Lucas’s Weblog

Hello!

My name is Lucas Mix, and I am an Episcopal priest, author, and martial artist. Currently, I work as project coordinator for a project called “Equipping Christian Leadership in an Age of Science” or ECLAS. I am also a researcher at the intersection of biology, philosophy, and theology, focusing on theories of life. In 2021, I was also the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation researching the relationship between science and science fiction as we think about the future of humanity in space. Check out the “Space on the Page” podcast, where I speak with scientists and authors about life in the universe (episodes 4-6).

My continuing research explores historical and contemporary “life-concepts” – what work do we want to do in biology, theology, law, medicine, ethics, etc. What’s at stake in defining life? My last book was a history of the “vegetable soul,” a surprisingly common concept from Ancient Greece to Renaissance Europe. Despite the fancy name, it refers to the natural process of nutrition in all things. The vegetable soul highlights the continuity of physics, biology, and human life.

I’ve done a little of everything; I’ve been a preacher, pastor, scientist, technician, teacher, and athlete.  This blog is an attempt to bring all of that together into some meaningful whole. For context, I have a doctorate in evolutionary biology from Harvard and a masters in divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific.  My first book, Life in Space: Astrobiology for Everyone (2009) talks about what we know from science about the history of life in the universe. It also deals with some of the philosophical foundations and implications of astrobiology. My next book, Thinking Fair: Rules for Reason in Science and Religion explores how we think critically in science, in religion, and in putting the pieces together to understand the world we inhabit. It also suggests ways to be mindful about shaping our own knowledge and beliefs.

As a researcher, I am affiliated with Harvard Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and a member of the Ronin Institute, which facilitates quality research outside the regular institutional boundaries of department and university.

I’m also an instructor at Enso Center for International Arts, a non-profit arts organization that specializes in martial, fine, and healing arts. I have a deep love of Hapkido (the Korean art of balance taking) and Tai Chi.

Please check out the pages below and some of my other materials to find out more about science, religion, and my perspective on life:

1. Mindfulness and community around serving in religion and science through the Society of Ordained Scientists
2. Discussions on life and death across disciplines at Harvard and MIT 2013-2015
3. Discussions on religion and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona 2010-13

Thank you for visiting and may all the blessings of joy, peace, and purpose find you.

Oddly Enough,

Lucas

PS. Traditionally, an ecclesiastical peculiar was a church outside the normal diocesan structure. An academic peculiar belonged to the university rather than the diocese. A royal peculiar belonged to the king. Trying to straddle the divide between academia and religion, between faith and science, I’ve always liked the phrase.