[Dialogue] An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science

[Carlos R. Zervigon]

Dear Colleagues

I (Carlos Zervigon) received information about the letter below from my dear
friend Bishop Joe Doss (Episcopal). I thought that some of the clergy on
this list might like to sign it.

An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science 

Within the community of Christian believers there are areas of dispute and
disagreement, including the proper way to interpret Holy Scripture.  While
virtually all Christians take the Bible seriously and hold it to be
authoritative in matters of faith and practice, the overwhelming majority do
not read the Bible literally, as they would a science textbook.  Many of the
beloved stories found in the Bible - the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and
the ark - convey timeless truths about God, human beings, and the proper
relationship between Creator and creation expressed in the only form capable
of transmitting these truths from generation to generation.  Religious truth
is of a different order from scientific truth.  Its purpose is not to convey
scientific information but to transform hearts.  
 
We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe
that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science
may comfortably coexist.  We believe that the theory of evolution is a
foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny
and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests.  To reject
this truth or to treat it as one theory among others is to deliberately
embrace scientific ignorance and transmit such ignorance to our children.
We believe that among God's good gifts are human minds capable of critical
thought and that the failure to fully employ this gift is a rejection of the
will of our Creator.  To argue that God's loving plan of salvation for
humanity precludes the full employment of the God-given faculty of reason is
to attempt to limit God, an act of hubris.  We urge school board members to
preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching
of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge.  We ask
that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very
different, but complementary, forms of truth.
 
To view the list of hundreds of religious leaders who have signed this
letter already, please go to:
http://www.uwosh.edu/colleges/cols/religion_science_collaboration.htm
                                                

If you would like to sign this letter, please send an e-mail to
mailto:mz at uwosh.edu listing:
 
Your Title and Name
Affiliation/Church (optional)
City and State

Thanks

Carlos R. Zervigon, PMP
Zervigon International, Ltd.
817 Antonine St.
New Orleans, LA  70115  USA
504 894-9866 Mobile: 504 908-0762
carlos at zervigon.com
http://www.zervigon.com