This particular "Church of Bob" is the creation of artist, playwright, composer and performer Bob Diven. It began as a theatrical production to celebrate Charles Darwin's 200th birthday, then "evolved" into a weekly blog with sermons, cartoons and reviews. The "rev" has stepped down now after some 160 weekly sermons, but you can still read them at your leisure here.
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Billions of years ago...
...the first successful chemical reactions that would become what we call "life" began to stir. This is where Evolution began -- with the first living organisms. When we think about Evolution, our minds struggle to grasp the vast expanse of time during which life has been evolving on earth. (In practical terms we might as well be talking about "eternity"). But once we are able to wrap our minds around just how long the time line of evolution extends into the past (our past), we can begin to understand that we did, indeed, evolve from more primitive life forms. We are then free to see that we share a lineage with every other animal on the planet that extends all the way back to the very first living organism. I find a certain comfort in this knowledge (as well as a sense of place and belonging). For we have evolved to live on this planet, in this atmosphere, and so we are completely at home here: the sun feels good on our face, the air soft on our skin, ripe fruit tastes sweet upon the tongue.
Evolution is not a competing deity or religion. Evolution has no intelligence or personality as it is a natural process. Evolution is merely a means of describing observable phenomenon. The same holds true for Natural Selection. Though many hold that there is no meaning without a divine creator, no morality, no purpose nor reason to live, I do not believe this to be the case. I have found that there is a deep richness to living that is only enhanced by an understanding of Evolution -- an understanding of how we were really created.
The not-so-reverend bob.
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More science-related musical fun from Bob Diven -- watch the premiere of "Dawn of the Dinosaurs" with The Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra! (video below)
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| The not-so-reverend bob and friends. |
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COMMENTS on Bob Diven's "Happy Birthday Charles Darwin at the Church of Evolution with the not-so-reverend bob": "Delightful performance--wish you could make the rounds of junior and senior high schools! Great lesson in science! Well done!"
"I had no idea what to expect from "Happy Birthday Charles Darwin"... The idea of presenting the story using the technique of a Church was not altogether short of brilliant.... Incredibly, I learned a great deal from your well prepared and presented sermon.... The time-line to which you diligently adhered astounded me... The music was really, really creative."
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Happy Darwin Day from the church of bob! To find out more (and to locate a Darwin Day event near you) visit http://darwinday.org/
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| The "rev" in his office. Dinosaurs seem to follow him everywhere he goes. |
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