I believe in evolution and think “intelligent design” is wrong and “creationism” should stay out of public schools.

There. I said it.

Seems to be a lot of buzz on the Internet lately about the direct conflict between science and religion. As a religious person and a believer in science, I think it’s really a whole lot of arguing for nothing.

Maybe it’s because both camps seem to be taking cheap shots. Atheists seem to like to package the entirety of religious thought into a big straw man they can knock down whenever they please. Hello people. Not all of us are raving lunatics who expect no proof other than the biblical.

Faithful Christians seem to characterize evolutionists as evil God-haters who are trying to undermine the Christian-Judeo roots of our nation. These horrible people are trying to justify animal like behaviors and have no souls.

I believe there are a number of things we need to take into account in order to reconcile Christianity and evolution. It really isn’t that hard, so let me take a stab at it.

First, Genesis is not a scientific text. It was inspired and delivered to an audience that spans six thousand years of readership. I think it was smart to leave it sparse on technical or scientific detail, since the working model for what we know changes quite a bit. If God had written it for a technical audience, it might have made sense for 20 years worth of readers at best.  Genesis is a story that is a teaching tool. It’s not meant for scientific fact.

Frankly, I don’t personally believe God designed the body of man or animal. I just don’t see it. I think it rather obvious that he didn’t design his own body. I assume he got it from parents, just like we get bodies from parents. Genesis is also full of the phrase “after his/its own kind” or “from its own seed”. I’d imagine that’s on purpose. Sounds a lot like evolution to me - things reproducing after their own kind. The temple language is even more clear in this regard.

To me, the majesty of creation (and by “creation” we realize that it means “organization”) is the brilliance of being able to compose a complete ecosystem that has worked for ages. A few tigers here, a few horses there. Add some grasses and algae here - need some more bugs there. Brilliant. I don’t think God created or designed the bodies of animals. I do believe he brought them here – maybe he even bred or co-located species for certain purposes – but I dont’ see much scriptural support for design.

There are things I don’t understand: one of them being this cro-magnon stooped over ape-like character we see so much. I don’t think we can discount the existence of these finds: but it’s no theological show-stopper for me. There are literally mountains of data in favor of some evolution-like technique happening to life forms for millions of years. It’s not our job to ignore it, it’s our job to incorporate it.

As such, I’m a firm believer that “creationism” and “intelligent design” are horrifically bad choices for classroom curriculum. First, it isn’t science because it deals with supernatural phenomenon. Stuff that can’t be tested. Secondly, you’re opening a legal nightmare by bringing religion into school. Everybody and their grandma will want their version of the story covered. Thirdly, who wants some public school teacher instructing their kids in religious tenets? Not me. I prefer that job myself.
There’s no reason we need this stuff in schools, and there’s no reason faithful Christians can’t accept the theory of evolution.

I know this is a sensitive topic, but I can’t find any information about it, so I’m blogging here.

Miscarriage is something that I think needs a little more press anyway. No one talks about it, and I can’t seem to find much from the Church about how miscarriages play a part in the family. If someone has some information, I’d be very happy to know about it.

We’ve had our share of miscarriages in my family. Once or many times, the experience is extremely disheartening. Enjoying the prospect of having a baby is an immensely happy occasion, and having those hopes shattered in the silence of a heart monitor, or the ultrasound room, is an experience I will forever loathe. I still have a really hard time making it through those first few doctor’s appointments.

My main question is this: what happens to these little people who never quite make it? As a Church and as a people we value this early stage in life: we’re definitely against abortion. The thought of purposefully killing one of these innocent little children is beyond reason.

So what’s the difference between death on purpose and death on accident? Aren’t these lives real? Why don’t we cherish them more? Why don’t they have names? Why don’t we remember them?

I feel like we stand up for these lives when people are trying to kill them, and we gloss over them when we lose them on accident.

I’ve heard some people justify the situation to some degree by claiming that these little lives were interrupted because they were too deformed to live. First, that’s a horribly insensitive thing to say to someone who has just endured a loss - make sure to never make that mistake - and secondly, we cherish and care for the handicapped after birth… Why not before?

I have this nagging feeling: a wonder where these little lives start and end, but more especially, a wonder about how they might fit into my family in an eternal sense.

Guess I’ll keep looking.