Evangelist marries science and faith

The Rev. Michael Dowd preaches a gospel that's billions of years old.

The "evolutionary evangelist" and author of "Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World" will speak in Carson City at an all-day workshop hosted by St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

"Thank God for Evolution" workshop is 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 20 at the Plaza Hotel Conference Center, 211 E. 9th St., and includes a continental breakfast and lunch. Registration by March 10 is $100, or $115 afterwards.

Dowd will also present an introductory lecture at 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, March 19 at St. Peter's at 300 N. Division Street. There is no charge for the Friday lecture.

Dowd and his wife, science writer Connie Barlow, have been proclaiming the "great news" of a sacred view of cosmic, biological and human evolution since 2002. The goal of his workshops is to address the concerns of Christians about evolution and share insights that appeal to people of faith and those without a faith.

His passion is showing how an evolutionary understanding of human nature can inspire and empower each of us to live with greater integrity, joy and zest for life.

"I don't believe it is particularly useful - and it's actually probably impossible - to try to prove or disprove the existence of supernatural realms or spiritual beings," Dowd says on his Web site, thankgodforev olution.com. "I suggest that those who believe in them or feel they know them should continue to find meaning there. However, for those of us like myself who do not find supernatural explanations (interpreted literally) to be intellectually, emotionally, or spiritually satisfying, science gives us a view of reality that is overflowing with deeply meaningful answers - and that's what I want to stress here."

Dowd is uniquely gifted at understanding the truths of various viewpoints. Raised a Roman Catholic, he served in the military, graduated with highest honors from an evangelical college (Evangel University in Springfield, Mo.) and earned a Masters of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as a United Church of Christ minister for nine years.

As a young man, he distributed anti-evolution pamphlets and argued that the world could not be more than 6,000 years old.

Today, he integrates science and spirituality. Faith based on facts, Dowd says, is "God's native tongue."

For more information, call the Rev. Kim Morgan at 883-1681.