Thank God For Evolution!

This book may be before it's time, but I hope and pray the world is ready. This new book "Thank God for Evolution! How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World" to be released soon by Council Oak Books was written by Reverend Michael Dowd. It's reality and science based, and I don't know any more apt word than prophetic. This is the type of book that could spawn a movement that could change the world. He says so many profound things. For example, that science is God's current revelation to humanity. Revelation didn't stop with Christ, but Truth is being revealed daily by science and scientists and we can take meaning and lesson from these things, including evolution as a beautiful creative force.

The message of this book speaks to all religions but mostly tries to relate Christianity to a modern-day evolutionary and scientific worldview. It includes a section entitled “The Gospel According to Evolution” which interprets the gospel in light of our current knowledge of evolution. It is in no way “new age.” It's very down to earth, positive, accessible to everyone, and has a lot of great quotes interpersed within. One of the most profound discussions, in my opinion, is his distinction between day (literal) and night (figurative) language and he says that we essentially belittle God by taking as day language what was clearly meant as night language. The world just might not yet be ready for Michael Dowd, but for the world's sake, I hope it is!

I'll talk more about this book in the entries to come as I read through it all. I've talked to Michael by phone, and watched some DVDs of his message. He was a former fundamentalist who rejected evolution and gradually came to realize that it not only was true, but that it had a profound message for humankind. He talks about miracles, the virgin birth, resurrection, being co-creators with God of this life on earth, and of course Creation itself which is ongoing.

http://www.counciloakbooks.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=222

Edwards on evolution

Hallelujah! Someone with some sense. The Democratic Presidential candidates had a forum on their religious faith - Faith Guiding Our Votes (see CNN article on this), and in this, Soledad O'Brien asked Sen. John Edwards about what he believes about evolution and he stood up for the view that you can be a devout Christian and accept evolution. Watch the video here.

why do people resist science?

An interesting article, "WHY DO SOME PEOPLE RESIST SCIENCE?" By Paul Bloom and Deena Skolnick Weisberg at The Edge.
PAUL BLOOM is a psychologist at Yale University and the author of Descartes' Baby. DEENA SKOLNICK WEISBERG is a doctoral candidate in psychology at Yale University. The original paper was actually published in the journal Science, 18 May 2007,
Vol. 316, pp. 996 - 997.

"The developmental data suggest that resistance to science will arise in children when scientific claims clash with early emerging, intuitive expectations. This resistance will persist through adulthood if the scientific claims are contested within a society, and will be especially strong if there is a non-scientific alternative that is rooted in common sense and championed by people who are taken as reliable and trustworthy."

This is a fascinating article, based in the authors' research, on rejection of science by educated people and how children learn and how our initial biases get reinforced by cultural and religious belief systems. Check it out!