It's nice to have friends on the religious side of church-state separation issues. Then, it's more difficult for theocracy proponents to argue that church-state separation = atheism.
http://www.evolutionsunday.org/
Celebrate Evolution Sunday 11 February 2007
By Michael Zimmerman
The Second Annual Evolution Sunday will occur on February 11th
2007. Your help is needed to make this day a success. This date
is an opportunity for congregations across the country (indeed,
around the world) to join together to discuss the compatibility of
religion and science. Evolution Sunday is being sponsored by The
Clergy Letter Project, a collection of more than 10,400 members of
the Christian clergy who have signed a letter asserting that
Christianity and modern evolutionary science need not be at odds
with one another.
In a two paragraph plea (reproduced below), these Christian clergy
members assert that they "believe that the timeless truths of the
Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably
coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational
scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and
upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests."
They go on to urge that modern evolutionary theory rather than any form of
creationism or intelligent design be taught in our country's public
schools and conclude by requesting that "We ask that science remain
science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but
complementary, forms of truth."
One of the main goals of The Clergy Letter Project is to
demonstrate to the broad spectrum of Christian believers that,
unlike what is being shrilly shouted by many fundamentalist
ministers, a choice does not have to be made between religion and
science. Because the two are compatible, congregants should feel
comfortable accepting both. Additionally, the signers of The
Clergy Letter want to go on record making it clear that those
fundamentalist ministers are not speaking for the majority of
Christian clergy.
Last year, in an attempt to further this message and to elevate the
quality of the national discussion on this topic, The Clergy Letter
Project sponsored the First Annual Evolution Sunday event. On this
day, 467 congregations from every state, the District of Columbia
and five countries participated by hearing sermons, having an adult
education class or a children's Sunday school class, or joining in
a lunch discussion group. While each participating congregation
chose an event that made the most sense locally, together a major
international statement was made.
Last year, Evolution Sunday received a great deal of very positive
national publicity with articles in virtually every major newspaper
in the country. Indeed, the one in the New York Times was the most
e-mail article for the week it appeared. Additionally, it is clear
the event hit a nerve with creationists: both the Discovery
Institute and Answers in Genesis issued press releases condemning
Evolution Sunday.
The Second Annual Evolution Sunday event has now been scheduled for
11 February 2007. If you are a part of a congregation, please
think about having it participate. It is only by broadening the
base in this way that we will be able to reach out to a growing
number of people and, hopefully, improve the understanding that
people have about the interrelationship between science and
religion.
Signing up is easy. Simply send an e-mail to Michael Zimmerman at
mz@butler.edu indicating your congregation's desire to participate
along with the name and location of your congregation and its
leader. Your congregation will be immediately added to the growing
list.
The Clergy Letter Project's web pages provide more than 50 sermons
delivered by clergy last year on this topic. Check them out at
www.evolutionsunday.org. So, if you or a member of the clergy you
know are in need of ideas, this is a good place to start.
Additionally, if you are a member of the Clergy and have not yet
signed The Clergy Letter, please think about doing so. A note with
your name, congregation (optional) and address to mz@butler.edu
will get you signed up.
Most importantly, please help by spreading the word about The
Clergy Letter Project and Evolution Sunday to others who might be
interested in participating. Please forward this note to friends
and colleagues and ask them to do the same. Please post this note
on as many list serves as you can. In short, please help us reach
more people as quickly as we can. Efforts like this will make a
positive difference for both religion and science around the
country.
Michael Zimmerman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
and Professor of Biology at Butler University, Indianapolis,
Indiana, is the founder of The Clergy Letter Project.
Visit The Clergy Letter Project on the Web at
www.evolutionsunday.org
The Clergy Letter
Within the community of Christian believers there are areas of
dispute and disagreement, including the proper way to interpret
Holy Scripture. While virtually all Christians take the Bible
seriously and hold it to be authoritative in matters of faith and
practice, the overwhelming majority do not read the Bible
literally, as they would a science textbook. Many of the beloved
stories found in the Bible the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and
the ark convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the
proper relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the
only form capable of transmitting these truths from generation to
generation. Religious truth is of a different order from scientific
truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to
transform hearts.
We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different
traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the
discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe
that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth,
one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of
human knowledge and achievement rests. To reject this truth or to
treat it as one theory among others is to deliberately embrace
scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children.
We believe that among God's good gifts are human minds capable of
critical thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is
a rejection of the will of our Creator. To argue that God's loving
plan of salvation for humanity precludes the full employment of the
God-given faculty of reason is to attempt to limit God, an act of
hubris. We urge school board members to preserve the integrity of
the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of
evolution as a core component of human knowledge. We ask that
science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very
different, but complementary, forms of truth.
Signed by 10,418 Christian clergy member as of 19 December 2006
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