# Thank God for Evolution

- Author: [Michael Dowd](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd.md)
- Quotes: 27
- Book page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution

## Quotes

> [W]e chose to display on our van both a Jesus fish and a Darwin fish—kissing. A retired biology professor... laughed, "Oh great! Now you piss everyone off!"

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/w-e-chose-to-display.md)

> [F]or... over 99 percent of human history—there is little evidence that any culture understood developmental time and space... remotely similar to... today. Nevertheless, the big cosmological questions demanded answers, and so the answers came. ...Orally transmitted stories would evolve—until (and if!) they were written down and declared to be the unchanging revelation of God. When a story becomes scripture, it ceases to evolve.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/f-or-over-99-percent.md)

> You will... find here effective ways to talk about evolution to any friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors who are biblical literalists or young earth creationists.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/you-will-find.md)

> So long as religious and political leaders continue to ignore our evolutionary heritage, and thus do not put in place structures of internal and external support that can withstand the high dosages of that high status and power necessarily confer, then there will be no hope for a less calamitous future.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/so-long-as-religious.md)

> May I continue to have the humility, strength, and peer encouragement to do what is necessary to remain in this state of grace. May I be a blessing to those around me. May I leave a positive evolutionary legacy, in service to God. And may the light of the living Christ shine within my heart and continue to guide my steps.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/may-i-continue.md)

> Discussing Thank God for Evolution! with those you care about will open new doors of possibility... and provide common ground where none existed before. This book is a perfect gift, not to convert others to your way of thinking but to converse... deeply and heartfully about those things that matter most.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/discussing-thank-god.md)

> I met Connie Barlow at a lecture... Connie was the author of four books, and two of them had "evolution" in their titles... She, too, was a long-time "epic of evolution" enthusiast. ...[H]er passion for sharing a sacred understanding of cosmic history was no less than mine. Seven months later I asked Connie to marry me.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/i-met-connie.md)

> Traditional religions have played crucial roles in fostering cooperation within each tribe, kingdom, and early nation—though not infrequently by provoking suspicion and enmity of those outside the group. ...[T]o fulfill their potentials in our postmodern world, each will have to harmonize its core doctrines with the evolutionary world view. ...[T]he evolutionary outlook bolsters their core teachings. Instead of an intrusion... a precious blessing.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/traditional-religions-have.md)

> The ancient religious paths are aching for coherence with the great discoveries born of the quest to understand this... Universe, the living world, our evolved selves, and... our innermost psyches.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/the-ancient-religious.md)

> Understanding the unwanted drives within us as having served our ancestors for millions of years is far more empowering than imagining that we are the way we are because of inner demons, or because the world’s first woman and man ate a forbidden apple a few thousand years ago. The path to freedom lies in appreciating one’s instincts, while taking steps to channel these powerful energies in ways that will serve our higher purposes.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/understanding-the-unwanted.md)

> [M]any... believers have rejected evolution because... [it] has been depicted as random, meaningless, mechanistic, and Godless. The growing edge of evolutionary thinking... points to a very different understanding... a... realistic picture of divine creativity. ...a Universe astonishingly ...suited for life and ...consciousness.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/m-any-believers-have.md)

> Connie was a self-described atheist, and her professional life was steeped in the sciences. My life was devoted to religion. Our union embraces both.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/connie-was-a-self-described.md)

> No otherworldly, unnatural paradise can compare with the utterly REAL heaven I now experience... every moment of every day, free of resentment, guilt, and unfinished business. ...By genuinely appreciating my instincts—thanks to the evolutionary world-view—and creating... structures of support, I now, by grace, experience an ease and freedom I've never known before regarding old habits, patterns, and temptations.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/no-otherworldly-unnatural.md)

> I promise that this book will provide... an experience of science, and evolution specifically, that will fire your imagination, touch your heart, and lead you to a place of deep gratitude, awe, and reverence.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/i-promise-that.md)

> To agnostics, humanists, atheists, and freethinkers... you will find nothing here that you cannot wholeheartedly embrace as... rationally sound, mainstream scientific understanding of the Universe. ...[T]he vision of "evolutionary spirituality" presented here will benefit you and your loved ones without your needing to believe in anything otherworldly.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/to-agnostics-humanists.md)

> [W]e were watching... Evolution: A Journey into Where We Came From and Where We're Going. ...episode ..."What About God?" It examined the struggle that conservative Christian college students face in trying to embrace both evolution and a pre-evolutionary interpretation of their faith. ...Connie ...said, "You need to be out there talking to those students. ...to show how an evolutionary understanding can enrich one's faith!" ...A few weeks later, after a frustrating day at work, I told her (not really serious...) "...I wish we could travel non-stop, teaching and preaching the Great Story ..." Her response... "I'd love to do that!"

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/w-e-were-watching.md)

> Thanks to our fresh understanding of the deep-time face of grace, science and religion... are ushering each other into greatness.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/thanks-to-our.md)

> Evolutionary versions of each religion... are emerging. ...[A]dherents of each religion have discovered ...Religious insights and perspectives freed from the narrowness of their time and place of origin are more comprehensive and grounded in measurable reality ...Evolution does not diminish religion; it expands its meaning and value globally.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/evolutionary-versions-of-each.md)

> I dedicate this book to the glory of God.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/i-dedicate-this.md)

> Each and every human being who has ever brought anything of beauty, value, or importance into the world has done so only because... impregnated or in-spirited by some aspect of Beauty, Truth, Love, or other attributes of God. This... is beyond comprehension, beyond... force or free will. ...as if some power greater than ourselves is at work. ...There is a sense of having served, like Mary, as a vessel for something ...greater than our own capacities. ...[P]eak experiences are religious moments ...The story of Jesus's conception can remind us of such miracles in our ...lives.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/each-and-every.md)

> God's gift of science reveals that our faith traditions are... meaningful and grounded in undeniable reality... When we focus... on points of broad consensus rather than... legitimate disagreement, conflicts... lose their grip.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/gods-gift-of-science.md)

> [L]et me slip into pride or arrogance, deception or inauthenticity, blame or resentment, or stingy, ungrateful self-centeredness, and I won't have to worry about burning in some otherworldly hell after I die. I'll be supping with Satan right here and now.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/l-et-me-slip.md)

> Scientists... are moving away from a mechanistic... way of thinking and into an emergent, developmental worldview. Evolution... can be embraced as God glorifying and Christ edifying.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/scientists-are-moving.md)

> [M]y intent is to help you see what I see—science and religion can be mutually enriching.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/m-y-intent-is-to-help.md)

> School textbooks, unfortunately, sometimes render science as dogmatic as any fundamentalist doctrine. In truth, science is quintessentially open to revision and discovery.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/school-textbooks-unfortunately.md)

> [T]he fact that our Universe has been transforming along a discernible path for billions of years—the fact that creation was not a one-time event—is of little or no dispute. ...[T]his undeniable fact ...makes me want to shout from the mountaintops: "...The war is over!"

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/t-he-fact-that.md)

> [W]hat a difference it makes to be groping our way forward in faith—in partnership with God, or, should you prefer less traditional terminology: trusting the Universe... Reality... Time.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-dowd/thank-god-for-evolution/w-hat-a-difference.md)