Tuesday, June 20, 2006
National Council of Churches Issue Statement on Evolution
The National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy has issued a statement on "Science, Religion, and the Teaching of Evolution in Public School Science Classes."
The statement cites a number of religious thinkers on the relationship between science and religion, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who writes that Genesis is "much more like poetry than prose, replete with religious and not scientific truths, conveying profound truths about us, about God, and about the universe we inhabit."
"Critical thinking," says Marcus Borg, who is also quoted in the statement "leads to an understanding of why the details of Genesis are as they are and also makes clear that their truth is not to be understood in literal, factual terms... "
"Often today we hear about the teaching of evolution in public schools framed as though it
were a debate between people of faith and people of no faith," says the National Council of Churches statement. "This short resource seeks to assist people of faith who experience no conflict between science and their faith and who embrace science as one way of appreciating the beauty and complexity of God’s creation."
RSR readers can find the whole statement here.
The statement cites a number of religious thinkers on the relationship between science and religion, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who writes that Genesis is "much more like poetry than prose, replete with religious and not scientific truths, conveying profound truths about us, about God, and about the universe we inhabit."
"Critical thinking," says Marcus Borg, who is also quoted in the statement "leads to an understanding of why the details of Genesis are as they are and also makes clear that their truth is not to be understood in literal, factual terms... "
"Often today we hear about the teaching of evolution in public schools framed as though it
were a debate between people of faith and people of no faith," says the National Council of Churches statement. "This short resource seeks to assist people of faith who experience no conflict between science and their faith and who embrace science as one way of appreciating the beauty and complexity of God’s creation."
RSR readers can find the whole statement here.
