Hey there! Have you ever heard of the Gifford Lectures? They are a set of special talks given by really smart people who study religion and science.
So, you know how we sometimes wonder about where we come from or why things happen? Scientists try to answer those questions based on facts and experiments, while religious thinkers look for answers in their belief systems. Sometimes, these two ways of thinking can overlap or conflict with each other.
The Gifford Lectures provide an opportunity for experts to share their thoughts about these big questions with us. They talk about things like the origins of the universe, the nature of humanity, and how we can make meaning in the world. These lectures have been going on for over a hundred years and have had some really famous speakers like Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking!
The lectures are named after a man named Adam Gifford, who wanted to encourage this kind of thoughtful discussion between science and religion. He set up a special fund to pay for these lectures to happen every year, and they continue to this day.
So, the Gifford Lectures are a chance for really smart people to share their ideas about how we can understand the world around us. They can be complicated, but don't worry if you don't understand everything - even grown-ups find them challenging sometimes!