Two weeks ago Connie and I rafted 300 miles down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with Genie Scott, Exectutive Director of the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) and 23 others, including a young geologist and gifted evolutionary storyteller, Dr. Alan "Gish" Gislick.  What a stunning experience!

While in the Grand Canyon, I naturally met God—that is, I had a deeply inspiring and truly transforming experience of Reality.  A number of "revies" (revelations/insights) came to me regarding the message I'm to preach in the days, weeks, and months to come.  Bottom line: I interpreted Reality/God saying to me: "Be bolder, Michael, much bolder, especially regarding how you speak about the costs (individually and collectively) of not having a meaningful science-based worldview and the benefits of celebrating the epic of evolution as our common creation story.  There's too much at stake not to be bold."

Because I speak to wildly diverse groups - from devoutly religious audiences of many different kinds, to nonreligious and occasionally even anti-religious groups - I generally tailor my message, at least a little, for each audience.

Here's the main thing I feel called to say to my fellow Christians:

Until we come to appreciate what God has revealed over the past 200 years about how everything was actually created, and why death at all levels is essential to the creative process, it's practically impossible not to trivialize core religious concepts such as God's ways, God's word, and God's will.  More, when we value ancient mythic revelations over current measurable revelations, we inevitably betray God, belittle the gospel, and risk condemning our grandchildren to a literal hell on Earth.

I elaborate on this in my next post.