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CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Socratic Club at Oregon State University will sponsor a debate on the topic, "Is Christianity anti-Science?" on Monday, May 7, in LaSells Stewart Center. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 7 p.m.

Two faculty members will debate the topic, taking opposing viewpoints. Andrew Karplus, a professor of biochemistry and biophysics at OSU, will maintain that Christianity is supportive of science. Victor Stenger, of the University of Hawaii and University of Colorado, will argue that Christianity is hostile to science.

Both speakers will explore the contentious subject of the relationship between Christianity and science. It has been argued that the condemnation of Galileo and the opposition to Darwin are evidence of the church's opposition to the advance of science. A more recent view is that the cases of Galileo and Darwin are exceptions to Christianity's general encouragement of science over the centuries.

Karplus has taught at OSU since 1998. He has received several awards for his research and has authored or co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on protein structure-function relationships/

Stenger is emeritus professor of physics at the University of Hawaii and adjunct professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado. A pioneer in the field of neutrino astronomy, he authored popular books that interface between physics and cosmology and philosophy, religion, and pseudoscience.

The OSU Socratic Club is celebrating its 10th anniversary as a student organization at Oregon State.  It sponsors five to six debates each year on subjects at the intersection of the Christian faith and contemporary culture. All debates are filmed and are at: http://www.youtube.com/user/orstsocraticclub