Thank God for Evolution?

I read Eileen Flynn’s piece in the Statesman Saturday about the Rev. Michael Dowd who preaches "evolution theology," described as "a view that promotes evolutionary science and God as the ultimate reality."

Dowd books his talks at Unitarian churches, though he told Eileen that "he wants to spend more time this year talking to evangelical Christians who either grudgingly accept evolution or aggressively try to dismiss it as incompatible with Scripture."

Turns out, Dowd's teaching goes way beyond just showing a compatability between evolutionary theory and historic Christian belief. That would be a worthy conversation to hold, and I've been studying the issue from a wide range of authors for years. But Dowd means something entirely different by the term "evolution theology." Dowd's aim isn't so much the union of "evolution" and "theology," but rather the evolution of theology. From his book, available free at his website:

I cannot agree that “Jesus as God’s way, truth, and life” means that only those Christians who believe certain things about Jesus or the Bible get to go to a special otherworldly place called heaven when they die. I used to believe that, but I don’t anymore. In hindsight, I see that my old belief cheapened, belittled, and impoverished the universal glory of the Gospel. What Jesus’ life and ministry were actually about is far larger and more meaningful, and offers more this-world relevance, than my old clannish, contracted “we win, you lose” understanding. More, one need not be a Christian, nor ever have read the Bible, in order to walk what is, effectively, the same path we Christians aspire to—the same “one way”to a realized, redemptive life of fulfillment and service in this world, here and now, while simultaneously blessing future generations.

Austin church planter Jonathan Dodson provided Dowd's quote in a recent blog post, worth your while to read. In reaction to Dowd, Dodson wrote:

To be sure, Jesus did not teach a “we win, you lose” mentality. Instead, he taught us to love God and neighbor, rendered possible not just through his example but by becoming new creatures through faith in his sacrifice for not loving God and neighbor. An essential claim of Christ is that the man and the world are broken because of sin, rebellion against God. Jesus seeks to redeem humanity and the world through his death and world-renewing return. However, he does not minimize his own sacrifice or teachings as optional. They are essential and joy-giving to those who embrace him. . . . Dowd claims that we must not interpret Jesus' words as he intended them (a great disrespect and distortion to any teacher/author).

Dodson replies to Dowd's insufficiencies in a sensitive and thoughtful way. It's good Austin has him. Stop over at Dodson's blog and see what he has to say.