Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Traveling ‘Gospel of Evolution’ aiming to make Big Bang in D-FW churches

By Pegasus News wire

Rev. Michael Dowd, author of the new book Thank God for Evolution! (Council Oak Books) is bringing his radical (and free of charge) gospel presentation by the same name to the Dallas/Fort Worth area this month. The stops are part of a month-long tour of Texas.

Touted as "America's Evolutionary Evangelist," Rev. Dowd and his presentation aim to show how the marriage of science and religion will "transform your life and our world." For the better, of course.

Surely you all knew of this torrid love affair. Rumor is Jesus got Darwin pregnant.

Rev. Dowd, an ordained Christian minister and former Baptist and United Church of Christ pastor, and his wife Connie Barlow, an acclaimed science writer and author of Evolution Extended (MIT Press) and The Ghosts of Evolution (Basic Books), are packing pews and leaving audiences across America awestruck by their multimedia programs that present evolution as theology, not theory.

Grounded in mainstream science and preached with pentecostal fervor, the former fundamentalist turned evolutionary evangelist shares a “God’s eye view” of everything from microbiology to supernovas in a provocative program that is inspiring evolutionary epiphanies among believers and non-believers throughout the country.

Dowd’s breakthrough book and the couple’s mobile ministry propose a marriage of science and religion that is being embraced by those on both sides of the debate over the origins and evolution of life on Earth, including five Nobel Prize-winning scientists and a long list of religious leaders.

“The universe took 13.7 billion years to produce this amazing book,” said John Mather, NASA Chief Scientist and a 2006 Nobel laureate in physics.

“The science vs. religion debate is over!” exclaims Craig Mello, a 2006 Nobel laureate in medicine.

Thank God for Evolution! speaks to a growing movement of Progressive Christians and Emerging Church-goers who are backing away from belief-based biblical literalism and trending toward Evolution Theology, which sees science as sacred and proclaims the 13.7 billion year epic of evolution as our common creation story.

Since April 2002, the couple have criss-crossed the country non-stop preaching and teaching the 'Gospel of Evolution,' earning them the moniker: America’s Evolutionary Evangelists. With a six-month waiting list, the highly sought-after team split up to speak to separate congregations each Sunday, with churches inviting other area churches to come hear their evolutionary gospel message.

While Rev. Dowd preaches Evolution Theology from the pulpit, across town, Connie teaches sacred science programs for families. Their one-of-a-kind ministry has made them in-demand speakers at Montessori schools, environmental groups, private colleges, and public universities. Free weeknight workshops are attracting everyone from Baptists to Buddhists and Roman Catholics to Unitarians who are ready to fast forward past the flat-earth faith of their forefathers.

“Most old time religions still reflect the flat-earth cosmology of their founders,” says Rev. Michael Dowd, author of “Thank God for Evolution!”

“ We wouldn’t let a first century dentist fill our children’s teeth, yet every day we let first-century theologians fill our children’s minds. Evolution Theology reinterprets ancient religious insights in light of modern scientific revelations, breathing new life into core values at the heart of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. Evolutionary spirituality understands the concept of ‘original sin’ as religious language pointing to the truth of our animal instincts. With extinction-scale challenges on the horizon, nothing matters more than embracing evolution as a fact of life. To get right with God, we have to get right with Reality. To reject evolution is to reject Reality, and ultimately God."

"There was a time when I was eager to argue with anyone who believed that the world was more than 6,000 years old. Now, I preach a gospel as old as the Universe itself. The Big Bang never ended! God didn’t stop communicating vital truth with us thousands of years ago, when people recorded their religious insights on animal skins and preserved them in clay pots. God is still communicating with us through science, because facts are God’s native tongue."

"Contrary to popular belief, these are not the ‘End Times’ for humanity, they are just the beginning. We know this from the fossil record. Studying evolution is like following cosmic bread crumbs back to God. Dinosaurs bones and prehistoric artifacts are here to teach us faith, not test it. Fossils and DNA offer undeniable evidence of the real grace that has guided us safely through deep time to the present day."

"The good news evolution offers is that chaos and breakdowns can catalyze major evolutionary advances. I find this fact far more inspiring than a literal interpretation of any one culture’s creation myth. Evolution Theology embraces all sacred stories; it is the big tent where all ways of worship are welcome!”

Thank God for Evolution is available from major booksellers worldwide and as a free download at ThankGodforEvolution.com.

Posted by Chad; info via ThankGodForEvolution.com

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• Christianity

Comments

CastleHills Anonymous

I'm glad....anything to get these crazy fundies back on the reality train to 2008. All this talk about creationism in schools and creation museums have me SERIOUSLY concerned for the good ole US. While our children are being taught to reject science, the Asians, Indians, and Chinese are laughing all the way to the bank.

6 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Chad Jones Staff

If you dig Rev. Dowd, stay tuned to PegNews. No spoilers, but there's more to come soon.

6 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

CastleHills Anonymous

Hey, don't MONKEY around with us!

[ba-dum dum]

6 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )

Scott Doyle Verified

Shameless, CH.

but I smiled

6 months, 1 week ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )