Note: Connie Barlow edited, and Doug Van Houten designed and layed out, The Epic of Evolution newsletter for nearly three years. A total of five issues were published in the late 1990s. A sampling of articles published there include the following, put into PDF format courtesy of Doug Van Houten:
"Classic Quotes" - 1998 (5 pages)
Published in the first issue, these short quotations by Aldo Leopold, Charles Darwin, Julian Huxley, Carl Sagan, Ursula Goodenough, Philip Hefner, and many more) demonstrate the spectrum of peoples and ideas who have perceived deep and inspiring meaning in the evolutionary story of life. Full text in PDF"The Cultural Significance of the Universe Story" by Brian Swimme - 1998
This 5-page essay is adapted from an oral presentation made by Brian at the November 1997 conference, "The Epic of Evolution," sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and held in Chicago. A classic! Full text in PDF"The Historical Mission of Our Times" by Thomas Berry - 1998
This 2-page article highlights some of the dialogue between Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry that is captured on audiocassette in The Collected Works of Thomas Berry (6 hrs), available through The Center for the Story of the Universe (www.brianswimme.org). Full text in PDF"How Grand a Narrative?" group discussion - 1999
This 6-page discussion by 10 board members of the Epic of Evolution Society responds to this question: "How does one navigate between scientific imperialism and cultural relativism when presenting the Epic?" Full text in PDF"Epic / Story / Narrative" by participants in Cosmogen dialogue - 1998
This 7-page article entails a dialogue that took place on the Cosmogenesis listserve about how we interpret and use these three key words in referring to evolution through time. Full text in PDF"Rebirth of Philosophical Paleontology" by Connie Barlow - 1998
A 2-page reflective essay on books by paleontologists Mark McMenamin and Simon Conway Morris that portray the evolutionary story as progressive, directional. Full text in PDF"Ultimacy" by Ursula Goodenough - 1998
A 2-page article adapted from Goodenough's book, The Sacred Depths of Nature. Full text in PDF"Does the Epic Need Art? by participants in IRASnet Dialogue - 1998
A 2-page synopsis (assembled by Ursula Goodenough) on a dialogue that occurred on the listserve of the Institute for Religion in an Age of Science. Full text in PDF"Raised on Star Stuff" by Bill Bruehl and family - 1999
This 3-page discussion among the Bruehl family offers a glimpse of how young adults remember their childhood spiritual introduction to the Universe Story: Full text in PDF. See also: "Also Raised on Star Stuff" by John Seed and Eric Idle, Full text in PDF"Experiencing the Epic" by Ruth Rosenhek - 1999
This 2-page article is the first installment in a series of articles on rituals that can help one understand and feel the 13 billion year journey of the Universe. Full text in PDF"The Cosmic Walk" by Larry Edwards - 1999
This 2-page script for presenting the Cosmic Walk ritual was submitted by Larry Edwards. Full text in PDF. See also on Larry's website: other versions of the Cosmic Walk"The Epic Infusing Traditions" by Ron Felt, Nita Penfold, and Nick Page - 2000
This 10 page article offers scripts of two Epic of Evolution services that took place in churches. Part I is a Lutheran service created by Ron Felt and performed at his church in Oak Park, Illinois on New Year's eve of 1999. Part II is a Unitarian service created by Nita Penfold and Nick Page and conducted at their church in Arlington, Massachusetts on the first Sunday of the year 2000. Full text in PDF"Teaching College Science with a Connection to Personal Meaning" by Todd Duncan - 2000
This 3-page article describes how a college science class can be transformed into a meaningful encounter with the Epic of Evolution. Todd Duncan teaches at the Center for Science Education at Portland State University in Oregon. Full text in PDF"Epic Storytelling" by Jennifer Morgan - 2000
This 3-page article presents an early version of the text of Jennifer Morgan's award-winning children's book, Born With a Bang: The Universe Tells Our Cosmic Story", along with commentary by Jennifer on the kinds of responses children have to an oral performance of this story. Full text in PDFWritings by Others
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