Charles Darwin/s return from his voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle turned the world upside down. Not only did his discoveries revolutionize biology, they nearly put God out of business. Or, so it seems.

Darwin/s proposal that natural selection should replace design as the mechanism of creation continues to provoke an uproar a century and a half after the publication of Origin of the Species. Partisans, pro and con, argue over whether human beings descend from a very non-human common ancestor and whether evolution is by definition blind and purposeless.

Scientific consensus does insist that evolution, by some means akin to natural selection, explains the world that exists. Despite the evidence offered by the scientific establishment, half if not more of Americans not only reject evolution, they insist that life exists today pretty much as it always has. In the popular mind, it would seem that God has triumphed over science. Whereas two decades ago, the watchword was scientific creationism, today we argue about Intelligent Design. Intelligent Design may not be creationism under a new name, but it does seek to undermine evolution. It does so by insisting that the world has irreducible complexities that require a designer and cannot be explained by random developments.

Darwin did end up an agnostic, but from his day to the present many religiously-inclined scientists, along with devout theologians, clergy, and biblical scholars have sought to embrace both evolution (including natural selection as its mechanism) and the notion that God is the creator. They seek to hold together the seeming randomness of the natural world with a sense of design. Whether it is called &#8220theistic evolutionC or &#8220evolving creation,C the point is, God and modern science need not be mutually exclusive entities.

Today, more than 400 Christian congregations from across the nation are observing &#8220Evolution SundayC as a way of reclaiming a healthy relationship between science and Christian faith. It follows upon &#8220An Open Letter Concerning Religion and ScienceC that has garnered more than 10,000 signatories, mine included. Signatories include local clergy, biblical scholars, theologians, philosophers, bishops and denominational heads, as well as university and seminary presidents. They represent religious communities as diverse as Roman Catholic, Mainline and Evangelical Protestant churches, along with a few Unitarians. Some names are well known, others are not.

Each signatory affirms the premise that evolution and Christian faith can live in harmony, as long as each respects the competency of the other in its own field of inquiry. It allows for conversation and cooperation, but it rejects the either/or choices so often presented to the community. The letter affirms that &#8220the 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.C It also affirms the biblical witness that God is creator. In doing this, the signatories agree to build a bridge between two seemingly opposite ventures. To do this we must face the question of biblical interpretation. If we must read Genesis as a modern historical and scientific statement, then the bridge will fall. But one need not read Genesis in a literal fashion to be faithful to its message, which is, all that what exists is from God and it is in its own way very good.

&#8220Evolution SundayC may seem like an odd addition to the liturgical calendar, but it is not as strange as it seems. By observing this event, the church brings science back into conversation with theology. It recognizes that each discipline looks at the world from a different point of view. As a Christian I affirm God/s intimate involvement in the universe. I confess God as Creator and stand in awe of God/s handiwork, even while recognizing that such beauties as Crater Lake and the Gaviota Coast result from natural causes.

This Evolution Sunday I join the Psalmist in declaring that the &#8220heavens are telling of the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiworkC (Ps. 19:1), while affirming the theory of evolution as a scientifically valid explanation for how things have come to be. Today is the day to restart the conversation between science and faith.

Dr. Bob Cornwall is Pastor of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of Lompoc (lompocdisciples.org). You may contact him at lompocdisciples@impulse.net or First Christian Church, P.O. Box 1056, Lompoc, CA 93438.

February 12, 2006