Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Thank God For Evolution


Evolution has always been a hot topic in Armstrongism. Well, at least WE thought it was. GTA was well know to mock the theory of evolution and published numerous books on it.  To the ordinary lay person in WCG this information was all they need to know about evolution and never studied into it further.  If HWA or GTA did not say it they could care less.  Most church members were totally ignorant about what evolution was all about.  

Since almost all the men in the COG's who write about the subject have never received higher education outside of Ambassador College they have no clue what is involved either. They are not up to speed on recent discoveries.  They do not even consider that there is another side to the argument which they have espoused all these years. 

A thinking person would inform themselves about the topic they wish to debate or critique.  They read, and read and read.  The COG leaders and members only look up a booklet about 20 or so pages long and take that as God's final word on the matter. 

Leaving Armstrongism led me to many interesting conversations with deeply religious people who believe in evolution.  It does not shatter their faith or destroy the message that scripture attempts to bring out. 

Here are a couple of books that might interest some here:


 "The earth is old, and animals and plants have changed over time. If you know somebody who doubts these two well-established propositions, this is the book to share with them. I remember, as a teenager, in the early 1980s, reading Duane Gish's "Evolution: The Fossils Say No," as well as the other standard texts of creationism, and Prothero's book would have helped me think through (and past) creationism a lot quicker than I did. Prothero's book might have been aptly titled, "Evolution: The Fossils Say Yes." It is a lavishly illustrated, thoroughly readable, and authoritative dismantling of creationism. Because of the patient work of contemporary scientists writing accessible popular texts on evolution, no thoughtful 21st century young person need be intellectually derailed by creationist literature. Dr. Prothero's is perhaps the best of the current spate of these types of books. I especially liked the chapter on the origins of life, and the chapter on the Grand Canyon. One of the strengths of this book is that Dr. Prothero does not dodge difficult questions, but attempts to address them directly. It is always refreshing to read somebody who does not obfuscate or downplay contrary lines of evidence, and who is willing to say "I don't know" when something is uncertain. The book is thus, in addition to its overt purpose, also an excellent model of sane and measured reflection. A good companion volume to Dr. Prothero's book might be "The Counter-Creationism Handbook," by Mark Isaak, recently published by the University of California Press"






A Groundbreaking Perspective
A movement has been growing over the past few decades that takes our common creation story—the epic of cosmic, biological, and human evolution revealed by science—as the basis for an inspiring and meaningful view of our place in the universe. Rev. Michael Dowd, “America's evolutionary evangelist,” is at the forefront of this movement. This well informed, thoroughly researched, and inspired book proclaims a gospel billions of years old. It builds bridges, provides guidance, and restores realistic hope for virtually everyone, regardless of belief or worldview.

Thank God for Evolution presents in a lively and accessible manner the reasons why it is now possible to view evolution as a call to deep integrity; how a dozen scientific disciplines reveal evolution to be measurably creative, rather than meaningless blind chance; practical methods for using evolutionary insights to achieve greater joy and personal fulfillment; and how aligning with evolutionary trends can guide activists and others hoping to make our world a better place. As a Christian minister, Dowd especially addresses the concerns that Christians have about evolution, but this book contains insights that will appeal to all people of faith and of no faith. Fun and uplifting, Thank God for Evolution goes beyond the current debate to offer up a whole new way of thinking about science and religion.
As evidenced by endorsements from a long list of Nobel laureates and other science luminaries, including noted skeptics, and by religious leaders across the spectrum, this is a book the world has been waiting for.
Book web site is here with lots of interesting facts:  Thank God For Evolution




13 comments:

DennisCDiehl said...

We know know feathers preceeded flying and many dinosaurs we grew up with as just skin covered, were actually feathered. It was a heat balancing mechanism before they aided flying.

The last 20 years have brought us more knowledge on the mechanism of evolution and has added more fossils to the mix than the previous 1000 years. We live in great times to get our heads out of the sand.

I am writing this with a beautiful cutting tool, sharp as a razor, handmade of flint and 1.6 million years old. It comes from East Africa and was made by not yet us, Homo Ergaster. To hold it is amazing and to wonder profound.


I find the real story of how we came to be us far more inspiring than a that of two worker drones yaping too loudly for the god's tastes and getting kicked out of Edin (Not Eden)so the gods could rest on the seventh day, in the Sumerian Version. And then borrowed by the Hebrew Priests and turned around to be the story of Adam and Eve.

While the story of Adam and particularly Eve has meaning, it was never meant to be taken as the literal way humans came to be.

Anonymous said...

There is wonderful evolution in the Bible itself. God evolves from his roots in the Canaanite god EL who presides over the Council of Lesser gods, gets replaced by YHVH who was a local deity grown larger and then YHVH gets a make over in Jesus who evolves from nice Gospel Jesus to the Psycho Jesus of Revelation. All quite fascinating.

