| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
|---|---|---|
| Creationism | Sean | Wednesday, April 16, 2008 |
Question: Hello I have always been interested in the Creationism vs. Evolution debate. I think I have a firm handle on the Catholic position on Creation. I know that we do not necessarily hold to the fundamentalist/creationist theory of a literal 7 day creation or the "young earth theory" (the earth is only 10,000 years old). One major argument given by some creationists, though, has always struck me. The argument is this: 1. Sin, death, and destruction were not created by God - All that God created was good. 2. Sin, death, and destruction entered creation through the sin of Adam and Eve. 3. The theory of evolution depends on death and destruction as the catalysts for evolution (survival of the fittest, mutation, catastrophic events that cause extinction) 4. If human beings are relatively young in the evolutionary process - that supposes millions of years of death and destruction before "The Fall." 5. This makes the Theory of Evolution philosophically incompatible with Christianity Does the Church have any further insight on this specific argument that you know of? Thank you and God bless! |
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| Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM
Dear Sean: I am very sorry that it has taken several months to answer your question. This forum has been closed since 2005. I am not sure how you and others found the submit page, but I will have to look into it. That is why I did not notice your question until now. I just discovered this today... The Church leaves the issue of how the world was created to the realm of science. It is the task of science to discover such things. The Church does, however, insist upon three things: 1) there is a God and He created all things (the how is for science to discover) 2) the soul did not evolve but was uniquely and specifically created by God and placed within the person at the moment of conception 3) we did have an original pair of parents Items #1 and #2 are not within the realm of science to even consider. Any scientist who makes statements about the existence of God or soul, as a scientist, is violating science. Item #3 is something that science has investigated and does assert that we humans do have an original pair of parents. Except for these three items science is free to investigate and to posit theories about the development of the universe. A Catholic may be a good Catholic believing in a six day creation, a multi-billion year evolution, or any other theory as long as he agrees with the three items above. The three criteria listed above was mentioned by Pope John Paul II in a speech before the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. God Bless, |
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