Re: "Creation Sunday"

Keith,

I share your sadness, and I am disgusted at the libelous statements about the Christians who reflected on Charles Darwin and evolution on Feb. 12. I also think there is something ironic about this movement, because there really is no need for a "Creation Sunday"; there are numerous instances throughout the Christian liturgical year where the creation is celebrated in the Bible lessons for the day, providing texts for preaching on creation. For example, on the Sunday after next, Christians will celebrate Trinity Sunday, an occasion when the Triune God may be honored and praised as Creator of the universe, and the roles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the creation explored and reflected upon doctrinally. Christians in those churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary (or the Episcopal lectionary) for choosing Bible readings for Sunday services will find many of the creation passages in both the old and new testaments occurring throughout the year, giving occasions for preaching and reflection. Those interested can find a list of those passages in ASA associate Phina Borgeson's "Preachng on Creation" at the Episcopal Network for Science, Technology and Faith home page: www.episcopalchurch.org/science/, click "Catechism of Creation" and follow the links to "Preaching on Creation."

Obviously what this letter is referring to is the YEC portrait of a six-day creation, not to be confused with the doctrine of creation that we share in common.

What we all could do is encourage our pastors and preachers to use occasions from Bible lessons to preach about God's relationship to his wonderful creation throughout the year (even if they don't follow a lectionary!).

Bob

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Keith Miller
  To: American Scientific Affiliation
  Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 10:26 AM
  Subject: "Creation Sunday"

  This was pointed out in the ACG listserve.

  So very sad to see this issue be used by some Christians as an absolutely defining issue of the Christian faith. The rejection of the majority of Christian believers in the name of Christian unity is beyond sad.

  Keith

  OPEN LETTER/'CREATION
  SUNDAY' CAMPAIGN
  Join with hundreds of thousands of others (no money involved)-to show that Christians can cooperate globally, and do care about the forces of secularism and atheism creeping into the church.
  This email has been passed on to you by a concerned Christian friend who hopes you will
  a) read it and sign the open letter aiming for a million signatures and
  b) pass this email on to all your Christian friends.
  Churches Celebrate 'Evolution Sunday'
  In a move designed to discredit the very foundations of God's Word, atheistic groups organized a successful campaign to recognize Charles Darwin's birthday by celebrating 'Darwin Day' on February 12. Sadly, in 2006, hundreds of churches across America and other parts of the world joined them in celebrating this day as 'Evolution Sunday' and, worse still, over 10,000 clergy signed an 'open letter' supporting evolution. It's amazing that the church could be involved in such a thing, particularly when it is endorsed by the openly humanistic organization the National Centre for Science Education (see NCSE).
  Even a famous atheist understood that this was a foundational issue for the Christian faith when he said:
  'If there never was an Adam and Eve there never was an original sin. If there never was an original sin there is no need of salvation. If there is no need of salvation there is no need of a saviour.'
  Join This Powerful Counter-campaign-Please
  Read On
  We have special days on the church calendar to celebrate Christ's birth, death and resurrection. It is well-known that these are arbitrary dates, often borrowed from existing pagan rituals. So why not have a 'Creation Sunday'*, to coincide with this neopagan nature-worship ritual of 'Evolution Sunday'?
  A tradition is just that, but a 'Creation Sunday'* that became widespread would serve as a potent, recurring reminder to take Genesis seriously and focus on the Creator. And with the prevalence of creation information worldwide expanding exponentially, churches would be more open to considering how science and the Bible really do line up-by starting with biblical history, not the other way around.
  Creation Ministries International, with offices across the world, is aiming for a million signatures from Christians on its global website. By signing our open letter we hope to:
  · make the church and others realize that this is an important issue for vast numbers of people.
  · start this 'new church tradition' of 'Creation Sunday'* to remind believers everywhere of the vital foundational doctrine of Genesis creation.
  How Hard Could it be to Get a Million?
  Just imagine, if we send this to 10,000 Christians (we have actually just sent it to many more from our mailing lists worldwide), and if only one half of them signed the petition and sent it on to five other Christians, and half of those did likewise, and so on, there would be more than TWO MILLION after only SEVEN ROUNDS.
  ONE MILLION signatures would make an immensely powerful lobbying tool; we would then let all those one million people know, and each of them could notify their church leaders that such a huge number worldwide wanted to have this concept. Hopefully, the momentum would be unstoppable.
  Help Start a New Thing and Alert
  'God's Army'-The Church
  So please, take a minute or two to go to the website form on this link now-OPEN LETTER/CREATION SUNDAY PETITION-and add your name to others so we can get a million as soon as possible.
  Then send this email to as many Christians as you can think of around the world-it's for a great cause, one that will show that Christians can cooperate, and impact the course of history-God willing.
  Thank you for reading the message. Please click on the link above and sign the open letter/creation Sunday petition.
  In Christ
  Ken Glasgow
  The wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.
Received on Thu Jun 1 12:25:09 2006