Even the gosples evolve when put in a more correct order. The messy and embarassing statements or mistakes of the earlier writers get edited out by the later ones and the misunderstandings of the OT accounts cleaned up by those who could see what they had done wrongly.

Very cool.

M.T.Pages

Byker Bob said...

Yeah. I'd definitely include "Genesis and the Big Bang", as well. It gets pretty deep, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that God has used evolution as one of the basic laws of the universe, a very effective tool in His creative processes!

BB

DennisCDiehl said...

Of course if we feel that evolution is true and the story of Adam and Eve and the Fall is not literally true, we have a few NT doctrines and teachings that go down the drain with it.

No longer can a church plague people and charge them with coming under any original sin etc that we all need redemption from. One cannot be literally condemned by myths that were never literally true and never literally the reason for how the real world operates.

The first 11 chapters of Genesis are reworkings of world mythologies to it a political or social purpose of the times.

Anyway, whales have hidden remnants of hips and legs embedded in their skeletons to this day and leave a dna switch on too long and a human can be covered head to toe with rich dark body hair as in the past and the coxxyc bones can duplicate into a genuine tail. There are muscles in the feet that barely work for anything today but served us in times when gripping with feet was more in the picture.

Reptile fossils clearly show how reptiles heard by laying their jaws on the ground as they still do today and how those jaw bones in the fossil record migrated into the ear in mammals to become our human ear bones. Great stuff!

It's all quite wonderful.

Created to Evolve said...

Of course, things are created to evolve.

But the deceived and the hateful take it as evolution ex nihilo.

Those are the real 'bastards' from the cartoon.

Spirit Warrior said...

Have you guys that once believed in an 'adversary' really decided that he doesn't exist? That there's no spirit world?

Please excuse a southern expression, but that is the 'stupidest shit' I've ever heard.

If the deceiver does exist, naturally evolution would be a most useful tool to convince others that there is no creator.

Because no one will really study it to the full extent and get a good comprehensive look at its fallacies, weaknesses, and problems as a believable theory.

It is not designed for close scrutiny. Ask Ben Stein.

I hold that all first-generation atheists:

1) had a horrible experience that marred them emotionally/psychologically
2) decided they hated the idea of a creator for the imagined slight,
3) did the thing which in their deluded mind was MOST HATEFUL toward a Creator, believe in evolution (anti-Creation), despite any misgivings about its verity.

The fact is that most 'atheists' and 'evolutionists' become active in other 'spiritism' eventually - the old 'bait and switch' works immemorial.

Allen C. Dexter said...

Evolution is ubiquitous throughout the universe.

Hydrogen appears to be the original ingredient of the universe. Countless generations of stars going nova led to the creation of the other elements that got incorporated into new generations of stars and planetary systems, including our own.

Chemicals combined, amino acids developed, then proteins, viruses, etc. Those of faith will assume that an antropomorphised god which has to look just like us did it, only in an ethereal spirit realm and form.

At least thirteen billion years and counting of this evolutionary process.

It's encouraging to have a few really honest thinkers recognize that evolution is true, even though they couple it with a god. That constitutes progress. We've too long been besieged with the intellectual incest of poorly enducated and pious individuals cross fertilizing and copying each other with what amounts to pseudo-scientific drivel.

Low Expectations said...

I certainly can't blame you for having low expectations....its part of the evolutionary process of screening out the weaker, right?

Anonymous said...

Low Expectations said...

"...its part of the evolutionary process of screening out the weaker, right?"

Yep! That is exactly what Herbert Armstrong, Meredith, Flurry and the other ministurds did to those below them in the power structure. They got rid of anyone they did not like by claiming they were weak and unconverted.

Thanks for pointing that out!

Cartoon said...

http://www.happywebsite.biz/cartoon.gif

For some reason the editor deleted this link, or maybe it was a mistake.

Anonymous said...

Ben Stein? Ray "Banana Man" Comfort? The kid from Growing Pains? Ken Ham? GTA?

Frankly, if the Devil wanted to make creationism look ridiculous, he'd probably use purveyors of "terminological inexactitude" like them.

Norm

Jace said...

Spirit Warrior:

Ben Stein? Wow... Expelled was the most pitiful hatchet job I've ever wasted 2 hours sitting through. I'm sure I'm asking waaaay too much here, but try watching this refutation of Stein's movie:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5ixmLNwF9s

The "Spirit world" and "lucifer" are probably the best ideas believers have ever cooked up. Gives them something to place the blame for all the bad while giving God credit for all the good, while at the same time allowing them to spit out ridiculous catch phrases like "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist" etc.

If the spirit world exists, I'm wonder if the Tooth Fairy and Zeus are next door neighbors?

Anonymous said...

If the spirit world exists, I'm wonder if the Tooth Fairy and Zeus are next door neighbors?

No, we live across the street!