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Early in the first week of May, 2008, the little town of Cold Spring, Minnesota, had a very interesting visitor. The man's name was Michael Dowd, and he came to share his story about the book he has written called, "Thank God For Evolution". Dowd was a guest speaker at Peace Lutheran Church and shared his story about traveling around the country with his wife Connie Barlow, spreading their message of Evolutionary Theology. An audience of about 75 persons listened to Dowd's two hour presentation.
The following is the PROLOGUE from his book.
“Satan obviously has a foothold in this school!” I told my room-
mate twenty-five years ago at Evangel University. Moments
earlier, I had stormed out of freshman biology class after the
teacher held up the textbook we were going to use, and I recognized it as
one that taught evolution. How else could I explain why a Bible-believ-
ing, Assemblies of God institution would teach evolution?
A little background…
I grew up Roman Catholic. As a teenager—like so many of my peers dur-
ing the 1970s—I struggled with alcohol, drugs, and sexuality. In 1979,
while in Berlin, Germany, and serving in the U.S. Army, I was “born
again.” Six months later I experienced what Pentecostals call “baptism
in the Holy Spirit,” evidenced by speaking in tongues. For the next three
years, the people I fellowshipped with, the books I read, the television
programs I watched, and the music I listened to all reflected a funda-
mentalist perspective strongly opposed to evolution.
I was taught that evolution was of the devil. It was antithetical to
the Word of God and would seduce people away from godly thinking
and living. I believed Darwinism was the root of most social problems,
and I was deeply concerned for my friends and family—especially those
caught in the snares of a secular humanistic worldview. I even distrib-
uted anti-evolution tracts and was eager to debate anyone who thought
the world was more than six thousand years old. So how was I to make
sense of the fact, as I soon discovered at Evangel, that virtually all evan-
gelical colleges and universities teach evolution?
The shift occurred in three steps. First, I came to know and trust sev-
eral students and teachers before learning that they held evolutionary
worldviews. Having already conversed, prayed, sung, and worshipped
with each, I couldn’t write any of them off as demonically possessed. The
second influence was the biblical studies and philosophy courses I took
at Evangel. Both the content and the professors reinforced the idea that
“all truth is God’s truth.” The final element in my transformation was a
budding friendship with a Roman Catholic hospital chaplain and former
Trappist monk, Tobias Meeker. Before I discovered that Toby considered
himself a “Buddhist-Christian,” and that he embraced a process theology
understanding of evolution, I had already assessed that he was the most
Christ-like man I had ever met.
The past two and a half decades have been an amazing journey. After
completing my undergraduate work at Evangel (double majoring in bibli-
cal studies and philosophy), I went on to earn a Master of Divinity degree
at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Although I learned to accept
evolution at Evangel, I did so only with my mind—not my heart. That
final shift happened suddenly, in February 1988. I was in Boston for the
first session of a course titled “The New Catholic Mysticism,” taught by
cultural therapist Albert LaChance. Albert began by telling the scientific
story of the Universe in a way that I had never heard it told before—as a
sacred epic. Less than an hour into the evening, I began to weep. I knew
I would spend the rest of my life sharing this perspective as great news.
My evangelizing began shortly thereafter as an avocation wedged into the
rest of my life. Even so, virtually everything I’ve preached and written
since that epiphany has been in service of a God-glorifying understand-
ing of evolution, such that others, too, might experience our common cre-
ation story as gospel and be inspired to serve God accordingly.
By no longer opposing evolution, but wholeheartedly embracing it as
the “Great Story” of 14 billion years of divine grace and creativity, I now
have a more intimate relationship with God and a more joyful walk with
Christ than ever before. Throughout this book, I will be sharing how
and why this is the case, and I will do so in ways that non-Christians
and non-religious people can also celebrate.
The Marriage of Science and Religion
Over the course of ten years, I pastored three United Church of Christ con-
gregations—one in New England and two in the Midwest—before shifting
careers into interfaith sustainability work and community organizing. In
the spring of 2000, I attended a Pentecostal/Charismatic worship service
near my childhood home of Poughkeepsie, New York. I’ve always loved
the energy and enthusiasm of “Spirit-filled” worship. At a moment when
the congregation was swept up in ecstatic praise, the woman who had
invited me turned and grasped my hands. “I have a word from God for
you,” she declared. “Great!” I replied. She continued, “Thus sayeth the
Lord, ‘My son, I have called thee home to reveal thy true mission. Step
out boldly with thy beloved and fear not. For I will bless thy steps and thy
ministry more abundantly than thou canst imagine.’”
Several thoughts raced through my mind. The first: “Praise God! I’m
ready!” Then, “I wonder why God likes Elizabethan English so much?” Fi-
nally, “Whoa boy, did you hear that? God said, ‘with your beloved.’ You’d
better get moving, dude. You don’t even have a girlfriend!”
