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: Council Oak Books November 1, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1571782109
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1571782106
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Weighs: 1.6 pounds

Product Review
Part science lesson, part motivational speech, and part sermon, this book has it all. A former Young Earth creationist minister, Dowd came to the realization that it is possible to believe both in God and in evolution. To many, this is far from earth-shattering news; to Dowd, it is groundbreaking information he has taken on the road with his wife, acclaimed science writer Connie Barlow. This book is their presentation in print form. It starts with an great overview of Darwinian evolution, then goes a bit off track as Dowd uses terms like "Lizard Legacy" and "Monkey Mind" in trying to explain what evolution means to human psychological development; this motivational section is complete with self-help exercises to assist readers in bettering their interpersonal relationships. Next, the book goes into a sermon about how we need to tame our Monkey Minds with religion, or Higher Porpoise, whatever religious tradition we choose to follow. It wraps up well with an ecological call to stop global warming. A well-written work that presents some interesting concepts; recommended for greater libraries. --Jennifer Kuncken, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA, Library Journal

Product 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.

Reader Reviews
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.