Re: [asa] Jonathan Wells essay

I've signed the clergy letter circulated by Prof. Zimmerman, though (as I've told him) some of the implicit theology in it is less than ideal. I agree though that "Evolution Sunday" is something that could be handled badly.

1st, the pulpit is not the place to "preach evolution." What is to be preached is law & gospel, directed toward real concerns in the lives of people - which may include evolution. I think though that classes where there are opportunities for questions, discussions &c are generally better venues for dealing with such matters.

2d, for churches that follow the traditional church year & use the lectionary, evolution just doesn't fit at this point in the year. It would be dealt with better in the summer.

3d, if I remember correctly, the February date was chosen because of its proximity to Darwin's birthday. Focussing on that is a mistake. Darwin & "Darwinism" are already demonized by anti-evolutionists (as they are apotheosized, if that's a word, by some evolutionists), & highlighting Darwin plays into their hands.

4th, I've had some experience in developing & collecting liturgical materials which involve scientific & technological themes. That can be done well, but it can also be done badly. & bad liturgy (often what one of my friends called "fast food liturgy") can be really bad.

But - if worship & education leaders are alert to those concerns, & know what they're talking about both scientifically & theologically, having a Sunday on which special attention is given to an evolutionary understanding of creation can be helpful.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Keith Miller
  To: American Scientific Affiliation
  Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 10:44 AM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Jonathan Wells essay

    Does anyone else think it's more than a bit ridiculous for a scientific

    theory to have its own Sunday? Why don't we have "gravity Sunday" or

    "quantum mechanics Sunday?" Maybe we should also have a Sunday for all

    the

    theories that didn't quite pan out, like "Luminiferous Aether Sunday" or

    "Steady State Cosmology Sunday." Of course, some churches probably will

    have "Ancient Near Eastern Cosmogony Sunday" instead of "Evolution

    Sunday,"

    but that seems to be just the other side of the same coin.

  The problem is that many CHRISTIANS HAVE MADE this a fundamental theological/moral issue. As a result, I think that it is entirely appropriate, and in fact valuable, for the church to address the issue from a solid Creation theology perspective. I don't suspect that many churches will be teaching the science of evolutionary theory in their services. Rather, I would hope that the focus would be on the theology of Creation and hermeneutics. Whether there is an "Evolution Sunday" or not, it is important for pastors and Christian educators to address the issue. I would similarly argue that the local church should also provide theological instruction to guide their members in thinking about other prominent issues such as stem cell research, or climate change. The local church should not be expected to teach about the science, but the theological foundations for addressing these questions should be taught. Christians will get their guidance to navigate such questions from other sources (the local Christian book shelf) if not in the local church.

  Keith

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Received on Wed Jan 31 11:08:15 2007