Preacher to tell O.C. church Thank God for Evolution
Orange County Register
by Gary Robbins
Author-preacher Michael Dowd will visit Anaheim’s Unitarian Universalist Church on Friday to give a free public talk in which he’ll present evolution as theology instead of theory. The 7 p.m. lecture is largely drawn from his new book, “Thank God for Evolution!”, which has been praised by five Nobel laureates. I recently asked Rev. Dowd about his views via e-mail:
Q: Why should Christians thank God for evolution? It runs counter to the message in the Bible.
First Presbyterian Church to celebrate Evolution Weekend
Northeast Tennessee Elizabethton Star
By Greg Miller
“Evolution Weekend is an outgrowth of the Clergy Letter Project,” said the Rev. John Shuck, pastor. “This was started by Dr. Michael Zimmerman of Butler University. This is from the Web site: “The Clergy Letter Project is an endeavor designed to demonstrate that religion and science can be compatible and to elevate the quality of the debate of this issue.” Evolution WeekendShuck’s sermon for this weekend is “Evolutionary Christianity.” “The fact of evolution has caused me to look differently at many of the traditional Christian doctrines that were formulated when people believed that we lived in a three-tiered universe,” Shuck said. “The ancients believed that the earth was flat and the sun, moon, and stars moved across the dome of the sky. Science has broadened our horizons of cosmology as well as the emergence and evolution of life on earth.”Shuck continued, “Evolutionary Christianity takes seriously that the Universe is 13.7 billion years old and that life on Earth began 4 billion years ago. Human beings are part of this evolutionary process. Evolutionary Christianity begins with the facts of science and then seeks to understand our meaning and purpose. Evolutionary Christianity does not throw out traditional Christian theology by any means, but seeks to reinterpret it to fit our modern understanding. As our collective knowledge evolves, Christianity also evolves.”
Weekend devoted to science, religion
San Mateo County Times
Congregations worldwide to explore dichotomy, express support of evolutionBy Christine Morente BELMONT — Tom Tan does not have problems attesting that God is the architect of life. In fact, the biochemist has faith that evolution didn't just happen by accident.
"We're learning more and more about how cells work, how DNA is regulated, how RNA is regulated, and how protein is regulated," the San Francisco resident said. "It's incredibly complex. It's hard for me to imagine that molecules came about, and all of a sudden we have life."
Tan, 33, is a member of the Congregational Church of Belmont. He thinks that science and faith go hand in hand, and he's pleased that he's not the only one.
This weekend, many congregations across the country and around the world will participate in Evolution Weekend, starting Friday and ending on Sunday.
America's Evolutionary Evangelist Michael Dowd
Sedona.biz
Sedona, AZ - Come hear Reverend Michael Dowd share a gospel that's billions of years old, and find out why Americans everywhere are engaging in a life-changing new conversation about Creation. The place is the Sedona Public Library. The date is Thursday, February 7th at 7PM.See for yourself why Nobel Prize winning scientists and religious leaders across the spectrum are lining up to praise his bold new book that builds bridges, provides guidance, and restores realistic hope for people of any religion or belief system.Reverend Michael Dowd has been technically homeless for the past six years, roaming the fifty states in his Dodge Sprinter (named "Angel"), speaking to hundreds of congregations a year. He's on a mission, he says, to proclaim the gospel. The "Gospel of Evolution," that is.
Science Meets Religion ... Amicably?
Tucson Weekly
By MATTHEW KIELTY and ANDREW MORTAZAVI
Two weeks ago, City Week recommended a lecture by Victor Stenger, who avows that modern science disproves the existence of God. In the interest of a multiplicity of perspectives, this week, I urge you to attend a lecture by the Rev. Michael Dowd, whose new book, Thank God for Evolution!, celebrates "the marriage of science and religion."
You may now be thinking, "Huh? I thought intelligent-design theorists were out for Darwinist blood."
But Dowd, a traveling spokesperson for evolution theology, stresses that while he isn't critical of the intelligent-design movement, he realizes it will never appeal to mainstream science.
Michael Dowd: The Marriage of Science and Religion
Tapestry (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.)
Two fish kissing. It could be the stuff of a kindergarten drawing, or a greeting card. But this particular pair of fish is something else. It represents the marriage of two very potent symbols. One stands for Christianity. The other is for Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The man who envisioned them puckering up is Michael Dowd. He has served as the pastor of three United Church of Christ congregations. He is the author of Thank God for Evolution - How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World. It's published by Council Oak Books.
Listen to the show (runs: 54:05)
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Science and religion are being reconciled
Canadian Times & Transcript
By Carmel HigginsI am now reading a wonderful book by Michael Dowd titled, "Thank God for Evolution." Dowd, a born-again Christian turned evolutionary evangelist, explains the new story and cosmology in a way that is believable and faith enhancing.Drawing from a host of others on the same journey, and on what he calls ongoing public revelations in contrast to private revelations, he integrates the findings of present day science with an evolutionary faith.By evolutionary faith he means having the ability to change in the same way our skin has been changed from the scaly reptilian skin of our ancestors. Some of our beliefs, he claims, may have so little utility as to disappear altogether, just as the primate tail was lost within our lineage of apes.Religious fundamentalists do have one thing right, Dowd claims. Reconciling ancient texts with modern understandings is no solution. "We cannot command that a 'flat Earth faith' jump into a lukewarm bath drawn by science or step into a cold shower of reason."
Dowd considers Darwin and the divine a natural combination
Brownwood Bulletin
By Candace Cooksey FultonMichael Dowd, author of “Thank God for Evolution,” has accepted an invitation to speak at an open forum this week in Brownwood. Dowd, 49, an ordained Christian minister and former Baptist and United Church of Christ pastor, described the “Gospel of Evolution” as a program presenting evolution as theology, not theory. “The marriage of science and religion builds bridges and restores hope, realistic hope, individually and collectively,” Dowd said in a press release. “People across the religious and philosophical spectrum are waking up to the fact that cosmic, biological and human history is our shared sacred epic, our common creation story.”
Author's theory merges science, religion
Abilene Reporter News
By Celinda Emison
For the Rev. Michael Dowd, the "Gospel of Evolution," is a sacred way of thinking -- a new way to bring science and religion together.Dowd will be in Brownwood Thursday night as part of his monthlong tour of Texas, discussing the topic explained in his book, "Thank God for Evolution."Dowd has gained national and international acclaim promoting the mobile ministry he shares with his wife, Connie Barlow, a science writer who wrote "Evolution Extended" and "The Ghosts of Evolution."The couple have been traveling across the nation for the past six years, speaking in a variety of venues including schools, college campuses and churches.Dowd maintains that his theory "breathes new life into the core values at the heart of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and other religions."
Rev. Michael Dowd and his book Thank God for Evolution!
KUAF-FM
FAYETTEVILLE, AR Michael Dowd grew up Roman Catholic, served in the army and received a diploma from an evangelical college. And now he spends his time spreading what he calls the gospel of evolution. Here's more from Kyle Kellams' interview with Rev. Dowd and his wife, Connie Barlow.
> Listen to the full interview.
