That's the title of a new book by a very passionate man of God named Denis Lamoureux. It is also the title of the lecture that Lamoureux gave Friday evening at Grace United Methodist Church in Olathe, Kansas. The lecture was sponsored by Kansas Citizens for Science and Mainstream Coalition.

Lamoureux has earned doctorate degrees in theology, biology, and dentistry.

That's right...he is a dentist and he is pro-evolution!

What a welcome revelation!

(Don't worry, I promise to lay off the dentist puns.)

Dr. Lamoureux currently holds a teaching and research position focusing on the relationship between scientific discovery and Christian faith at St. Joseph's College, a Catholic College associated with the University of Alberta.

To break the ice, Lamoureux joked that the title of his lecture was like playing golf in the middle of a thunderstorm. In today's culture war, such a bold declaration just invites trouble. Actually, I think he must be doing something similar to that, because he is definitely charged up by the topic of science and religion.

For the first half of the lecture, Lamoureux agreed with those who demand that parts of the Bible are meant to be read like a scientific textbook. He simply argued that the "science" found in Holy Scripture represents the understandings held by members of the ancient culture in which the Biblical authors were situated. Clearly, we no longer trust the accuracy of the geographical maps drawn by ancient Mesopotamians. And yet, some Christians insist that we must trust the accuracy of their astronomical, geological, and biological writings. To Lamoureux, this insistence on a literal reading of Genesis is unnecessary and potentially damaging to Christianity.

In Lamoureux's view, God comes down to meet humans at our level of understanding. Therefore, just as Christians no longer believe in the "firmament" that separates the waters above from the waters below, they should no longer feel compelled to believe in special creation. Both concepts are found in the Bible because they were originally based on the knowledge and experience of the ancients. And yet, both concepts are inconsistent with our modern scientific understanding of the natural world. If Christians are willing to reject one old idea because of this inconsistency, then, Lamoureux argued, they should be willing to reject the other.

Another major theme of Dr. Lamoureux's lecture was that Christians do not have to choose between the Bible and evolution. He challenged the false dichotomy that exists because some Christians are happy to join with atheists like Richard Dawkins and force a confrontation on this issue. As a result of his own unique background, Lamoureux has a special concern for college students who often feel forced to reject their faith when they first encounter the overwhelming evidence of evolution in their college Biology courses. In his view, Christians need not be divided on issues that are irrelevant to the theological messages conveyed by the Biblical accounts of Creation. He argued that setting our children up for such a crisis of faith is both unfair and unnecessary.

One other memorable point that Lamoureux made was that both theists and atheists who accept evolution make choices when they interpret the ultimate meaning of scientific evidence. Theists choose to see plan and purpose in the patterns of evolutionary change. These same patterns are interpreted by atheists as consistent with the idea that nothing exists beyond nature. Both views are valid interpretations of the same body of evidence. Ultimately, though, these interpreations are not derived from the application of the scientific method. Therefore, any meaning we attach to evolution is something that we are laying on top of the scientific evidence. With this point, I wholeheartedly agree. I think that agreement on this point would help to relieve a lot of the tension that exists between theists and atheists when it comes to evolution.

What most impressed me about Lamoureux's presentation was the depth of knowledge he displayed on the topic, particularly in the field of theology. While I believe that it is useful for Christians to read the personal testimonies of scientists like Francis S. Collins and Kenneth R. Miller, their theological arguments in favor of the compatibility of evolution and Christianity are (understandably) quite shallow. It was refreshing to hear these same arguments espoused by a someone with a PhD in Christian theology. Obviously, a person with such a background is better equipped to articulate complex theological ideas in an accessible manner.

As with all Christian evolutionists that I know of, Lamoureux clearly had no interest in convincing his audience to believe as he does. He merely desired to inform his audience that such middle-ground positions do indeed exist and that they have been reached by people who once found themselves on one of the extreme ends of the Creation/Evolution continuum. Interestingly, he briefly mentioned his own journey from atheist to Young Earth Creationist to Evolutionary Creationist. I personally wish he would have explained how that worked, but I suppose I'll just have to get his new book to find out.

For a fuller explication of Lamoureux's views on the subject, check out this presentation of his entitled "Beyond the Evolution vs. Creation Debate." From what I can tell, it covers a lot of the same ground.