I really enjoyed teaching today’s Sunday school class, focusing on the compatibility of the Christian faith and evolution. I was most impressed simply by the spirit of loving fellowship among everyone present, which included (in addition to many of the usual participants in my class) new church members, the youth group, and other guests to the class. There were certainly different viewpoints represented, but the approach to these differences was one of dialogue, humility and exploration. That, in my thinking, matters more than what any individual thought before they came to class, and whether or not they thought the same way afterwards as they did at the start. My own views on this subject have changed radically, and a point of view that I once held but now no longer do was characterized by arrogance. That is one reason I am persuaded that being aware that there is so much that can be known that each of us does not know is paramount. The details can be sorted out later if this most crucial foundation is there.
Our discussion (which I am sorry to say I hogged more than I intended to…sorry!) ranged from the creation stories to flat-earthers to the dome to fossils to Tiktaalik to macroevolution to the second law of thermodynamics to music to genetics and beyond. Hopefully the conversation will continue outside the class and in future classes.
I hope many other churches had similarly positive experiences of talking about addressing these topics!
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