Where rejection of biblical orthodoxy ultimately leads
Michael Dowd is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and a graduate of Palmer Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is also enthusiastic about the rise of the new atheists. A self-proclaimed “evangelist” for evolution, Rev. Dowd’s words seem eerily similar to some of the postings at Biologos about God, evolution, and inerrancy. I point this out because many of Dowd’s views would, at this point anyway, be rejected (I suppose) by some of the scholars who post at Biologos. My question is “why?” Once the criteria for whether or not I will accept what the Bible says is my own moral sensibilities or what happens to be “intellectually satisfying” to me then everything in the Bible is up for grabs.
One of Dowd’s recent comments was indistinguishable for some recent comments from an Old Testament scholar at Biologos. Dowd rejects God as He is revealed in the Bible as “brutal, cruel, vindictive, and genocidal.” It seems inevitable. Let a man reject the full trustworthiness of the Bible as God’s Word and he will then make a god in his own image; a god that will be satisfying to his intellectually autonomous self.
Al Mohler has written an article commenting on some of Dowd’s recent pronouncements.
Michael Dowd argues that Christians should thank God for the New Atheists. A self-styled “evangelist” for evolution, Dowd recently preached a sermon in Oklahoma City in which he called for nothing less than a rejection of biblical Christianity and the embrace of a spirituality rooted in an embrace of evolution and a rejection of the supernatural.
A few weeks ago, a reporter called me for comment after Dowd had made a similar argument on his Web site, “ThankGodforEvolution.com.” In more recent days, Dowd has responded directly to my comments. Without doubt, his argument deserves a closer look.
In his 2007 book, Thank God for Evolution, Dowd recounts that he, along with his wife, Connie Barlow, decided in 2002 to go on the road as “evolutionary evangelists.” As he explains, “We offer a view of our collective evolutionary journey that frees the imagination, touches the heart, and leaves people wanting more.” An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and a graduate of Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now Palmer Theological Seminary), Dowd now finds his passion in spreading his message of “the epic of evolution” or “the Great Story.”
Read the entire article HERE.
