Melissa Cain Travis

Fellow, Center for Science and Culture

Melissa Cain Travis earned a PhD in Humanities with a philosophy concentration from Faulkner University, an MA in Science and Religion from Biola University, and a BS in Biology from Campbell University. She is the author of Thinking God’s Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility (2022), Science and the Mind of the Maker: What the Conversation Between Faith and Science Reveals About God (2018), and a contributor to The Story of the Cosmos: How the Heavens Declare the Glory of God (2019). In addition to teaching graduate courses for Colorado Christian University's Lee Strobel Center, she serves on the Executive Council of the Evangelical Philosophical Society and as President of the Society for Women of Letters. She is part of the core writers team for The Worldview Bulletin and the Christian Research Journal, and regularly lectures at universities, seminaries, and churches around the country.

Archives

Finding Beauty and Harmony in the Sciences

Melissa Cain Travis
July 31, 2024
Materialist philosopher Bertrand Russell once wrote that "only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul’s habitation…be safely built.” But is this worldview of scientific materialism in line with what science has revealed to us in the last century? On this episode of ID The Future, we’re pleased to share a recent conversation between Dr. Melissa Cain Travis and author and teacher Dr. Ken Boa on the Explorers Podcast. The topic is beauty, harmony, and truth in the sciences. We are grateful to the producers of the Explorers Podcast for permission to re-broadcast this conversation.

Online Course Explores History of Science and Christianity

Melissa Cain Travis
April 1, 2024
Did Christianity help or hinder the rise of science? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid speaks with Dr. Melissa Cain Travis about her latest online course Science & Christianity: An Historical Exploration. The live 6-week course offered this spring gives a small cohort of students the opportunity to dive into the historical relationship between science and Christianity and the skill to address the distorted historical narratives that persist in the contemporary conversation.

Uncovering the Hidden Mathematical Structure of the Universe

Melissa Cain Travis
September 13, 2023
Do humans project mathematical order onto nature? Or was it there all along? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid concludes his conversation with Dr. Melissa Cain Travis about her recent book Thinking God’s Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility. In Part 3, we look at how Kepler's ideas and work can inform the scientific enterprise today. Many scientists recognize the mystery of cosmic comprehensibility, including such respected voices as Albert Einstein, Sir Roger Penrose, and Paul Davies. Materialists remain agnostic or put it down to chance. But there's a more satisfying explanation, says Travis. "Centuries ago, Kepler already held the trump card. Science itself...can't be explained within the framework of scientific materialism." Genuine human rationality - the very thinking that helped fuel the enormous success of the natural sciences - would not exist if a naturalistic account of the human mind were correct. To get an intellectually satisfying answer for the cosmic comprehensibility we enjoy as humans, we have to think outside the materialist box. Travis explains how we can do that using Kepler's tripartite harmony of archetype, copy, and image. It turns out Keplerian natural theology is more robust than ever before and can help us make sense of the mysteries of our age, including the multiverse, the limits of AI, transhumanism, and more. This is Part 3 of a 3-part discussion.

Kepler’s Pursuit of a Mathematical Cosmology

Melissa Cain Travis
September 11, 2023
Why is the cosmos intellectually accessible to us? On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid continues his conversation with Dr. Melissa Cain Travis about her recent book Thinking God’s Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility. In Part 2, Travis illuminates Kepler's university years to show us how his study of mathematics and astronomy complemented his interest in theology. We learn about obstacles he overcame during his education and how an unexpected appointment to assist imperial mathematician Tycho Brahe jump-started his career as an astronomer and gave him the tools he needed to develop and advance his revolutionary ideas. Travis unpacks Kepler's major works, from Mysterium Cosmographicum to his magnum opus Harmonices Mundi. She also tracks for us the progression of Kepler's ideas to show us how he became a key figure in the transition from ancient astronomy to a true celestial physics. This is Part 2 of a 3-part discussion.

Thinking God’s Thoughts: Kepler and Cosmic Comprehensibility

Melissa Cain Travis
September 6, 2023
On this ID The Future, host Andrew McDiarmid kicks off a three-episode discussion with Dr. Melissa Cain Travis about her recent book Thinking God's Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility. A fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture, Dr. Travis serves as Affiliate Faculty at Colorado Christian University's Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics, where she teaches courses in the history and philosophy of science. In Part 1, learn why Kepler was instrumental in transforming classical astronomy into a true celestial physics. Like others before him, Kepler perceived a remarkable resonance between the rational order of the material world, mathematics, and the human mind. In response, he developed a three-part cosmic harmony of archetype, copy, and image to explain this unity. Travis unpacks his tripartite harmony for us. But that's not all. To give us a richer appreciation for Kepler's work, Travis also traces the intellectual pedigree of Kepler's ideas all the way back to the ancients, from pre-Socratic philosopher Pythagoras through the Early Christian era, the Middle Ages, and on through Kepler's own university years. It's a fascinating journey that shows how long humans have pondered the design of the universe and the uncanny connection between the natural world and the mathematics that lie at the heart of it. Kepler's revolutionary discoveries in natural philosophy and his unique insights into natural theology have inspired generations of scientists and philosophers. As we continue to discover new evidence of design in life and the universe, Travis argues that Kepler's work is as relevant today as ever. This is Part 1 of a 3-part discussion.

Melissa Cain Travis Previews Reasons 2019: New Conversations on Science and Faith

Melissa Cain Travis
April 17, 2019
On this episode of ID the Future, Emily Kurlinski speaks with author and professor Melissa Cain Travis about the path that led to her work in the field of science and faith, and the writing of her book Science and the Mind of the Maker: What the Conversation Between Faith and Science Reveals about God. It started for her at a conference ten years ago where she heard Dr. Michael Behe sharing on intelligent design. That led to studies and research on science and faith, and a commitment to communicating it understandably for lay persons. Early next month it comes full circle, as she’ll be sharing the program with Behe and others at the May 3-4 Discovery Institute conference “Reasons 2019: New Conversations on Science and Faith” in Houston …

Melissa Cain Travis Talks Science and the Mind of the Maker

Melissa Cain Travis
December 19, 2018
On this episode of ID the Future, Sarah Chaffee interviews author and science historian Melissa Cain Travis on her new book Science and the Mind of the Maker: What the Conversation Between Faith and Science Reveals About God. From Johannes Kepler to Max Planck, scientists have seen their work as much more than merely uncovering how things work; it’s a way of forging new insights into a greater reality. This book is a layman’s introduction into the world of their work, as well as a snapshot of the current state of intelligent design …

How Do We Know God Created Life?

Melissa Cain Travis
April 15, 2014
Thomas has been looking forward to this field trip for weeks! His mom is guiding a group tour of the new insect exhibit at the Museum of Natural Science. Thomas and his friend Sophie are awestruck by the displays, but they have questions when one exhibit claims that butterflies evolved the special ability to transform from caterpillars without a pre-determined design. Together, Sophie, Thomas, and his mom (Mrs. Paley) examine the evidence to learn how the butterfly’s life cycle indicates a Creator …