Thank God for evolution : how the marriage of science and religion will transform your life and our world / Michael Dowd.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dowd, Michael.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolution--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Evolution.

Religion and science.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 417 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Viking edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Viking, 2008.

Contents:

Prologue: Personal Journey 1

The Marriage of Science and Religion 3

Itinerant Evolutionary Evangelism 4

From "Adam and Eve" to Us-and Beyond 8

Science and Religion Spurring Each Other to Greatness 10

Part I The Holy Trajectory of Evolution

Chapter 1 Our Big Picture Understanding of Reality 21

Stories Within Stories 22

What Is the Great Story? 24

From Shape-Shifting Story to Unchanging Scripture 27

Meaning Making 28

Chapter 2 Evolution Is Not Meaningless Blind Chance 31

Interpreting Our Immense Journey 32

The Mythopoeic Drive 34

Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle 36

The Role of Strife 40

The Role of Cooperation 42

The Role of Initiative 45

Chapter 3 Evolution and the Revival of the Human Spirit 48

The Universe Can Be Trusted 49

You Are Part of the Universe 56

Accept What Is and Be in Integrity 57

Grow in Evolutionary Integrity 59

Trusting the Universe Means Welcoming Challenges 61

Part II Reality is Speaking

Chapter 4 Private and Public Revelation 65

Beyond Belief 67

The Birth and Maturation of Public Revelation 69

Flat-Earth Faith Versus Evolutionary Faith 72

Toward an Evolutionary Christianity 75

Facts Are God's Native Tongue 77

Religious Knowers 81

Chapter 5 The Nested Emergent Nature of Divine Creativity 84

Thank God for the Hubble Telescope! 86

We Are Made of Stardust 89

The Gifts of Death 93

Litany: "The Gifts of Death" 98

Chapter 6 Words Create Worlds 103

Experiencing God Versus Thinking About God 105

The Split Between Religion and Science 108

From Clockwork "It" to Creative "Thou" 109

Day and Night Language 113

Chapter 7 What Do We Mean by the Word "God"? 118

No Less Than a Holy Name for the Whole 121

Prayer in a Nestedly Creative Cosmos 123

A Personal, Undeniable God 125

God or the Universe: What's in a Name? 126

Creatheism 128

The Role of Humanity in an Evolving Universe 132

Being "Faithful to God" 134

Part III The Gospel According to Evolution

Chapter 8 Growing an Evolutionary Faith 139

Genesis in Context 141

Don't Throw Out the Apple 144

Chapter 9 Realizing "The Fall" and "Original Sin" 146

Lessons from Evolutionary Brain Science 147

Lessons from Evolutionary Psychology 154

Resurrecting "The Fall" 158

Your Brain's Creation Story 162

Reclaiming "Original Sin" 166

Chapter 10 Realizing "Personal Salvation" 169

The Challenges of Our Lizard Legacy 171

Furry Li'l Mammal to the Rescue 174

Thank God for Our Higher Porpoise! 176

Discerning Your Calling Exercise 178

Salvation Through Evolutionary Integrity 181

The DNA of Deep Integrity 185

Christ-like Evolutionary Integrity 191

Realizing "Saving Faith" 195

Realizing "the Gospel" 200

Part IV Evolutionary Spirituality

Chapter 11 Evolutionary Integrity Practices 209

Taming Our Monkey Mind 211

Taming Our Lizard Legacy 214

Growing in Trust: Nurturing Humility and Faith 215

Realizing "Love Your Enemies" 217

Growing in Authenticity: Realizing "Remove the Plank" 221

Growing in Compassion/Responsibility: Realizing "Judge Not" 223

Growing in Gratitude: Realizing "Love God and Your Neighbor" 226

Chapter 12 Evolving Our Most Intimate Relationships 231

Touch and Tenderness 231

Respectful Communication 233

Playfulness and Humor 236

Meaningful Songs and Rituals 237

Synergy and Service 239

Chapter 13 Transformed by the Renewal of Your Mind 241

Deep Integrity Affirmations 241

Imagination Matters! Upgrading Your Mental Software 243

Part V A "God-Glorifying" Future

Chapter 14 Collective Sin and Salvation 251

Wrongdoing in a Nestedly Emergent Universe 252

Collective Sin in an Age of Information 255

Confronting Institutional Sin 259

Chapter 15 The Wisdom of Life's Collective Intelligence 261

On Earth As It Is in Heaven 262

Collective Deep Integrity 266

Conversation and Creative Emergence 267

Co-Intelligent Social Technologies 269

The Core Commons 270

Cultivating Discernment Within the Whole 273

Co-creating Our Evolutionary Spiritualities 274

Chapter 16 Knowing the Past Reveals Our Way Forward 277

The Cosmic Century Timeline 277

Aligning Self-Interest with the Well-being of the Whole 283

Who and What Are We, Really? And Why Are We Here? 288

Our Sense of Self and Our Role in the Body of Life 290

Evolutionary Revivals 294

Chapter 17 Beyond Sustainability: An Inspiring Vision 298

Major Challenges in the Next 250 Years 300

Wild Cards 302

Long-term and Short-term Positive Trends 307

Likely Good News in the Next 250 Years 310

Chapter 18 Our Evolving Understanding of "God's Will" 318

Responding to Critics Who Reject Religion Because of Scripture 319

Transcending Biblical Values and Scriptural Morality 325

Realizing "Holy Scripture" and "Divine Revelation" 327

Public Revelation: "The Ever-Renewing Testament" 330

Realizing Godly Morality and Ethics 333

Wider Circles of Care, Compassion, and Commitment 334

Realizing "Jesus as God's Way, Truth, and Life" 336

Testimonial 344

Vision 346

Appendix A "Good and Bad Reasons for Believing" / Richard Dawkins 349

Appendix B Realizing the Miraculous 357

Miracles Through the Ages 358

Realizing "the Virgin Birth" 362

Realizing "Christ's Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven" 364

Who's Who and Sources of Quotations 383.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780670020454

0670020451

OCLC:

226360376