The overarching goal of the capstone course at Messiah College is to help students think carefully and critically about connecting a vocation in chemistry, biochemistry, or other sciences to a larger worldview. At Messiah College, student worldviews fall generally, but not exclusively, within a variety of Christian traditions. Consequently, the capstone course focuses on exploring the connections between science, Christian theology, and philosophy. The course is discussion oriented and organized around the following major areas: 1) the nature of science, 2) the nature of religion, 3) models for the relationship between science and religion, 4) three central episodes in the history of science (Galileo, Newton, and Darwin), 5) origins (creation-evolution issues), 6) modern science and religion issues (God's action in the world, natural theology, the mind-body problem, etc.), and 7) science, religion, and society (including race and gender issues, environmental issues, genomics and medical scence, etc.). Students are evaluated by written responses to course readings, exams, class participation, and a culminating autobiographical paper on the relationship between the student's vocational calling to a science career and his or her larger religious worldview. The course is designed to educate not indoctrinate students, such that topics are presented from a variety of perspectives and the instructor's views on issues are not imposed on the discussion or generally provided until the very end of the course as part of a course retrospective.

Chemistry and biochemistry capstone course at Messiah College: A holistic interdisciplinary approach

249th National Meeting (2015)

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