I’ve mentioned previously one of the forgotten yet major principles behind Christianity, at least as defined by its founding father, St. Augustine of Hippo, which states that using the bible to argue against science is moot and counterproductive, even going so far as to make clear its negative implications for saving souls when such arguments call into question all that the faith declares.  Essentially, when one stands and decries evolution because the book of Genesis contravenes the theory, and one does this despite scientific evidence contrary to such a statement, the entire system of beliefs is called into question, and this in turn means it will be more difficult, if not impossible, to convince someone that those beliefs are true, accurate, and worthy of acceptance by faith.  As you can imagine, it’s difficult to stand in denial of dinosaurs simple because the bible never mentions them.  Everyone can look at you and see you’re a fool, and being a fool means you have foolish beliefs; so what does that mean for convincing others that your faith is true and correct?

Luckily, and much to my surprise, there are a great many Christian leaders and believers who understand this premise, who realize their sacred texts are metaphorical stories not meant to convey historical fact, and who have declared religion and science compatible and able to coexist if believers simply apply logic and common sense instead of belligerent emotional outburts.  To wit, see An Open Letter Concerning Religion and Science:

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.

Thus far, 10,348 signatures have been collected.  That is a great sign, and I offer my respect and admiration for those of faith willing to stand on the facts and decry senseless embarrassment and discrediting of their faiths.