Spirit of Darwin: Resources for churches promoting dialogue on faith and science

Happy birthday, Charles Darwin! Darwin Day is coming and so is Evolution Weekend, when many churches make an effort to demonstrate that faith and science aren't enemies.
    At least two major American institutions—the Pew Forum and National Geographic—marked the earlier bicentennial of Charles Darwin's birth on Feb 12, 1809, with extensive reports on Darwin, evolution and the spiritual reflections surrounding Darwin's discoveries.
    For 2010, National Geographic added a fascinating report on the evolutionary journey of Darwin's own family! No kidding. Science shows that Darwin's family actually migrated out of Africa thousands of years ago. Click to read the whole story.
    The Pew Forum material focused on Americans' understanding of faith and science. And you'll also find links below to the ever-growing Clergy Letter Project that helps with resources for Evolution Weekend in many congregations. (Scroll down on this page to learn more.)
    We want your help! Email us if you're aware of a Darwin or faith-and-science resource we should share with readers—a new book, film, TV show or Web site. Or, email us if you've got a sermon you found inspiring on this topic! Our email is readthespirit@gmail.com

Clergy Letter Project / Evolution Weekend ...

    Here's an innovative grass-roots approach to encouraging a truce
between faith and science—especially developed for those who still feel
anxious about the boundaries between the two realms. It's called the
Clergy Letter Project and it's coordinated by Michael Zimmerman, professor of biology at Butler University. This link gives you some background on the project.
    Or, here's another entry-point to the Web site where you can read about plans and resources for the 2010 Evolution Weekend.
    Want to read a sample? The Rev. Dr. Robert Cornwall, a Disciples of Christ pastor, preached this "Happy Birthday, Chuck," sermon last year.

Darwin Day ...

    The American Humanist Association also has a Darwin-Evolution Web site
and is trying to build support for an annual, national observance of
Darwin Day—as a celebration of scientific inquiry. (You'll find an
online petition within the site asking the President to declare such an
observance.) The Darwin Day site is intriguing and includes a fairly elaborate online biography of Darwin, complete with maps and colorful photographs of some of the sites that were a part of his life.

Helpful Resources ...

    AN IMPORTANT EVANGELICAL VOICE: Ken Wilson, an influential Vineyard pastor and also the author of a couple of books for Thomas Nelson, is emerging nationally as one of the key evangelical leaders trying to forge new working relationships between scientists and the tens of millions of Americans who are part of evangelical churches.
    Ken has criss-crossed the continent in this work. He's put his pulpit on the line—inviting scientists into his pulpit, even if the scientist would describe himself as a religious skeptic or non-believer. And, we're not talking about a contentious "debate" here–we're talking about constructive steps toward a common ground. That's Ken's style of work in this regard. It's courageous work that, over time, can make a big difference in American life.
    To get a feeling for Ken's approach to these themes, here's a link to a commentary he's posted online.

    SPECIALLY FOR YOUNG READERS: Publishers Weekly weighs in with a helpful list of recommended books for young folks. (This list was published in 2009; and we've got more news on children's literature below.)
    FANS OF C.S. LEWIS recommend (via their Lewis newsletter) an Oxford University Press book that relates Lewis' science fiction trilogy to streams of post-Darwin thinking. It's called "C.S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy." The new book is by Sanford Schwartz and here's the Amazon link.

    TWO MORE INTRIGUING BOOKS: ReadTheSpirit strongly recommends: "Darwin's Armada: Four Voyages and the Battle for the Theory of Evolution" from Norton. If you've read other work by McCalman, then you know that he's a respected historian of the 18th and 19th centuries and a lively writer as well, especially interested in unusual ideas as they emerge. This 400-page book looks at the voyages not only of Darwin but also Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Wallace. If you love history and books about science, we can assure you—this is a flat out "good read."
    You might also want, "The Young Charles Darwin," by Keith Thomson, although this is more for true history-and-science buffs who really want to dig deeper. Published by Yale and written by Thomson, a venerable Oxford-based scholar and author in the field, this book explores the vigorous younger life of Darwin.

    COMING IN JUNE FOR FAMILIES! Thank you, Sandra Dutton! Parents, educators and Sunday-school teachers out there—mark your calendars for a release this summer of "Mary Mae and the Gospel of Truth." Here's a Web site with more on the book, which will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
    ReadTheSpirit has not previewed this book, yet. But, the endorsements and general description suggest that this book will stand out as a compassionate, creative option for families encountering this sometimes tough confrontation of big ideas in our children's lives.
   
Dr. John Haught at Georgetown University writes: "Sandra Dutton demonstrates here that the quest to integrate faith with the fossil record can be a most enriching experience, and that it is never too early to allow our children to experience the joy of integrating their religious beliefs with a solid science education. This is a delightful—but also serious—work. It will appeal to parents, pastors and educators. We need more works like this."