Several months later my friend’s prophetic words were made flesh. I
met science writer Connie Barlow at a lecture given by cosmologist Bri-
an Swimme at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City. Connie
was the author of four books, and two of them had “evolution” in their
titles (Evolution Extended: Biological Debates on the Meaning of Life and
The Ghosts of Evolution). She, too, was a long-time “epic of evolution”
enthusiast. What is more, her passion for sharing a sacred understand-
ing of cosmic history was no less than mine. Seven months later I asked
Connie to marry me. Three weeks after that, we were wed at the Earth-
Spirit Rising Conference on Ecology, Spirituality, and the Great Work,
which was held in Louisville, Kentucky in June 2001. Surely this was
a marriage of science and religion. Connie was a self-described atheist,
and her professional life was steeped in the sciences. My life was devot-
ed to religion. Our union embraces both.
Three months later, the World Trade Center was attacked. We were
living north of New York City, and Connie had a scheduled meeting in
Tower No. 1 the very next day. The collapse of the towers forced us to
reevaluate our priorities. A month later, we were watching the final in-
stallment of the PBS television special, Evolution: A Journey into Where
We’re From and Where We’re Going. That episode was titled “What About
God?” It examined the struggle that conservative Christian college stu-
dents face in trying to embrace both evolution and a pre-evolutionary
interpretation of their faith. As the program ended, Connie turned to me
and said, “You need to be out there speaking to those students. You need
to show how an evolutionary understanding can enrich one’s faith!”
Connie and I were still newlyweds. I had no idea she was prepared
to follow through—personally—on her declaration. A few weeks later,
after a frustrating day at work, I told her (not really serious, just sort of
whining), “You know, I wish we could just travel non-stop, teaching and
preaching the Great Story wherever we go.” Her response was astound-
ing. Looking me in the eyes, she said with utter conviction, “I’d love to
do that!”
Itinerant Evolutionary Evangelism
Since April 2002, Connie and I have been full-time “evolutionary evan-
gelists.” We live permanently on the road, offering a spiritually nour-
ishing view of evolution throughout North America. In the tradition of
traveling preachers, we gave up our worldly possessions, left our home,
and now carry everything we need in our van. We go wherever we are
invited. Our goal is to inspire people of all ages and theological orienta-
tions to embrace the history of everyone and everything in personally
and socially transforming ways.
We offer a view of our collective evolutionary journey that fires the
imagination, touches the heart, and leaves people wanting more. We
keep our distance from the polarized science versus religion conflict
that festers in our society, particularly with respect to public school edu-
cation. In the few hours or days that we engage with any given group,
we present only the most compelling and alluring features of what many
call “the epic of evolution” or “the Great Story.” As with other leaders
in this movement, we believe that the 14-billion-year story of cosmic,
Earth, life, and cultural history can enrich any and all of humanity’s
cherished creation stories and religious paths.
In our first five years on the road, we have delivered Sunday ser-
mons, evening programs, and multi-day workshops in more than five
hundred churches, convents, monasteries, and spiritual centers across
the continent, including liberal and conservative Roman Catholic, Prot-
estant, Evangelical, Unitarian Universalist, Unity, Religious Science,
Quaker, Mennonite, and Buddhist groups. We have also presented audi-
ence-appropriate versions of this message in nearly a hundred secular
settings, including colleges, high schools, grade schools, nature centers,
and public libraries.
When we launched our ministry, we chose to display on our van
both a Jesus fish and a Darwin fish—kissing. Many passersby flash a
smile when they see it, although disapproving responses are not uncom-
mon. A retired biology professor in Lawrence, Kansas, took one look at
the decals and laughed, “Oh great! Now you piss everyone off!”
maintaining a light-hearted approach. Our fishy pairing of what many
regard as oppositional was thus a playful reminder to ourselves of who
we wish to be along our shared journey.
Life on the road is far from a hardship. Connie and I have no home
base in the usual sense, but North America as a whole feels like home
to us. We are blessed to experience the stunning beauty of this vast con-
tinent. More, we rarely stay in public lodgings. Instead, we are invited
into people’s homes for a few days or perhaps a week at a time—and
this, too, nurtures our souls.
Connie and I love being part of what is now a fast-growing move-
ment that unites people across the theological and philosophical spec-
trum. Throughout this book, you will find a wealth of quotations from
others who, like us, hold a sacred view of evolution. I will also share
personal stories gleaned from our experiences on the road. These stories
include evolutionary epiphanies—when people suddenly see the mean-
ing of their lives in a larger context.
A dozen years before Connie and I met, cosmologist Brian Swimme
issued a proclamation that we are now privileged to live: “We are in the
midst of a revelatory experience of the Universe that must be compared
in its magnitude with those of the great religious revelations. And we
need only wander about telling this Great Story to ignite a transforma-
tion of humanity.”
Amen!
(PROLOGUE Reprinted Here With Permission Of The Author)
Visit The WEBSITE:Thank God For Evolution
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