TruthBook Religious News Blog

‘Evolutionary evangelists’ reconcile science, religion in book, talks

By Rob Cullivan

Apr 4, 2008

Do you believe the biblical story of creation is literally true, symbolically true, a little of both, or none of the above?

No matter what you believe, the Rev. Michael Dowd wants you to consider that there may be another story behind the creation story – and that’s the story of evolution. He’s presented his belief in “sacred evolution” to Christians, Buddhists, atheists, agnostics and other groups, and has earned kudos from scientists and religious thinkers alike for his work.

Dowd, 49, notes that he met a number of Christians on his spiritual journey who also believed in evolution and who changed his mind on the subject. As he learned more about science and evolution, he saw them as pointing toward God, not away.

“What I was gaining was a sense of divine revelation that wasn’t going back a few thousand years, but going back millions of years. Science is showing us what God is revealing.”

Dowd has become a zealot for his faith, which reconciles evolution and religion, and has written about it in his book “Thank God for Evolution.” In his view, God is the ultimate “nest egg” of all that is, the “Ultimate Reality,” so to speak, out of which all other “eggs” are hatched – namely, all that is. Evolution is not some meaningless, random series of events, but a meaningful march of the universe trying to come to know itself.

One reason people have rejected evolution, he says, is because it’s taught as a coldhearted “survival of the fittest,” when it should be more accurately described as “survival of what fits.” On that note, cooperation among living things to survive is as much a component of evolution as competition, he says, noting that humans can take charge of their evolution by cooperating more, a stance religious and non-religious people alike can understand.

“Cooperative individuals and organizations will almost always out-compete non-cooperative individuals and organizations.”

He adds that he has Portland ties – he lived in the city from 1996 to 2000, and served as campaign manager for the Portland Sustainable Lifestyle Campaign, organizing “eco-teams” of neighbors who encouraged each other to live sustainable lifestyles, consuming less water and composting as just two examples.

He and his wife, science writer Connie Barlow, have spent the last several years on the road, as “evolutionary evangelists.” He adds that the gospel they preach contains elements that people of conservative, moderate and liberal mindsets can accept, even if they don’t always agree on other matters.

“What ultimately I think matters is how well we cooperate across ethnic, religious lines to co-create a just, healthy, beautiful and sustainable life-giving future.”

Labels: creationism, evolution, Michael Dowd, Rob Cullivan

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Monday, February 25, 2008

Science meets belief as couple put evolution in a sacred context

Science meets belief as couple put evolution in a sacred context

By Sandi Dolbee
UNION-TRIBUNE RELIGION & ETHICS EDITOR

February 23, 2008

Michael Dowd preaches an evolutionary theology.

Some say you can tell a lot about people from the cars they drive. The Rev. Michael Dowd drives a camper van with drawings of two fish, one labeled “Jesus” and the other “Darwin,” who are kissing each other with red hearts above them.

For nearly six years, Dowd, a former United Church of Christ minister, and his wife, science writer Connie Barlow, have traveled the country preaching the gospel of evolution with evangelistic zeal.

It's time to declare an end to the war between science and faith, he argues. He says the facts are indisputable: Earth and its inhabitants evolved over billions of years. But that's OK, he adds, because God, or whatever name you want to give to a higher power, was and is still involved.

“Imagine a realm of nothingness,” says Dowd, invoking an image of the beginning of time. “God is the essence of that everything. Everything that emerges is not emerging outside of God, but within God.”

In the beginning

Biblical creationism: God created the earth and everything in it over six days, as told in Genesis, the opening book of the Bible, going back roughly 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. There are varying interpretations over whether the time frame was six literal days or six long periods.

Biological evolution: Earth and its life forms developed over a gradual process, beginning with the most primitive organisms billions of years ago. According to the National Academy of Sciences, evolution “has been confirmed repeatedly through observation and experiment in a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines.”

Theistic evolution: Sometimes referred to as evolutionary creationism, it embraces both God and evolution. God created the universe through an evolutionary process, therefore Genesis and science complement each other.

Keith Mesecher, a longtime member of First Unitarian Universalist Church, says he's “totally turned on” by Dowd's message that humans contain billions of years of evolution inside of them. “We have the wisdom of the universe in us,” says Mesecher, who led the music at last Friday night's revival.

As for Dowd, 49, he credits his wife with pushing him to follow his dream of becoming an itinerant preacher for this cause. Barlow, a 55-year-old author of several science books, joins him in his presentations, coaxing audiences to regard the evolution of the world as an evolving narrative. “Michael and I view this as the story of the changing story,” she says.

The New York couple shed their belongings (they don't even have a storage bin) and took to the road in April 2002.

They live out of a white Dodge Sprinter, staying in people's homes during their speaking gigs and supporting themselves with donations and proceeds from the sales of books and tapes. They also have two Web sites: thegreatstory.org and thankgodforevolution.com.

He admits that most of their audiences are liberal congregations who are not wedded to biblical literalism and are already sympathetic to evolutionary teachings. But he says he admires creationists for their fervor and admonishes atheists for “having no respect for religious language.”

Dowd's not alone in this campaign to mend fences between science and religion. Earlier this month, more than 800 U.S. congregations participated in the third annual Evolution Weekend, when sermons and seminars are geared to what supporters regard as the compatibility of evolutionary science and spiritual beliefs.

Still, however, opinion polls show that Dowd remains in the minority.

Americans have repeatedly embraced creationism over evolution. As recently as 2006, a poll conducted for CBS News found that 55 percent of Americans surveyed said they believe God created humans in their present form, compared with 13 percent who said they believed in evolution. The remainder favored theistic evolution, a belief that humans evolved but God guided the process.

Dowd figures he'll be spreading this message on wheels for the rest of his life. So far, he has bookings into fall 2009. Tomorrow, he is due to be in Lancaster, followed by stops in Riverside, Ojai and Anaheim. Then, the white camper van with the kissing fish will push farther north, continuing to spread his gospel that Jesus loves Darwin.

Labels: Connie Barlow, evolution, evolutionary creationism, God, Michael Dowd, Sandi Dolbee, Theistic evolution, theology