| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"" |
| Date: |
09 Dec 2006 07:37:27 AM |
| Object: |
An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science |
http://www.butler.edu/clergyproject/religion_science_collaboration.htm
An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science
Although we've reached our goal of gathering 10,000 clergy signatures,
interest has been so high that we continue to add more clergy on a regular
basis!
See below to endorse the following letter
Click here to learn more about the "Clergy Letter Project"
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.
Click the links that follow to see the alphabetical lists of clergy members
who have endorsed this letter
A to E - F to J - K to O - P to S - T to Z
Listing by States
Signatures are current as of 6 December 2006
10,412 signatures collected to date
Please note that institutions are named for identification purposes only
If you would like to sign this letter, please send an e-mail to
mz@butler.edu listing:
***************************************************************
You are invited to check out the following:
The Rise of the Theocratic States of America
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocracy.htm
American Theocrats - Past and Present
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/theocrats.htm
The Constitutional Principle: Separation of Church and State
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
[and to join the discussion group for the above site and/or Separation of
Church and State in general, listed below]
HRSepCnS · Hampton Roads [Virginia] SepChurch&State
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HRSepCnS/
[Its not just Hampton Roads folks who are members, there are members from
all over the US and a couple from overseas as well]
***************************************************************
.. . . You can't understand a phrase such as "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion" by syllogistic reasoning. Words
take their meaning from social as well as textual contexts, which is why "a
page of history is worth a volume of logic." New York Trust Co. v. Eisner,
256 U.S. 345, 349, 41 S.Ct. 506, 507, 65 L.Ed. 963 (1921) (Holmes, J.).
Sherman v. Community Consol. Dist. 21, 980 F.2d 437, 445 (7th Cir. 1992)
.. . .
****************************************************************
USAF LT. COL (Ret) Buffman (Glen P. Goffin) wrote
"You pilot always into an unknown future;
facts are your only clue. Get the facts!"
That philosophy 'snipit' helped to get me, and my crew, through a good
many combat missions and far too many scary, inflight, emergencies.
It has also played a significant role in helping me to expose the
plethora of radical Christian propaganda and lies that we find at
almost every media turn.
*****************************************************************
THE CONSTITUTIONAL PRINCIPLE:
SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE
http://members.tripod.com/~candst/index.html
****************************************************************
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