associate producer for Poverty, Inc., winner of the $100,000 Templeton Freedom Award and recipient of over 50 international film festival honors. He also scripted three other documentaries that aired widely on PBS and were translated into multiple languages for airing in countries around the globe: The Privileged Planet (written with Lad Allen), The Birth of Freedom, and The Call of the Entrepreneur. Additionally, he scripted two Acton Media DVD curricula carried by Zondervan, including Effective Stewardship, and he served as the lead writer for The PovertyCure DVD Series and the PovertyCure initiative, which includes a content-rich website, more than a million Facebook followers, and a network of 400+ poverty-fighting organizations from around the world. Witt also has provided editing or deep editing work for several successful books, including three New York Times bestsellers. Before returning to work full time again with Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, Witt served as the managing editor for the news and commentary site The Stream, and as a research fellow for the Acton Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Witt’s academic essays have appeared in various periodicals and he has been interviewed by numerous regional and national radio programs. He is a regular annual speaker for Discovery Institute’s summer seminar on science and culture and has spoken at universities on a range of topics connected to political and economic freedom, cultural renewal, and the arts. Witt previously served as a tenured professor of literature and writing at Lubbock Christian University. He has a Ph.D., with honors, in English and Literary Theory from the University of Kansas. About Dr. Mark Turman Dr. Mark Turman is the Executive Director of Denison Forum and Vice President of Denison Ministries. Among his many duties, Turman is most notably the host of The Denison Forum Podcast. He is also the chief strategist for DF Pastors, which equips pastors and church leaders to understand and transform today’s culture. About Denison Forum Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.