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Thank God for Evolution!
Duration:
4 minutes and 20 seconds
Country:
United States
Language:
English
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News Broadcast
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735
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Posted by:
richhenry on Jul 21, 2009
An interview with Rev. Michael Dowd, author of "Thank God for Evolution" on Fox and Friends.
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Video Transcription
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- Welcome back to Fox & Friends.
- Pope Benedict says there should not be a clash between science and religion.
- Still, many oppose teaching them both in school.
- And our next guest says that understanding evolution can actually help deepen your faith.
- The author of "Thank God for Evolution," Rev. Michael Dowd
- joins us now. Reverend, thanks for being here.
- Great to be here Alisyn.
- So, evolution, as you well know, vs. creationism - that's always been the struggle
- in the classroom. In fact, many people treat them as mutually exclusive.
- Why don't they have to be?
- Well, in part because what we're learning is that
- science can be understood in a sacred, meaningful way.
- That God, for example, has revealed some major things in the last 200 years
- that the Biblical writers couldn't have possibly understood.
- Extinctions, evolution, and not just the evolution of biological forms,
- but all evolution, the evolution of galaxies and star systems,
- glaciers, we didn't know that.
- The apostle Paul, Moses, could not have possibly known that,
- that we are made of star dust. That our bodies are made of elements -
- carbon, oxygen, nitrogen - that were created in such stars.
- So these are things that couldn't have been revealed in the past
- and what we're now finally able to appreciate is the way that the history of the universe,
- the science-based history of the universe, can strengthen, and deepen, and enrich people's faith.
- This is a big step forward, but I have to say, I'm curious why there is this rift in Christianity.
- On the one side, a lot of Christians I talk to say, yes, these are not, to Alisyn's point,
- mutually exclusive. That evolution is part of the process and it shouldn't be an affront to faith.
- And then there are other Christians who believe the Earth is only 2000 years old
- and that humans lived along side dinosaurs.
- Why is it that there is this rift in Christianity this way?
- Well, part of it is, I think, because many conservatives have never been exposed
- to this way of thinking about the science-based history of the universe
- in a way that is, to use Christian language, God-glorifying, or Christ-honoring.
- So, until religious people are exposed to evolution in a way that touches them
- and moves them and inspires them, I think it is not a surprise
- that we're going to see them continue to resist evolution.
- And, of course, the media play it up - most of the media,
- that's why I'm grateful for this conversation - play it up as either the new atheists
- or young Earth creationists, as if those are the only two games in town.
- And, as we all know, that's just not the case.
- There are millions in the middle who integrate evolution and theology.
- But you know what Reverend, also what you just said is interesting.
- Christians need to be exposed to evolution, but the flip side is also true,
- whereas scientists, I think, need to be more open to the fact that
- evolution has never answered the great, overarching question of
- where did it all come from?
- You hit the nail on the head, Alisyn, but it even goes deeper than that.
- Religions have typically provided the most important benefits for humans:
- deep trust when we look to the future, deep gratitude when we look to the past,
- inspiration in the moment to act in integrity.
- And until science can show people how those same benefits
- can be gotten through a science world view,
- but not in a way that disses or puts down the religious traditions,
- again, we're going to see this conflict fester.
- I think one of the reasons my book was endorsed by five Nobel Prize winning scientists,
- as well as by theologians, ministers, priests, and rabbis, across the spectrum,
- is that it builds a bridge between head and heart, faith and reason.
- Because what this is really about is becoming more intimate with God.
- It's being faithful to God in terms of what God has been revealing to us most recently.
- And it's amazing, I think this was inevitable, don't you, Mike, in some degree?
- Because there are so many scientists now who admit, as they look at things
- from string theory, to everything else on the granular level,
- there's this energy force there that they have a hard time explaining
- and many of them turn and say, "This is God."
- This is a God-instance showing up in many of these science things,
- that we had a hard time explaining for so long.
- Well, exactly Clayton, and also, it's not just that God is found in the mystery.
- That's true, and that's awesome, but God is also found in every fact discovered by science.
- I sometimes think about it, I talk about this way in my book, that facts are God's native tongue.
- God speaks through evidence, and that's part of where this bridge can happen.
- The book is fascinating, and it sounds as if it's long overdue.
- It's called, "Thank God for Evolution."
- Mike Dowd, thanks for coming on to explain it to us.
- Thank you, Alisyn.
- That's a great title too. "Thank God for Evolution."


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