Evolution and Spirituality with Bruce Sanguin: Homebrewed Christianity 43
By Chad Crawford • Feb 11th, 2009 • Category: media, podcast
How can Christians discuss evolution in ways that move from scientific data towards spiritual inspiration? Bruce Sanguin and I try to recover a spirituality of awe and mystery, fostering an ecological Christianity.
Our talk covers:
• disenchantment in the modern era
• a new cosmology that encourages a deeper relationship with God and creation
• viewing the gospel through an evolutionary, ecological lens
Bruce is the pastor of Canadian Memorial United Church in Vancouver, British Columbia and author of Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos and The Emerging Church: A Model for Change and a Map for Renewal.
We also have a little fun with the legendary band Devo…in honor of Darwin’s 200th birthday (on Thursday) and 150th anniversary of On the Origin of the Species. Listen to find out the connection.
Thank you Deacon Kevin for calling the Homebrewed Hotline (210-787-1057) and sharing how HBC has brought you closer to your brother. The entire Homebrewed Diaconate is invited to call us and share your story of how the podcast has improved your relationships.
Also check out Episode 26 with Bruce Sanguin and Tripp’s review of The Emerging Church on Emergent Village.
Chad Crawford is a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wake Forest University Divinity School. He is originally from Austin, Texas and now lives in San Francisco, where he is the online communications manager for Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit organization mobilizing a religious response to global warming. He's a long distance hiker and minister sharing thoughts on ecology, politics, culture, and faith.
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I think an interesting caviott of our perspective on creation and it’s place in the gospel it that it asumes a helpless universe. Creation by no means needs the presense of man. As theology progresses should our place in that thoelogy also take a less central place in the universe? The reality of God seems to be that it will continue long afterour own extinction.
Thanks Big Erl. I’ve had similar questions – usually along the lines of why do we consider ourselves “stewards” if the earth was healthier for billions of years before we arrived? Another reason why the kinship model is better than the stewardship model. I think we will adopt a theology that takes a less central place in the universe – what if (or should I say “when” – and I think Tripp will like this) we meet a more advanced species one day from another part of the universe? This doesn’t mean we don’t have a special role to play in nature. It means we need to recognize our role and be faithful to it as an act of worship.
Now that Chad has come out about his belief in extra Terrestrials I too want to agree with the Big Erl and say, now that we know that world doesn’t revolve around us (literally) we have some new thinking to do. That said, I imagine it will be thinking where we see ourselves more fully as part of God’s creation. I also think there is a dignity for us as a species given our ability to have abstract thought, language, and culture – not to mention being the species at least on this planet where the Logos came among us. This dignity doesn’t remove us from the created order, but it calls us too responsible kinship. You could call it the kin-dom of God if you want.
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