Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
"Gimme that old time science..."
If I were feeling more creative, I'd whip up a filk of the traditional spiritual, but not today. Someone else feel free.
Anyway, I think this is progress:
US churches to discuss evolution vs creation
ATLANTA - After a lifetime in the church, the Rev. William L. Rhines Jr. lately has started to question one of the Bible's fundamental teachings, that God created man.
It's an especially touchy topic in his Wilmington, Del., congregation, where generations of black worshippers have leaned on faith to endure the indignities of racism.
But as the world marked the 200th birthday of evolution theorist Charles Darwin on Thursday, Rhines figures its time for even the most conservative congregations to come to terms with science.
"We're becoming more middle class, upper middle class, so we have more free time ... to ponder these eternal issues," said Rhines, who will encourage a discussion at Ezion-Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church.
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Participation through sermons, Sunday school lessons and even evolution dances has expanded into 974 congregations across the country, more than doubling since the weekend began in 2006, said founder Michael Zimmerman, dean of the college of liberal arts and sciences at Butler University in Indianapolis.
Organizers said the churches include a growing number of conservative groups, among them black and Muslim groups typically linked to more traditional views.
OK, yeah, on the one hand it is just plain silly that these folks can't just look at the science and come to the conclusion that it makes sense. We all know that. But I can't help but think that this is a good trend - getting the religious leaders to stop telling their sheep that science is evil, that thinking for oneself should be shunned, and that only Scripture can be trusted. Another report from NPR last week also talks about this:
Darwin Finds Some Followers In The Pulpits
All Things Considered, February 11, 2009 · Henry Green is a rarity among Southern Baptists. The pastor of Heritage Baptist church in Annapolis, Md., is openly skeptical that the Bible is the literal word of God, that the Earth was created in a few thousand years, and that Adam and Eve were created from dirt.
He says that for too long, conservatives have tried to reconcile faith and science by throwing out science.
This weekend, nearly 1,000 clerics worldwide will proclaim their belief that science and religion can coexist as they celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin during events on what has become known as Evolution Weekend.
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"Fundamentalists want to take people away from real science and put on some sort of bogus discussion about intelligent design or creationism," Green says. "Well, guess what? I believe God created. But I just happen to believe that the scientists have it right in understanding that creation."
Whatcha think? A hopeful sign?
Jim Downey
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Green will be gone
I wouldn't make any large loans to Green right now. Oh sure, if he turned out to be a gay drug addict or something, he could stage a comeback. But openly doubting biblical literalism? He'll soon be looking for work.
Not necessarily
Baptist churches are independent, so if his congregation likes him, he'll be OK. I think the key here is the location of his church: Maryland, one of the most liberal states in the union. Here in Kentucky, the Southern Baptist churches have classes on creationism and regularly send groups to tour the Creation Museum.
Well that's a good thing
Amazing to think of the same denomination having that much diversity!
How do Unitarian churches fare in Kentucky?
The classic 30 seconds of
The classic 30 seconds of research turns up UU churches in:
Lexington
Louisville
Bowling Green
Hopkinsville
Greenville
Paducah
in just the first page of results. So offhand, I'd say it's doing okay.
If they're anything like the UU church I attend in Knoxville TN, they're more God-y and Christ-y than the UU churches I went to in Oregon--probably influenced by the culture around them. But my UU church still welcomes pagans and atheists, so it's not influenced to the point of intolerance. I expect the Kentucky UUs are similar.
Is that what you wanted to know?
Yes
My thought was that if there can be that much variation in Baptist churches, I wondered how much local influence there'd been on UU churches.
All It Takes
All it takes from these religious folks is the drop the unsupportable "the bible is the inerrant word of god" thing and then they can say that evolution is one of the tools god used to make everything happen.
If the fundies could take that one simple step then religion and science wouldn't have to be at odds.
Drop the insupportable
Yeah, but that would open the door to abortion and man-on-dog sex. (Thank you former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Penn.)
A man whose name . . .
A man whose name shall live on in infamy. (Thank you, Dan Savage.)
Jim Downey
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