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.
I believe the Bible to the core of my being, also.. I just happen to believe Genesis 1-3!
I agree with the Pope.
“No, they do not evolve. They mutate. Big difference.”
Actually, mutation is how they evolve. You, me, all of us have DNA correcting machinery in our cells that is there to correct the myriad DNA mutations that occur each and every day in our bodies. Not all mutations are repaired, and if you compare a person’s DNA at birth to their DNA at age 60, you will find changes in their genetic code. Most of these changes are innocuous, or silent, and thus don’t kill us. Some, however, are not benign, and are one of the reasons that cancer kills so many of us.
I am very sensitive to each person’s personal experience of God, and I know there is a God more than I know that I fortunately have two hands. That said, I think God is so incredibly beyond anything we can imagine in our smallness, that no one person can understand or even come anywhere close to knowing all that God is.
I think we are all mostly on the same side here. My view is to agree entirely that evolution doesn’t in any way preclude God - or creation. Science, to me, is one path of discovery of God, and one way to catch just a glimpse of the complexity and wonder of God. To really know God, all I need to do is look at the innocence of a child, and the beauty that surrounds us. To know that God grants us free will, all I need to do is look at the evil and hurt in the world.
I just did a search, and many other sources are reporting that Francis said “God isn’t a magician with a magic wand”-—in other words, He isn’t capable of the Genesis account.
If he did say it, the man is absolutely insane.
But it is inconsistent with creation.
Evolution teaches that life existed on the planet for eons, struggling, suffering, and dying, before man-—a recent arrival-—came on the scene.
Scripture says that man was created at the beginning of the world-—Jesus in the New Testament confirms it. And there was no bloodshed, pain, or death until after the fall.
Those two views are at odds with one another; you pretty much have to pick one.
I suspect many Christians-—and understand, please, I’m not accusing you personally-—are afraid of being seen as anti-intellectual. They think if they don’t claim support for evolution, someone might laugh at them and call them a toothless snake handler.
That is a non sequitur on your part. The Pope disagrees with the belief that everything was created simultaneously, exactly as it found today. That is not biblical.
God doesn’t act like a magician, rather, he acts in an orderly way. While people may disagree with the Genesis timeline, what one can see is that God created things in an orderly manner, with some things coming before others. He didn’t just make everything appear all at once.
Finally, to suggest the Pope doesn’t believe God is omnipotent is quite a stretch.
You may not like the man, but don’t let your feelings obscure rational thought.
Did you actually read what you wrote? Did you read the definitions form Dictionary.com? The words were "develop" and "evolve."
You are wrong. Feel free to have the last word.
I see you’re capable of non-sequiturs yourself in your assumption that I “don’t like” the man. I’m not a fan, but I don’t have an active dislike for him. I’m pretty neutral.
But I have no problem making note of ridiculous statements from anyone, including his.
The Genesis creation account is a perfect example of “order.” However, God could have breathed or willed everything into existence at once, if He had been so disposed; claiming that would have made Him a magician is absurd.
“Evolution teaches that life existed on the planet for eons, struggling, suffering, and dying, before man-—a recent arrival-—came on the scene.
Scripture says that man was created at the beginning of the world-—Jesus in the New Testament confirms it. And there was no bloodshed, pain, or death until after the fall.
Those two views are at odds with one another; you pretty much have to pick one.”
The biblical account of creation in genesis is not literally true, although it contains many important allegorical truths. There is nothing whatsoever unchristian about the belief that God set in motion the process that lead to whatever spark imbues humanity.
I don’t quite know what use folks get out of the Bible if they believe everything is an allegory.
Again-—evolution, which you are apparently supporting, teaches that man is a recent arrival.
Scripture contradicts that, and Jesus Himself said that man was made in the beginning. Or was He being allegorical, too...?
No; the scripture indicates the sixth day.
Scripture says that man was created at the beginning of the world …
Not un-Christian? “Evolution” comes from Greek paganism, not the Bible. Darwin even admitted he had an ulterior motive in devising this “theory” that is not original to him.
Great way to create a new schism.
Did you read my entire post? My point was that man didn’t come along after eons of suffering and bloodshed; that happened after the fall.
And yes, it was the beginning, if you believe Jesus (I do).
Mark 10:5-6:
And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.
“Not un-Christian? “Evolution” comes from Greek paganism, not the Bible. Darwin even admitted he had an ulterior motive in devising this “theory” that is not original to him.”
No, evolution comes from God’s creation, and we perceive it through use of our God-given gift of reason. God does not require you to ignore your mind. God does not place tricks or traps in his creation to catch the unfaithful. God is not a liar and a trickster. He created a stunningly complex creation, and He gave you reason with which to understand it. Don’t be afraid to use your mind - in so doing you exalt God.
No, the Bible says nothing of the sort. And since the concept of evolution came from Greek paganism, there’s no compatibility.
It’s certainly true that God is no liar nor trickster, but the god of this world certainly is.
I didn’t say otherwise, but the context is from the Torah.
Is he hanging out with the God of the Bible or the Left’s god of surprises today?
I said you don’t like the man because you called him “insane” for allegedly making a reasonable statement.
Back to your non sequitur. Just because the whole of creation was made in a flash, and Pope Francis is making that point, doesn’t not suggest, in any way, that Pope Francis believes God is incapable of doing so. This is why I called you out.
Not according to your pope...We 'evolved' into God's image...
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