Evolutionary Evangelicalism

Some devout Christians initially express concern when they see the wide range of individuals (including many non-Christians) who have publicly endorsed my book, Thank God for Evolution!: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World. If its broad appeal is also a stumbling block for you, I invite you to sample first my 12-page “Evolutionary Christianity” essay. Then, as led by the Holy Spirit, prayerfully follow your heart in deciding whether to engage with the book itself.

Thank God for Evolution! is not for everyone. I wrote it with five very different audiences in mind:

1) Those who embrace evolution but don’t have joy, peace, or a deep sense of meaning and purpose in their lives (i.e., those who don’t have a personal relationship with God).

2) Mainline Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Anabaptist believers.

3) Progressive, and Emerging Church Christians.

4) WWJD-type evangelical “Christ followers” (i.e., those committed to following Jesus “in His steps”).

5) Anyone and everyone struggling with their sinful or addictive nature.

Thank God for Evolution! is NOT intended for those whose walk with God is solidly embedded within a strict, literalist interpretation of scripture. But those who experience twinges of doubt when the book of Genesis is used line-by-line to explain the creation of this world are likely to experience this perspective not as a breath, but as a gust, of fresh air.

Rather than diminishing the core teachings of our religious faith, the “Evolutionary Theology” introduced in TGFE! shows how undeniably real and universally true many of the central insights of our tradition really are, AND it does so in a way that the non-religious can easily understand and accept. For more on this, again, see my Evolutionary Christianity essay.