Today I heard this from an 85-year old biology professor….
…”We were hated in the 1970s for teaching evolution” in Mesquite, Texas close to Dallas as a metro
The area was also unsafe for Blacks at night, according to a dean at the college I knew.
The bio prof said also….
….”We are in ghettos and taught to hate by our parents”
In the 1970s churches wanted him to participate debates about evolution in their churches and he said “it would have been a waste of my time”.
There is this satellite church of a megachurch here. Southern Baptist. Openly opposed to macroevolution.
But they say, “We want to do everything short of sin to win people to Christ”.
They have used secular clips in sermons in that effort, stating movies are the parables of the modern age.
So I have this idea…challenge this church’s pastors to sit with me as a Christian historian of the Darwinian Revolution and this bio prof to hear why he thinks evolution reflects reality. As an act of hospitality toward the college community close to the church.
Not to agree, but to listen well in a polarized America
Good luck? (In the strict theological sense of the word. )
Will they hear anything that the bio. prof says? At all? Maybe what they need to hear and wrap their heads around first is that Genesis is not teaching science?
Oh, in a small group. Maybe. I was picturing a larger setting (still thinking megachurch, I suppose).
Such discussion may be beneficial to the college crowd, though I suspect the pastors will not be too open to it as any positive movement to your side would be seen as a loss to their side, and they would claim it detracts from Christ. My thought is it might be best to see if they would consider sponsoring something like Alpha groups, or if perhaps you could organize such groups yourself to discuss issues with the college crowd. If the Baptist Church was not open, you might find a mainstream denominational church to sponsor one with you, or look to Intervarsity or Cru to see if their leadership was open to it.
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