    At ReadTheSpirit, we agree!

    MORE FROM HAUGHT: If you're intrigued by Dr. Haught (from the item above), then you can read a book, right now, from his own pen ... or, well, from his computer keyboard. (Things change over time, don't they?)
    Thanks to WJK Press, the Presbyterian publishing house, for alerting us to Haught's new book. We haven't seen the book yet, here at ReadTheSpirit, but given his and WJK's solid reputation—we can say it should be on your short list if you're looking for resources to use in congregations and small groups.
    Here's an Amazon link for "Making Sense of Evolution: Darwin, God, and the Drama of Life"

    SAVING DARWIN: The Rev. Dr. Robert Cornwall, whose sample sermon is linked above, also wrote to us this year recommending the book, "Saving Darwin: How to be Christian and Believe in Evolution." Here's a link to his review of the book.

    FINDING DARWIN'S GOD: Bob Bruttel, Adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Detroit Mercy, sent us this recommendation: A definite add to the collection is a book by the well-respected cell biologist from Brown, Dr. Kenneth Miller. His book, "Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution" is an outstanding resource that my students all rate very highly when I assign it in "Religion and Science in the West." Miller has become the go-to scientist in defense of evolution whenever the intelligent design-creationist debate reaches the courts.
    Miller is a Christian believer and a cell biologist whose narrative is a nice pairing of the two. He is not struggling with either. In fact, he has developed what might be called a theology of evolution that is engaging and many will find compelling. Those who decide to read the book will find that they are not alone.
    Dr. Miller himself is amazed at how popular the book has become. I highly recommend it. If, however, you don't have time to read this or any of Miller's other books on evolution, I recommend that you search Youtube.com for Kenneth Miller. For Millerphiles, there is plenty available from that resource also.

    EVEN MORE GREAT STUFF FOR KIDS and FAMILIES! A big "Thank you!" to reader Lawrence Bartel in Old Forge, N.Y., for recommending "One Beetle Too Many: The Extraordinary Adventures of Charles Darwin"
(that title link takes you to Amazon).
    Lawrence writes: "The resources you mentioned prompted me to pull a slim book off my shelf titled 'One Beetle Too Many,' by Kathryn Lasky and illustrated by Matthew Trueman. The snappy narrative of Darwin’s formative journey and the whimsical illustrations delight my senses every time I read the book. When you asked readers to send in resources on Darwin’s life and legacy we find inspiring, I knew that I needed to send this recommendation to you."
    And, we're so glad you did, Lawrence! This is a Candlewick book, which already is a golden recommendation in children's literature. We've reviewed and recommended a good number of Candlewick titles in the past. Can't wait to read it to a young person!

Pew Forum ...

We also recommend the Pew Forum's extensive array of online reports about "The Conflict Between Religion and Evolution."
    This is a big collection of materials and data about American attitudes toward science, evolution and faith. It was prepared for the centennial, but it's still a helpful site to visit. To give you a feeling for what's on the Pew site, here's a brief sample of its overview ...

    Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin published his groundbreaking work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection,
Americans are still fighting over evolution. If anything, the
controversy has recently grown in both size and intensity. ...
     Throughout much of the 20th century, opponents of evolution — many
of them theologically conservative Protestants — either tried to
eliminate the teaching of Darwin's theory from public school science
curricula or urged science instructors also to teach a version of the
creation story found in the biblical book of Genesis. ...
    Recent public opinion polls indicate that challenges to Darwinian
evolution have substantial support among the American people. According
to an August 2006 survey
by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life and
the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 63 percent of
Americans believe that humans and other animals have either always
existed in their present form or have evolved over time under the
guidance of a supreme being. Only 26 percent say that life evolved
solely through processes such as natural selection. A similar Pew
Research Center poll, released in August 2005, found that 64 percent of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in the classroom.

    This view is not shared by the nation's scientists, most of whom
contend that evolution is a well-established scientific theory that
convincingly explains the origins and development of life on earth. ...
These scientists and others dismiss creation science as religion, not
science, and describe intelligent design as little more than
creationism dressed up in scientific jargon.
    So if evolution is as established as the theory of gravity, why are
people still arguing about it a century and a half after it was first
proposed?

INTRIGUED? Then, please, visit the Pew Forum's extensive online landing page. You'll find a huge amount of material branching off this main landing pages, including links to recent news stories at the bottom of the Pew page.

    REMEMBER: We want your help! Email us if you're aware of a
Darwin or faith-and-science resource we should share with readers—a new
book, film, TV show or Web site. Or, email us if you've got a sermon
you found inspiring on this topic! Our email is readthespirit@gmail.com

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    (Originally published at http://www.ReadTheSpirit.com/)