Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 432 pages
• Published by: Viking Adult June 19, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0670020451
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0670020454
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Weighs: 1.2 pounds

Book Description
Finally, the war between science and religion is over. The winner? All of us. With supporters from an incredibly wide spectrum of backgrounds and beliefs, including five Nobel laureates, Thank God for Evolution! builds bridges, provides guidance, and restores realistic hope for humanity and the body of life as a whole.

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 a meaningful view of our place in the universe. Reverend 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.

Thank God for Evolution! presents in a lively and accessible manner the reasons why it is now possible to view evolution as a divine process; how current science shows that evolution is not meaningless blind chance; practical methods for using evolutionary insights to achieve greater personal fulfillment and thriving relationships; 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 people of all faiths 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, religion, and the meaning and purpose of our lives. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Publisher Description
Advance Praise for Thank God for Evolution!

"The science vs. religion debate is over! Must reading for all, including scientists." -- Craig Mello, 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine

"The universe took 13.7 billion years to produce this amazing book. I heartily recommend it." -- John Mather, NASA Chief Scientist, 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics

"If anyone can persuade a monotheist that the science of evolution can enrich his or her faith, I'm betting on Michael Dowd." -- Thomas C. Schelling, 2005 Nobel Prize in Economics

"Takes evolution to heart, and celebrates it." -- Frank Wilczek, 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics

"At last someone who understands that all of reality is sacred and science is our method of comprehending it." -- Lee Hartwell, 2001 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine

"Michael Dowd and his wife, Connie Barlow, have committed their lives to showing that you can be a true Darwinian and a truly spiritual person. Thank God for `em, and thank God for Michael's new book." -- Robert Wright, author of The Moral Animal and Nonzero

"That evolution is a divine force has not been well appreciated, or articulated, up till now." -- Kevin Kelly, Wired magazine, author of Out of Control

"Dowd shows that there are many ways to be a spiritual human being and that all of them are enriched by an understanding of modern science, especially evolution." -- Eugenie C. Scott, Director of the National Center for Science Education

"Few if any religious books quote Richard Dawkins in his own terms, or with approval. That this book does both hints at the breadth of audience it will intrigue. Thank God for Evolution! has become my most quoted pastoral resource as a Christian minister. I cannot recommend it too highly." -- Rev. Jason John, Scots Church Adelaide (Presbyterian)

"For Catholics who are worried that evolution has nothing to offer them but random Godlessness, this is the book to get!" -- Chris Corbally, SJ, Vice Director of the Vatican Observatory

"Like orphans reunited, spirituality and evolution come face to face in this daring book." -- Spencer Burke, theooze.com (evangelical); author of A Heretic's Guide to Eternity

"Fun to read and a significant contribution, from which people of all faiths can learn." -- Rabbi Michael Lerner, Tikkun, Network of Spiritual Progressives

"This exhilarating book moves us at last beyond false separations of science and religion." -- Joanna Macy, Buddhist eco-philosopher, author of World As Lover, World As Self

"A step toward that ultimate truth in which both religion and science will be reconciled." -- Bishop John Shelby Spong, author of Jesus for the Non-Religious

"This is a book I would gladly (and securely) recommend, not only to members of my own humanist-inclined congregation but to my evangelical relatives as well!" -- Rev. Michael Schuler, Senior Minister, First Unitarian Society of Madison

"Michael Dowd is one Christian preacher who speaks to this Pagan's heart." -- Starhawk, author of The Spiral Dance

"This is a fantastic book! A page-turner! You might as well buy ten copies because you will not be able to finish one without giving it away time and again! Be forewarned. Would I lie to you?" -- Brad Blanton, author of Radical Honesty and The Truthtellers

"Here is a book that promises to deliver and delivers on its promises!" -- Rev. Howard Caesar, Senior Minister, Unity Church of Christianity, Houston

"With the passion of a revival preacher, and with grounding in mainstream evolution, Dowd has written a visionary book. -- Rev. Jim Burklo, Sausalito Presbyterian Church; The Center for Progressive Christianity; author of Open Christianity

