Look who's apologizing now...

An email from a GodTalk listener gave me a heads-up this week about the following headline... Church makes ludicrous apology to Charles Darwin... Seems political correctness is popularizing apologizing...

(Photo credits: Daily Mail Online UK, Darwin on the left, Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams on the right)

The article includes the details of this week's website apology from the Church of England as follows...

"The Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still," Rev. Malcolm Brown writes on a church Web site marking next year's 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's On the Origin of Species.

While not an official apology from the Church of England, it definitely feels like an apology nonetheless.

This whole episode got me thinking about the origins of apologies and what they're actually good for. Apologies at their best express regret and ask pardon for a fault or offense. So here's what I'm thinking, if we are now going to take responsibility for misunderstanding, how about we begin by expressing regret and asking pardon from God for ignoring His care, His compassion, His good earth, the good people He's created and the forgiveness He offers. Now that's an apology worth making official.

As far as apologizing to Darwin, we'll talk about that on the radio show Sunday night.