Theory of evolution and the interpretation of Genesis
See also: Evolution and the Roman Catholic Church.
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 an 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.
Oh just read th elink
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_II#Theory_of_evolution_and_the_interpretation_of_Genesis
2006-08-12 05:07:59 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I see from the lack of god freak responses, that they are now a little confused.
Who would know more about god and evolution, you are a pope? HHHmmmmm let me think.
2006-08-12 05:36:52 · update #1
Nice one glory, good to see that your getting into the swing of things.
2006-08-12 07:13:23 · update #2
Evolution IS fact. There is acctual proof of it.
2006-08-12 05:11:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
I am not a Roman Catholic so therefore would not know what the Pope had to say about anything, let alone evolution!! And I can not be bothered to read the link!!
And though the Pope may be the leader of the Catholic Church... He is however only a man, just like any other man: and voted Pope by other men the same... so I would be little interested in his theories anyway!!!!
Smile Jesus Loves you!!!
2006-08-12 13:59:42 · answer #2 · answered by englands.glory 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Catholic Church is more than a religion. It plays much into the political world as well. Congrats to Pope John Paul II for being wise enough to accept evolution and call into question their interpretation of the 'creation account'. May Pope John Paul II rest in peace.
(I am not a Catholic not a theist)
Be good.
2006-08-12 12:19:16 · answer #3 · answered by molon_labe_rkba 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Catholics believe that the Bible contains religious truth but not always historical fact.
The Creation stories in Genesis tell the religious truth that God created the world and it was good.
The Catholic Church (hopefully) has learned it lesson and now proclaims that religion and science can coexist and complement each other.
Catholics can believe in the theory of evolution. Or not. The Church does not require belief in evolution.
Evolution is the most scientifically sound explanation of God's creation at this time. Tomorrow someone may come up with a better theory.
With love in Christ.
2006-08-12 23:36:29 · answer #4 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
To answer your titled question, YES, Pope John Paul II wrote the quote you have up there. However, like Pope John Paul II states, it was actually Pope Pius XII who states that evolution has no contrast to the Faith. Pope John Paul II is just re-affirming this. This is of no surprise to Catholics.
2006-08-12 13:05:51 · answer #5 · answered by freemanbac 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.
I find it very difficult to believe a person's profession of Jesus as Lord when they actually call Jesus a liar. When some one says that evolution can be reconciled with the Genesis account of creation, it is a dead give-away. It says that the person is not a 'born again' Christian-but a 'play-like' Christian. Even it comes from the mouth of the pope.
2006-08-12 12:17:42 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes and the idea goes even deeper than Pius XII. One of the oldest concepts in Catholicism and Orthodoxy is natural law. It is the idea that God can at least partially be understood by his Creation. Therefore the study of that creation is a key element of belief. Belief is to be as accurate as the tools available. Truth cannot conflict with Truth. There is but Truth, but as humans we are limited in how close we can get to it. His creation cannot be a contradiction. If scripture appears to contradict science, then it is likely that your depth of understanding scripture is simply too feeble.
2006-08-12 16:08:12 · answer #7 · answered by OPM 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I cant see it matters. We know from all the evidence that life on earth has gone through some evolutionary process even if we do not yet understand the full details of the process. No religion has any relevance to this process which is quite independent of any faith or belief
2006-08-12 12:25:53 · answer #8 · answered by Maid Angela 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. The Church is not as old-fashioned reactionist as it used to be, and Pope John Paul II was a great man.
2006-08-12 12:12:34 · answer #9 · answered by Caritas 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The church learned something from its history (e.g., the Gallileo affair) and figured out that when theology and scientific evidence conflict, theology doesn't stand a chance.
Either the church can assert that the world is flat, that the earth is the center of the universe, and that dinosaurs are myths (and as such lose all credibility),
or the church can accept reality and move forward.
2006-08-12 12:12:25 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Evolution of human body, not evolution from nothing to human.
There are those of us Christian who do believe that we are in a contast state of evolution, but not as how we came to be.
2006-08-12 12:14:50 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