Christian Naturalismby Michael Dowd
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1716I am a Christian naturalist, not a supernaturalist. I do not deny the possibility of what some may call "supernatural," but my focus and locus of inspiration is found in this cosmos and in this life. My understanding of the divine and experience of the gospel relate to this very real Universe, not merely to a mythic unnatural realm. I do not value what is unnatural over what is natural. ...
The idea of an eternal life-after-death without pain or struggle, yet with awareness of the everlasting torment of others (those who did not believe as I did), I consider hell, not heaven.
I no longer merely believe in God. Thanks to the worldwide self-correcting scientific enterprise, I now know that
facts are God's native tongue. Evidence reveals God's nature, God's ways, and God's guidance far more accurately than could have possibly been revealed to the biblical writers. This is in no way a dissing of scripture. It is, however, honoring God as a truly divine communicator and lifting up
scientific discoveries as revelatory. Few things are more unflattering than imagining that God spoke more clearly to goat herders and fisherman in the distant past, through dreams and intuitions, than God does today through cumulative evidence discerned by the global community of scientists.
In an evolutionary context, theism is trivialized if it is thought to be solely, or even primarily, about otherworldly matters and unnatural entities.
Christian naturalism is an evo-theistic, or creatheistic, perspective that transcends and includes traditional notions of God that made sense when people assumed the earth was flat and the universe revolved around us. Like
Evolutionary Christianity, it doesn't reject the possibility of a supernatural realm. But it does focus on, and primarily value, what is natural and unquestionably real. ...
Related articles:
The Unnaturalist Fallacy
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1242As with "The Way It Is" Fallacy, few things perpetuate the current science and religion war in America more than what I've begun calling "The Unnaturalist Fallacy"—the position taken by many atheists and fundamentalists alike that all or most of the unnatural-sounding (supernatural) language in religious scriptures, doctrines, and creeds cannot be known to be real in a physical, measurable way, but can only be believed to be real in an otherworldly, unnatural way. To say it another way, the unnaturalist fallacy is the mistaken belief that religious "truths" are not scientifically real at all, but only religiously so. ...
Evolution as Meaningful, Inspiring Fact
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1520Traditional Religion's God Problem
http://thankgodforevolution.com/node/1612A holy view of evolution solves traditional religion's God problem.
What is "traditional religion's God problem"? Simply this: If taken together and interpreted literally, the world's religious scriptures portray God in ways that we all know in our hearts cannot possibly be true. For example, all of us (even atheists!) know that God cannot possibly be schizophrenic, nor a tribal-cosmic terrorist. Yet that is precisely the view that the world's sacred texts collectively offer. That's traditional religion's God problem. ...
The Great Blasphemy?
http://thankgodforevolution.com/blog/the-great-blasphemy...To "blaspheme" is to treat something sacred as profane, in word or deed. It is behaving disrespectfully or harmfully toward someone or something that is, in fact, worthy of deepest honor, respect, even reverence. When I suggest that our time in history may come to be known as "The Great Blasphemy," what I'm pointing to is the fact that hundreds of millions of religious believers around the world not only are unable to see the entire 14-billion-year history of the Universe as holy—indeed, as the primary revelation of God—but many even consider evolution "demonic." ...
Thank God for Evolutionby Michael Dowd
Publisher: Plume (2009)
ISBN: 978-0-452-29534-6
432 pages
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. ...
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