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To: betty boop
“The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experiences in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God.” Pope Pius XII

“Today, almost half a century after publication of the encyclical (cited above, and directly relating to BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION), new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis. It is indeed remarkable that this theory has been progressively accepted by researchers, following a series of discoveries in various fields of knowledge. The convergence, neither sought nor fabricated, of the results of work that was conducted independently is in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.” Pope John Paul II

“[I]f the human body takes its origin from pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God…Consequently, theories of evolution which…consider the mind as emerging from the forces of living matter, or as a mere epiphenomenon of this matter, are incompatible with the truth about man.” Pope John Paul II, obviously talking about the biological evolution of humanity.

The current Pope I have already quoted, here it is again...

“They are presented as alternatives that exclude each other,” the pope said. “This clash is an absurdity because on one hand there is much scientific proof in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that we must see and which enriches our understanding of life and being as such.”

So how does some sort of “cosmic” evolution enrich our understanding of life?

Obviously in context of the argument between creationism and evolution - he is speaking of biological evolution.

It is generally creationists who seek to humpty dumpty the language to insist that ANY science that contradicts their peculiar theology (Geology, Astronomy, Physics, etc) is “evolutionary” or “evolutionism”. The Pope doesn't seem to share that delusion, and when he speaks of evolution, in context it is obvious to any but the deliberately obtuse that he is speaking of biological evolution.

There is no “faith” in science. Faith is the evidence of things unseen/unobserved. There is either confidence in the model or doubt in the model based upon evidence. Acceptance of the theory or rejection of the theory based upon evidence. There is no such thing as “scientific faith”.

143 posted on 12/15/2010 12:04:47 PM PST by allmendream (Tea Party did not send the GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism.)
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To: allmendream; betty boop
"Acceptance of the theory or rejection of the theory based upon evidence. There is no such thing as “scientific faith”."

"Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realizes that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words: Ye must have faith. It is a quality which the scientist cannot dispense with." — Max Planck

145 posted on 12/15/2010 12:24:02 PM PST by GourmetDan (Eccl 10:2 - The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.)
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