David Wilkinson is Principal of St John's College, Durham University. He is also Professor in the Department of Theology and Religion.

His background is research in theoretical astrophysics, where he gained a PhD in the study of star formation, the chemical evolution of galaxies and terrestrial mass extinctions. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. After this research he trained for the Methodist ministry, serving in a variety of appointments. His current work at Durham University involves the relationship of the Christian faith to contemporary culture, from science to pop-culture. He also holds a PhD in Systematic Theology where he explored the future of the physical universe.

His most recent book is Christian Eschatology and the Physical Universe (T&T Clark, 2010) and he also co-edited Reading Genesis After Darwin (OUP, 2009).

He is well known as a broadcaster and lecturer. He is regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day.

• 1: Cinema, cults and meteorites: Searching for something more


• 2: Speculating about a plurality of worlds: The historical context of science, religion and SETI


• 3: Hubble and Drake: SETI and cosmology


• 4: The Daily Planet


• 5: Genesis 2.0? SETI and biology


• 6: Looking for a needle in a haystack: Current SETI strategies


• 7: Fermi's Paradox


• 8: The 'myths' of SETI and religion


• 9: SETI and the Christian understanding of creation


• 10: SETI and the Christian understanding of redemption


• 11: Be not so positive