‘Thank God for Evolution,’ preaches evangelical reverend
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Mischa Aaron Arnosky
Staff Writer
The Rev. Michael Dowd and his wife, Connie, arrived in Tulsa, Okla., Feb. 27 at about noon.
Dowd was getting ready to speak at All Souls Unitarian Church, the second largest Unitarian church in the country, where he has spoken three times before. They were coming from Shreveport, La., and before that, Texas.
There were no flights, as Dowd and his wife travel across the continent in a Dodge Sprinter van. Both have eschewed a permanent residence and have been on the road for seven years, speaking to groups about their views on religion and evolution.
Dowd will soon gas up the Sprinter and make something of a homecoming. He once studied at a Wynnewood, Pa., seminary, and will return to this area in late March to speak at several churches.
An ordained minister and former fundamentalist Christian, Dowd now evangelizes evolution as theology, not theory. In his recent book, "Thank God for Evolution," which his atheist wife helped write, Dowd preaches the "gospel according to evolution."
Why pastor Michael Dowd evangelizes on evolution
The Oklahoman
By Carla Hinton
The Rev. Michael Dowd is excited about the theory of evolution, part of a "sacred story."
Charles Darwin's theory that today's species evolved from more primitive ones continues to draw opposition from many Christian faith groups because it conflicts with their beliefs that God is the creator of life as told in the biblical Book of Genesis. However, Dowd, an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ, travels the country speaking about the ways science and religion peacefully intersect when it comes to evolution.
Evolution or bust
St. Louis Telegraph
Preacher brings evolution roadshow to St. Louis
By Jill Moon
ST. LOUIS - Apropos of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday this year, the Rev. Michael Dowd sings the praises of evolution in the context of Christianity.
We All Live in Darwin's World
Discover Magazine
by Karen WrightYou could call Helen Fisher a Darwinian matchmaker. The acclaimed anthropologist from Rutgers University is also a best-selling author of books on love and the chief scientific adviser to an online dating service called Chemistry.com. This service utilizes a questionnaire that Fisher developed after years of research on the science of romantic attraction. It reveals which of four broad, biologically based personality types an applicant displays and helps identify partners with compatible brain chemistry. In designing the questionnaire, Fisher relied on the principles of evolutionary psychology, a field inspired by Charles Darwin’s insights. She has even used those principles to size up Darwin himself. (He is a “negotiator,” “imaginative and theoretical,” “unassuming, agreeable, and intuitive”—but also married, alas, and dead.)Fisher’s work is just one of the innumerable offshoots of Darwin’s grand theory of life. In the 150 years since the publication of On the Origin of Species, it seems no sphere of human thought or activity has been left untouched by Darwinian analysis. Evolutionary theory has infiltrated the social sciences, where it has been used to explain human politics and spending habits. It has transformed computer science, inspiring problem-solving algorithms that adapt and change like living things. It is cited by a leading theoretical physicist who proposes that evolution helped shape the laws governing the cosmos. A renowned neuroscientist sees ideas of selection as describing the honing of connections among brain cells. Literary critics analyze the plots, themes, and characters of novels according to Darwinian precepts. Even religion, the sector most famously at odds with Darwin, now claims an evolutionary evangelist.
Preaching 'Gospel of Evolution'
ABC News
Father Beck talks to evangelical preacher about his belief in evolution.
Rev. Michael Dowd shares insights behind ‘Thank God for Evolution’
San Marcos Daily Record
The San Marcos Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will present where the Rev. Michael Dowd will offer a discussion covering the major themes of his 2008 book, Thank God for Evolution, How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World.
Residents are invited to learn how, in Dowd's opinion, our modern understanding of the universe, as given by mainstream science, builds bridges, provides guidance, and restores realistic hope for individuals and families, for humanity, and for the body of life as a whole.
Dowd to discuss religion and science
The Houstonian
Ruth Johnson
Michael Dowd, a traveling reverend, will speak at SHSH on how the theories of God and evolution really go hand-in-hand.
Two hundred years from the day that Charles Darwin was born, and around 150 years after the publishing of "The Origin of Species," Dowd will be presenting evolution in the context of religion.
An evangelical preacher says Jesus would've liked Charles Darwin
New Hampshire Public Radio
By Virginia Prescott
Evolutionary evangelist brings message to Huntsville
The Huntsville Item
By Stuart Williamson
The Rev. Michael Dowd, America's evolutionary evangelist, will offer a free, two-hour presentation on Thursday at the Katy and E. Don Walker Jr. Education Center, 1402 19th Street in Huntsville, beginning at 7 p.m.
Admission is free and the event is open to the public.
In his talk, Dowd will cover the major themes of his new book, "Thank God for Evolution!" which has received endorsements from five Nobel laureates as well as endorsements from leaders across the religious spectrum.
Evolution-Loving Evangelical Comes To Houston
Houston Press
by Olivia Flores Alvarez
It's been 200 years since the birth of Darwin, and 150 years since the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species, so we guess it's about time that religion and science stopped fighting and figured out some common ground.
The Reverend Michael Dowd, an ordained evangelical preacher, and his wife Connie Barlow, an atheist, are doing their part to make that happen. They travel the country with The Gospel of Evolution Roadshow (it's really just Dowd and his wife in a camper), preaching the marriage of science and faith, God and technology, and they've made it to Houston.
Dowd says you can't truly have one without the other and he's got a pretty good argument as to why.
