Content by Rev. Zachary Jackson

The Reverend Zachary Jackson is the pastor of Community United Church of Christ in Reading PA as well as an adjunct professor of theology at Palmer Theological Seminary. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Ancient Languages from Wheaton College and a Masters of Divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary. As a child, Zack dreamed of being a rocket scientist, but after being accepted to several engineering schools, he felt an unmistakable call to ministry instead. Throughout Zack’s ministry, he seeks to explore how scientific inquiry and the scientific method can inform a more humble, reverent, and honest faith in God. To that end, Zack writes a science and faith blog (http://musicalspheres.blog) and is one of the organizers for the United Church of Christ’s Science and Technology Network. He is also on the UCC’s Environmental Justice Team and is particularly passionate about how climate change and environmental damage disproportionately impact the poor and underrepresented in our world.

Jun 10, 2021

The Stuff That Makes Us

Rev. Zachary Jackson

Love is an orientation towards others, knowing that when two people give 100% of themselves to each other, there is more than enough for everyone.

Feb 6, 2020

Can Liturgy Be Empirically Tested?

Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver, Rev. Gawain de Leeuw, Rev. Zachary Jackson, Sara Gottlieb

What happens in our bodies and in our brains when we join together in a communal liturgy, where people sing or dance or celebrate together?

Jan 9, 2020

Superheroes and Everyday Cyborgs

Dr. Adam Pryor, Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver, Rev. Zachary Jackson, Timothy Maness, PhD

What is the interplay between the things that make us human and the things that make us superhuman?

Nov 25, 2019

What Does It Mean to be “Human”?

Dr. Adam Pryor, Ian Binns, PhD, Kendra Holt Moore, Rev. Zachary Jackson

If humans aren’t self-contained units, what’s our responsibility to the other elements that we’re connected to?

Nov 21, 2019

Genetic Engineering For The Rest of Us

Arvin Gouw, PhD, Megan Powell Cuzzolino, EdD, Rev. Zachary Jackson, Stefanie West Leacock, PhD

How we can teach so many of the complicated nuances of genetics to laypeople, clergy, students, and others who may be new to the big debates?

Aug 15, 2019

For Both Religion and Science, It’s Good To Not Know

Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver, Rev. Zachary Jackson

We’re not even aware of how often it is that we use the scientific process to make decisions in our lives – even in our faith lives.

Jul 18, 2019

Evangelicals and Climate Change

Rev. Zachary Jackson

Since 1970, trust in science has decreased significantly among conservatives and regular churchgoers, and as a pastor and former evangelical, I need to know why.

Nov 8, 2018

Climate Change as a Story

Arvin Gouw, PhD, Brian Gallagher, Dr. Adam Pryor, Kendra Holt Moore, Rabbi Rachael Jackson, Rev. Dr. Ruth Shaver, Rev. Zachary Jackson, Timothy Maness, PhD

Big Stories, like the ones forged by religion, could be a powerful motivator for climate action. How might we use this way of thinking to spur action while staying scientific?

Aug 16, 2018

Embracing Ignorance: How Modern Science Helps Us Rediscover Our Ancient Faith

Rev. Zachary Jackson

When you use God to explain all the things that you can’t currently understand, then you are setting God up to be gone one day, when we do understand those things.

Jun 14, 2018

Protecting God’s Garden

Rev. Zachary Jackson

We are what happens when the dirt gets a voice, when the earth gets a conscience, when the world has arms and legs and a thinking, rational mind that can relate to the Creator.

Jun 6, 2018