Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

To: Jimmyclyde
You show me in Genisis where there is continental drift or dinasaurs or extinction...but those are just details, so lets listen to what the two main branchs of Christianity have to say on this:

I might begin by stating that, if by evolution one is referring to the theories and teachings of Charles Darwin, the Orthodox Church surely does not subscribe to evolution in any manner. Orthodoxy firmly believes that God is the Creator of all things and that human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, are unique among all created beings. At the same time Orthodoxy is not literalist in its understanding of the accounts of creation in Genesis, and I have encountered writings by Orthodox Christians which attempt to balance the creation accounts with a certain ongoing -- evolutionary, if you will -- process which, on the one hand, affirms that while humans may have evolved physically under the direction and guidance and plan of the Creator, their souls could not have evolved any more than the powers of reasoning, speaking, or the ability to act creatively could have simply evolved. In such a scenario the Creator intervened by breathing His Spirit into man and giving him life, as stated in Genesis. Such thinking, however, while admitting the possibility that the Creator guided a process of physical evolution, is not identical with the theories of Charles Darwin, which in my limited understanding implies that man's soul also evolved and denies the active participation on the part of the Creator. This poses a variety of questions and problems beyond the scope of your original question.

In short, then, Orthodoxy absolutely affirms that God is the Creator and Author of all things, that He is actively engaged with His creation, and that He desires to restore His creation to full communion with Himself through the saving death and resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This, unlike Darwinism, is not a matter of ideology but, rather, a matter of theology.

Orthodoxy has no problem with evolution as a scientific theory, only with evolution -- as some people may view it -- eliminating the need for God as Creator of All.

So in otherwords...God could have easily created evolution...imagine that, being all powerful and all.

And here is what the Catholic Church has to say on it:

The Pope's Statement

On October 23, 1996, John Paul II sent a message to members of the Pontifical Academy of Science meeting in plenary assembly (see next pages for the complete text).

It is clear to anyone who reads the Pope's message in its entirety that he is proposing a restatement of the doctrine of evolution expressed in Pope Pius XII's encyclical Humani Generis. The only new element is the acknowledgment that the theory of evolution, which for Pius XII had been only a "serious hypothesis, worthy of further research and reflection (along with research and reflection on opposing theories)," has received considerable support from scientific findings during the 50 years since Pius wrote.

On the other hand, the Pope does not affirm that evolution has become a certain, demonstrable doctrine. In the Holy Father's own words: "Rather than speaking of the theory of evolution, we should speak of (various) theories of evolution," since there does not seem to be unanimity among scientists.

The Pope, of course, does not express a definitive judgment on the scientific debate. He does, however, reassert the Church's competence to assess the theological and philosophical repercussions of evolutionary theories. The Church thus excludes, as Pius XII stated, "purely materialist or reductive analyses," which leave no room for spiritual interpretations. John Paul II reaffirmed this essential emphasis: "Even if the human body originates from pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is spontaneously created by God."

In his message, John Paul II never even pronounced Charles Darwin's name. Thus it seems clear that the mass media gave their own "spin" to the Pope's words, in some cases gravely distorting his actual meaning.

Man's True Origins

To investigate what the Church really understands by the term "evolution," we interviewed Father Vittorio Marcozzi, Vatican specialist on anthropological studies.

Marcozzi was an advisor to three Popes and an expert at the Second Vatican Council on questions related to creation and evolution. He is well known for his rigorous research and balanced appraisals; his books on the subject have been translated into many languages and distributed worldwide. Recently, in spite of his advanced age of 88 years, Marcozzi was summoned by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith to debate with eminent scientists who have written on evolution and creation.

"I agree with Cardinal Ratzinger that we cannot speak of creation versus evolution, but rather of creation and evolution," Marcozzi told Inside the Vatican. "To admit evolution does not necessarily signify denying God's intervention. There are at least three 'moments' when divine intervention is necessary and evident: the appearance of life, that is of the first living organisms; the evolutionary possibilities with which God imbues these organisms; and, finally, the coming of man, whose spiritual qualities implicate God's special intervention."

But you fundies seem to have everything all figured out on your own, most of the time without even a good education.

Oh, and here's something from Saint Augustine that should blow your mind in the opposite direction:

"How did these secular beliefs affect Augustine's view of the six creation days? In the words of Louis Berkhof, Augustine "was evidently inclined to think God created all things in a moment of time, and that the thought of days was simply introduced to aid the finite intelligence."8 Looking at Augustine's own words, taken from his Genesis commentary, we read, "In this narrative of creation Holy Scripture has said of the Creator that He completed His works in six days, and elsewhere, without contradicting this, it has been written of the same Creator that He created all things together . . . Why then was there any need for six distinct days to be set forth in the narrative one after the other? The reason is that those who cannot understand the meaning of the text, He created all things together, cannot understand the meaning of the Scripture unless the narrative proceeds slowly step by step . . . For this Scripture text that narrates the works of God according to the days mentioned above, and that Scripture text that says God created all things together, are both true."9 "

168 posted on 12/19/2002 11:13:19 PM PST by Stavka2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 152 | View Replies ]


To: Stavka2
Wouldn't that all be called creation/science then if God did it?

Wouldn't that be like changing your name to mayflower because they shipped your furniture across the country?
170 posted on 12/19/2002 11:34:31 PM PST by f.Christian
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 168 | View Replies ]

To: Stavka2
I have read your posts...

Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

Do you think I care what the Greek Orthodox Church, the Pope or Augustine has to say?

I get my information about life from the bible.

You may get your jollies from sitting on the fence, but God doesn't.

How long halt ye between two opinions?(1Kings 18:21)

Go Stavka and ask your evolution masters. Drink from their cup of deceit.

Trick yourself into believing that evolution and the word of God are compatible.

Go and muddy the waters again.....

You show me in Genisis where there is continental drift or dinasaurs or extinction

Stick to the question, my tossed to and fro friend...

You made the statement many posts ago, that evolution was God's way of making mankind.

Read Genesis for yourself.

NO EVOLUTION!!

Your masters weep.....yet they still rail on!

And you sit in darkness......

232 posted on 12/21/2002 10:23:29 PM PST by Jimmyclyde
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 168 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson