Posted on 10/28/2014 9:44:29 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Evolution is not inconsistent with God, said Pope Francis during an unveiling of a bust of his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Monday.
"Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation," Francis said. "The scientist," he continued, "must [nevertheless] be moved by a trust in the idea that nature hides, within her evolutionary mechanisms, potentialities that it is the task of intellect and freedom to discover and actuate, in order to achieve the [kind of] development that is in the design of the Creator."
The pope, who backed the Roman Catholic Church's openness to evolution, added that scientific advancements can be used for the benefit of people.
The bust of Benedict XVI was unveiled during the course of the Academicians' Oct. 24-28 plenary meeting dedicated to evolving concepts of nature, Vatican Radio reported.
Francis praised his predecessor, and said the he "[was] a great Pope: great for the power and penetration of his intellect, great for his significant contribution to theology, great for his love for the Church and of human beings, great for his virtue and piety."
The Vatican leader encouraged science and scientists to continue working on "happy" theoretical and practical initiatives for the benefit of human beings.
Brother Guy Consolmagno, astronomer and planetary scientist at the Vatican Observatory, said earlier in October that he finds Young Earth Creation theories that run contrary to science "almost blasphemous" in nature.
"It's almost blasphemous theology," Consolmagno said. "It's certainly not the tradition of Catholicism and never has been and it misunderstands what the Bible is and it misunderstands what science is."
The Vatican astronomer added that although literal interpretations of the Bible could suggest that the Earth is of a young age, scientific evidence to the contrary has shown that such a belief is "bad theology."
The Catholic Church's acceptance of evolution stands contrary to other Christian views of the origins of the earth, such as creationism, which supports a literal interpretation of Genesis.
The question of human origins remains a divisive one in the U.S. especially, where a Gallup poll from June found that more than four in 10 Americans, or 42 percent, believe that God created humans in their present form 10,000 years ago.
Another 31 percent of those who responded to the survey said that they believe in evolution, but with God guiding the process, while 19 percent said that God had no part in the process. Gallup noted that these figures have changed little over the past three decades.
Really? I can't prove a fact if I haven't lived the entirety of human evolution? Did George Washington exist? Did Babe Ruth? I never met them. But there's plenty of evidence I can use to prove they existed. Evolution is an observed fact. Your DNA indicates that you shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees approximately 10 million years ago.
Seems we were told about this happening... somewhere.
Evolution.... the truth about it, God has created.
This Pope wastes God’s time, it’s a good thing God has so much of it.
You are half-right. Many people read into what he says to fulfill their own agendas. However, when he is read in context of the ancient and unchanging teachings of the Church, his statements make perfect sense.
Prior to Pope Francis, we had two of the most incredible philosophical and theological minds as Popes. Over the 30 or so years, we have been conditioned to listen to very cerebral statements. Currently, Pope Francis speaks very plainly, in comparison, and people are seeking additional meaning.
The Church doesn’t come out and say “Evolution is false.” However, it does teach that Darwin (man from apes) and social Darwinism are wrong.
Science and religion are not at odds. Science is the way we figure out how an infinite, omnipresent, and omnipotent power created our physical universe. Since there is very little truly “settled science,” we must keep seeking the truth.
Got that right. If there was no God-created Adam, then Jesus was either a liar or ignoramus.
>> Science and religion are not at odds. Science is the way we figure out how an infinite, omnipresent, and omnipotent power created our physical universe. Since there is very little truly “settled science,” we must keep seeking the truth.
Well said.
“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” Proverbs 25:2
Your DNA indicates that you shared a common ancestor with chimpanzees approximately 10 million years ago.>>>>>>
An indication does not make it a fact, and besides if they could prove that we came from the apes because the d.n.a matched then how do they prove who did not commit the crime because the d.n.a didn’t match? no sense to it.
Alas, the “young Earth” group doesn’t seem to actually go outside and look at what’s there, what’s happening, and observe how things change & how long change takes. Fossils exist. Vast-scale geologic change happens. Take a good long hard look at what actually IS, and it becomes rapidly clear that what happened did so over a time scale far longer than 10,000 years. If all this DID happen in just 10,000 years, then most of it had to be made (to wit, just appeared) pretty much as it is right now - and if that’s your contention, I challenge you to explain why God didn’t make everything, as is now, just 20 minutes ago. God doesn’t lie to us, and to have made the fossil record, as-is with all the evidence there is that it occurred over a very long time, would mean God lied.
Just to rile more:
Light does not experience time. Whether traveling merely from this screen to your eyes, or across vast intergalactic distances that are unquestionably farther than compatible with the “10,000 year” model, the trip for light from its own perspective was instant. Holding to “10,000 years” is holding to a wisp; God’s perspective of time is utterly unlike ours, making vehement adherence to that timeframe ... strange.
Yes. Someone cares to inform us beforehand.
He's been the false prophet for centuries.
You sure?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3187698/posts
>> God’s perspective of time is utterly unlike ours
Yep.
Put another way, “GOD exists apart from time”.
Put yet another way, time itself is something GOD made as an artifact of His creation of the universe. He is not constrained by time, as we are.
We will never wrap our minds completely around GOD. To do so would be to set boundaries on Him — to put him in a box of our own making. Not possible.
FRegards
Where’s John Paul when we need him? This Pope believe God changes His mind and didn’t create the world the way Genesis records!
Here =>
In an October 22, 1996 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II updated the Church's position to accept evolution of the human body:
"In his encyclical Humani Generis (1950), my predecessor Pius XII has already affirmed that there is no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of the faith regarding man and his vocation, provided that we do not lose sight of certain fixed points.... Today, more than a half-century after the appearance of that encyclical, some new findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis.
In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies—which was neither planned nor sought—constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory."
You are wrong, development is change.
They are not the same. Webster:
Change: To become different.
Evolution: To change or develop slowly often into a better, more complex, or more advanced state.
Now, what was it you were saying again?
That’s speciation, not eveolution
I believe the Bible to the core of my being, and have no problem whatsoever in visualizing a 15by old universe.
If there was a like button I would click it for your post and comments.
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