January 11, 2009

I’ll bet gods and goddesses believe in evolution.

I don’t think evolution and religion have to conflict. I think it’s humans that choose to make the conflict.

Imagine how brilliant god must be to put in place evolution. Awe-inspiring.

Of course, believing in evolution means that the Bible and other religious writings cannot be interpreted word-for-word. Instead, embrace them as beautiful, inspiring, instructional literature.

Guess what? 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. And the 150th publication of Origin of the Species, “the most important work of non-fiction in history,” says Adam Rutherford, journalist for the U.K.’s Guardian.

Read Rutherford’s Monday January 5 article, “Rules of Engagement.” It’s wonderful!

Yes, evolution is fact. As Rutherford notes, evolution just means that “species are not immutable: they can change over generations, and indeed this has been observed many times, in real time by real people.”

It’s really that simple. Things change…things like flowers and dinosaurs and even people.

Rutherford goes on to say, “Evolution by natural selection is not controversial among biologists…There are many controversies within evolution, but none rest on natural selection being incorrect.”

Why does evolution agitate people? Why do some religious leaders need to produce conflict? Why do these leaders demand absolute faith in written words composed over generations in different languages with sloppy pens and smudges – all subject to interpretation?

Do those leaders think conflict will gain more converts? What are those religious leaders afraid of? That people cannot believe in a god and in evolution? How silly is that? How limiting is that? How insulting to our own humanity and intelligence and spirituality is that?

As Rutherford observed in his article, “The truth of natural selection was waiting to be described,” and Charles Darwin did it. For that, he is one of the world’s greatest thinkers…ever.

Darwin’s work “fundamentally altered the position of humankind in the universe. His ideas connect all life in one magnificent infinitely branching tree, and gives us understanding of all living things.”

I think god would be pleased and thrilled.

Filed under: Social Commentary

About Simone Joyaux

A consultant specializing in fund development, strategic planning, and board development, Simone P. Joyaux works with all types and sizes of nonprofits, speaks at conferences worldwide, and teaches in the graduate program for philanthropy at Saint Mary’s University, MN. Her books, Keep Your Donors and Strategic Fund Development, are standards in the field.

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