"Michael Dowd's new book should be made into a Hollywood film: An evangelical Christian preacher (Michael) and an atheist evolutionary naturalist (Connie Barlow) fall in love, marry one another, and give birth to their stunning new vision that promises healing for so many. If you love God, if you love the animals, if you love Jesus, if you love the flowers and Sun and Moon, here's the book that will help you gather all these loves together." -- Brian Swimme, Professor of Cosmology, California Institute of Integral Studies

"This book will change the minds and even the hearts of people who have been alienated by rhetoric that pits science against faith." -- Joan Roughgarden, Professor of Biology, Stanford University; author of Evolution and Christian Faith

"Shows how the evolutionary history of the cosmos supports a deeply spiritual vision." -- John B. Cobb, Jr., Center for Process Studies

"Thoughtful, timely, challenging--and readable." -- John F. Haught, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Georgetown University; author of Deeper Than Darwin

"Refreshing, honest, unpretentious, and deep." -- Ursula Goodenough, Professor of Biology, Washington University; author of The Sacred Depths of Nature

"A powerful book, a passionate book, a needed book, and a necessary book!" -- Matthew Fox, theologian and author of Original Blessing

"An itinerant preacher who teaches evolution in the evangelical style? I was skeptical at first, but Dowd remains true to both science and the spirit of religion." -- David Sloan Wilson, Professor of Biology and Anthropology, Binghamton University; author of Evolution for Everyone

"A seminal work. I recommend it with all my heart." -- Barbara Marx Hubbard, President, Foundation for Conscious Evolution; author of Emergence

"This book is tour de force and a welcome contribution to the growing literature that says God speaks through evolution as clearly as through the events of our personal lives." -- Vicki Robin, co-author of Your Money or Your Life

"A voice of sanity and inspiration." -- Joel Primack and Nancy Abrams, authors of The View from the Center of the Universe --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Thank God for Evolution!: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World (Hardcover) Throughout much of history there has seemingly been a battle between the powers of reason and those of faith... between people striving to analytically comprehend the world through math and science, and those who deemed some things to be eternally beyond the reaches of man's ability to ever fully intellectually understand. At this juncture in time as world populations near the brink of unsustainability on planet Earth the thought-provoking book, THANK GOD FOR EVOLUTION!, presents us with a means for seeing a way to embracing a philosophy that encompasses the strengths of reason and faith... a kind of reasonable faith. Author Michael Dowd's whimsical writing style brings what might otherwise have become a weighty soporific tome into a playful and positive guidebook to "creatheism," a term coined by the author and his wife to embody their meta-religious scientific worldview which sees the whole as being creative in a nested, emergent sense... with humanity playing an integral and increasingly conscious part in the creative process, as there are many legitimate ways to interpret and speak about ultimate reality. This viewpoint is much more than mere pantheism, as "God" is a holy name for ultimate reality -- the all-encompassing wholeness -- which transcends all other realities. While much of THANK GOD FOR EVOLUTION! is devoted to exploring ways of seeing a unity between science and faith, specifically Christian faith, it also provides numerous techniques one can use for attaining a heightened sense of spiritual connection and compassion. THANK GOD FOR EVOLUTION! is a must-read for scientists wishing to answer the question, "But what do you BELIEVE?!" as well as for all spiritual people wishing to find a better way to describe how they can consider themselves both analytical and spiritual at the same time. There need be no conflict between these two, as numerous Nobel prize winning scientists assert, and as Michael Dowd encourages each of us to explore on our own. I give THANK GOD FOR EVOLUTION! my highest recommendation, with hopes that everyone interested in either science or spirituality will read it in order to open a dialogue and discussion about ways we can solve problems facing all of us with regard to crises in faith, environmental issues, and social concerns. Finding a way to use all of our heart, all of our mind, and both a sense of faith and a sense of reason will clearly bring us the most complete solutions, and THANK GOD FOR EVOLUTION! is definitely a key part of unifying the seemingly divisive elements into a cohesive whole. Comments (2) | | (Report this)