In Praise of Darwin This Sunday . . . In Hundreds of Churches!

This Sunday, over 400 congregations in 49 states in the USA 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 197th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin. It’s called “Evolution Sunday.”

How did “Evolution Sunday” come about?

Two 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.”

Zimmerman encouraged clergy across America to sign a letter that supports evolution and rejects the Genesis account of creation as literal history.

Using the university’s website, Zimmerman 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, 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 table.”

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 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.

Thousands of pastors have now made a public statement to say that what they call “faith” and what they deem “science” (by which they mean “evolution”) are compatible!

The irony is that as this “Evolution Sunday” program was being ramped up, the world’s leading evolutionist, atheist Dr. Richard Dawkins from Oxford University, hosted a television program broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK (and to eventually air around the world) that stated the very opposite message! (See our review.)

Dawkins (visibly angry at the Christian faith throughout his two-hour TV diatribe) stated: “People like to say that faith and science can live together side by side, but I don’t think they can. They’re deeply opposed. Science is a discipline of investigation and constructive doubt, questing with logic, evidence and reason to draw conclusions. Faith, by stark contrast, demands a positive suspension of critical faculties.”

Dawkins added, “Charles Darwin hit upon a truly brilliant idea that elegantly explains all of life on earth without any need to invoke the supernatural or the divine.”

Do you see the irony? The clergy supporting evolution, but the evolutionary, secular humanist insisting such a position is untenable. Dawkins has stated that evolution led him to his atheism.

But . . . Dawkins is right this time—evolution and Christianity are incompatible.

In the TV program, Dawkins often attacked Bible-believing Christians with strident comments, such as: “Fundamentalist American Christianity is attacking science. But what is it offering instead? A mirror image of Islamic extremism. An American Taliban.” The next scene showed the burning towers of the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11.

Dawkins likened Christians to terrorists!

He also stated:

To understand the likes of Osama Bin Ladin, you have to realize that the religious terrorism they inspire is the logical outcome of deeply held faith.

Even so-called “moderate” believers are part of the same religious fabric. They encourage unreason as a positive virtue. [Later he disdainfully calls them “fence-sitters.”]

What’s really scary is that religious warriors think of what they are doing as the ultimate good. Those of us brought up in Christianity can soon get the message: “Onward Christian Soldiers,” “Fight the Good Fight,” “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the Cross.”

But as far as I’m concerned, the war between good and evil is really just the war between two evils.

So, Christians are equated with Bin Laden and his terrorists!

At the same time, atheists like Dawkins (who continually have Channel 4 and the BBC at their disposal to influence millions of viewers) take glee when they see the clergy supporting evolution. Even though Dawkins unflatteringly calls them “fence-sitters,” he sees their compromise as a step towards atheism, for he expects 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!

The war between Christianity and secular humanism is really heating up now. Dawkins and other prominent evolutionists are using the airwaves 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.

To listen to an interview we recorded recently with our colleague Dr. Terry Mortenson on “Evolution Sunday.”