[Dialogue] An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science

[Lee]

There you go again - using rational thought.  Good luck!

Lee


On Feb 25, 2005, at 11:20 AM, Carlos R. Zervigon wrote:

> 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
>
>
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