Churches in praise of . . . Darwin!

Editor’s note: We are reposting a 2006 article (originally appearing February 6, 2006) to point out once again that hundreds of churches are gearing up to celebrate—yes—“Evolution Sunday” this weekend (February 11). These “Evolution Sundays” are held near the time of Charles Darwin’s birthday (February 12).

AiG has taken last year’s article and altered it below in order to better relate to 2007’s “Evolution Sunday”; for example, we have deleted a section about atheist/evolutionist Richard Dawkins and his 2006 TV special. (The full article, unaltered since its posting, is “In Praise of Darwin This Sunday . . . In Hundreds of Churches!”)

This weekend, 586 congregations (at last count) in all 50 U.S. states—representing a variety of denominations—will attempt to show their congregations that religion and evolution are compatible. In a related project over the years, the organizers of “Evolution Sunday” have engaged in an effort called “The clergy letter project.” They have gathered more than 10,000 names of pastors sympathetic to evolution. Many of these pastors have even uploaded sermon outlines to a special website so that other like-minded, pro-evolution pastors can find assistance in crafting their own sermon to present to their people. (In fact, north on Interstate 71 from AiG-U.S.’s headquarters, a pastor in Ohio has posted a sermon in which he declares that if we do not acknowledge evolution, then we are not giving God the full credit for creation! See www.butler.edu/clergyproject/pdf/platt_oh.pdf.)

This Sunday, congregations throughout the U.S. will participate in what could be called a “Darwin praise service.” They will be celebrating (yes, that’s the word that could be used for many of the churches1) the 198th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. It’s called “Evolution Sunday.”

How did “Evolution Sunday” come about?

Three years ago, Prof. Michael Zimmerman at the University of Wisconsin (its Oshkosh campus)—and also its dean of the College of Letters and Sciences—began what became known as “The Clergy Letter Project.” He now teaches at Butler University in Indiana.

Zimmerman . . . encouraged clergy across America to sign a letter that supports evolution.

Using his former university’s website, Zimmerman, who says he is a Christian, encouraged clergy across America to sign a letter that supports evolution and rejects the Genesis account of creation as literal history. As we posted this last year, over 10,200 clergy had signed this awful letter.

The next step for Zimmerman (again, using the university’s website) was to solicit donations so that funds could be obtained to publicize this clergy letter and to gain exposure across the nation. He set up an arrangement with an organization called The Christian Alliance for Progress (CAP) to accept tax-deductible donations for his national project. What does CAP believe?

Regarding homosexuality, CAP states (under the heading “Rejecting bigotry, embracing dignity—equality for homosexual people”) that “Jesus taught equality, justice and obligation. We accept Jesus’ call to love one another and to welcome all God’s children at the div.”

In regard to child bearing/abortion, CAP declares: “We support responsible compassionate programs that are genuinely effective in helping prevent unintended pregnancy. An outcome no woman wants. We affirm that each woman’s body belongs to herself. No woman should be forced either to bear a child or to terminate a pregnancy.”

The next stage in Zimmerman’s plan (again, using his school’s website to push his evolutionary, religious agenda) was to promote a special “Evolution Sunday.”

Under the heading of “The Clergy Letter Project Presents Evolution Sunday” on his webpage, Zimmerman explained (in 2006) that:

On 12 February 2006 hundreds of Christian churches from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 197th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.

At the same time, atheists take glee when they see the clergy supporting evolution. They usually see such church compromise as a step towards atheism, for they expect that the next generation in the church will probably see the inconsistency of the clergy’s beliefs—and they will soon give up the Bible altogether.

Thankfully, even though thousands of clergy have compromised, there are thousands who have “not bowed the knee to Baal.” We are finding more and more pastors who are standing up for the authority of the Word, including those whom the Lord has prompted to use creation resources to equip the church to defend the Christian faith against the onslaughts of evolutionary humanism.

AiG is working on special materials and outreaches so that in the near future, we can begin promoting a “Creation Sunday” … or perhaps even a “Creation Week.” This would be a time when Christian leaders and others will have the opportunity to take a public statement that they are standing on God’s infallible Word!

“Evolution Sunday” will attack God’s Word this weekend. Sadly, it may lead many more people to hopelessness and despair. But a “Creation Sunday” (or whatever we decide to call it) will one day make a statement of hope to a dying world—the same message that AiG proclaims through its resources, conferences, this website and the future Creation Museum (to open, Lord willing, May 28, 2007).

The war between Christianity and secular humanism is really heating up now. Prominent evolutionists are using the web and other outlets time and time again to aggressively attack Bible-believing Christians. Christians need to communicate a positive message to the world that the Bible is true from the very first verse.