The Chicago Tribune reports on a letter drafted by David Oler in Deerfield that supports the teaching of evolution in public schools. The story relates the reaction of other rabbis:
Seeing evidence of the divine in the theories of Charles Darwin meant that [David] Gerson did not hesitate to sign an open letter drafted by a suburban Chicago rabbi this summer supporting the teaching of evolution in public schools. The two-paragraph letter, written by Rabbi David Oler of Congregation Beth Or in Deerfield, has attracted 235 signatures since its completion in July, with Jewish leaders from across the United States supporting its cause.
The effort, Oler said, spun off from the Clergy Letter Project, launched in 2004 by Michael Zimmerman, now the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Butler University in Indianapolis. Zimmerman asked Christian clergy to draft an open letter, since signed by 11,000 religious leaders, supporting the public teaching of evolution and emphasizing that religion does not have to be an enemy of science.
One wonders what other Jewish leaders around the country think. That Rabbis around the country are backing a Judaism/evolution reconciliation, though, was earlier evidenced by their loud denunciation of Expelled! It is interesting that, despite their comraderie in other areas, it appears that evangelical Christians and Jews are lining up on opposite sides of this issue.
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