Do you believe that evolution and religion can cohabitate?

Answer 1

Religion is not regressive if interpreted properly.Hence, both can co-exist and take humanity forward.

Answer 2

There is absolutely no conflict between biological evolution and true Christian belief. How could there be? Truth cannot conflict with truth. There is nothing in the Bible about the development of species over time, but we know from irrefutable evidence that it has happened, so we have to look to science for that information. The Bible does say that God is the source of all that exists. The fact of evolution does not conflict with that statement, since evolution itself is simply one of many natural processes, all of which were designed by God. The Bible also says that God created human beings. Specifically it says that he first fashioned the human body out of inorganic matter ("the dust of the earth"), but it doesn't reveal the natural process through which God fashioned the biological human. Once the human body had been fully formed, by whatever process, God then breathed into it a spiritual nature and immortal soul, and it was at that time that this biological entity became human. It all fits together beautifully. I'm thankful that it does since I am a devout Christian and also a research biologist. It would be pretty bizarre if my church was telling me I had to reject what every available bit of scientific evidence supports as true. Some people seem to get hung up on the fact that Charles Darwin was an atheist. So what? He was also a scientist, and his scientific observations are totally unrelated to his personal religious beliefs or lack of them. Hippocrates was a pagan. Does that make the science of medicine paganistic??

Answer 3

Yes.

I majored in anthropology, and I believe and accept evolution as a scientific fact, one that has been proven via observation and experimentation with empirical evidence.

I am also a Christian. I believe that the Bible was written by men, and most of the creation stories were heavily borrowed from neighbhoring cultures and societies and is simply a cultural history of the Hebrews. I believe in Jesus Christ and God, but I think people should be skeptical and critical of the Bible, and explore themselves and what the world has to offer before making any ultimatums, particularly about subjects most people don't understand.

Infact, there has been recent discourse claiming that perhaps evolution proves the existence of a divine being (not necessarily the Christian God) since evolution is simply random mutations and adaptations over time. The fact that diverse and different species exist and survive in diverse ecosystems could be a growing argument for the existence of god.

Answer 4

I believe they can.
I assume you are talking about the christian religion, because of the huge debate that's going on in the US.
I think the real problem is that people are getting a bit too hung up on a literal interpretation of the bible. We have to understand that the book of genesis was written somewhere in the neighborhood of 5,000 years ago. Assuming that the story of creation was truly inspired bu god, there is no reason to believe that god would have dictated the process of evolution to a primitive theologian. The man would have had no idea what he was being told. Given the society's understanding of nature, what probably happened was that god gave them a simplified version of creation, knowing that they could not possibly comprehend the true version.
There is no reason not to believe that god created the universe, the earth, and all creatures on land, air and sea, using the processes known as the big bang, and evolution.
Similarly, there is no reason to believe that the bible is the final authority on all matters. Just like the new testament superceded many aspects of the old testament, there can be new writings that shed new light on our understanding of the universe. Who is to say that Darwin was not inspired by god to pen The Origin of Species? Maybe god just dishes out knowledge a bit at a time, knowing that our minds cannot possibly accept it all at once.

Answer 5

Within a person's belief, yes. Within science, no. Religion is not a part of science, where as evolution is. So the study of evolution and the science behind it has nothing to do with religion.

Answer 6

It depends. Right now, evolution is offered primarily as an alternative to God. Those pushing evolution are trying to provide a naturalistic explanation of how life came to be without God.

If evolution is offered in a non-antagonistic way, however, that would change a lot. However, there has been a lot of bad blood built up on both sides. Religious people are going to remain skeptical of those pushing evolution for a long time, because it has been used in a way meant to undermine us for so long that anyone who claims to hold it and a religious view is going to be viewed with caution.

Remember, Darwin wasn't studying to be a bioligist, he was studing for the clergy. Most of the early adopters of evolutionary theory were religious. Darwin heald honorary titles in the Anglican Church even after "Origin of Spieces" was published. Religious scholars have never had a problem with alegorizing the creation story up to the creation of Adam and Eve.

Answer 7

Evolution is an indisputable fact. Conservative Christians can either deal with that or they can go forth and multiply-their views on the matter are a non-issue.

Answer 8

Yes, I do. In Genesis, it says that God created the Earth in 7 days. It does not specifiy if the 7 days were 7 of Earth's days, or 7 of God's days. Nobody knows how long 1 day in heaven really is.

Answer 9

Evolution was actually created by a Catholic who was trying to prove the Bible was true, but it got twisted around and now it is the opposite of what the Bible says. so yes, actually, it can.

Answer 10

Religious dogma contradicts the principles of evolution.

But, evolution and Rational Spirituality are One. Read about it.