How does Christianity explain the proven science of evolution?

Question

I spent a few years attending a Christian church. I felt surrounded by hypocrites and uncomfortable at mass. I feel that I am a good person, always trying to do the right thing but I am unable to completely agree with the prophecy in the bible mainly because of scientific proof of evolution and other things that do not concur with the words of the bible. I was recently questioned by a Jehovahs' Witness about my beliefs and was intrigued by the subject but when I explained myself this person avoided the subject from then on. I myself have a hard time choking down the idea of creationism, but, I am a very open minded person and eager to debate anyone on this subject. Religion is a subject that has always intrigued me.I grew up in a Mormon household and since I have been on my own I have taken on a more Buddhist approach to spirituality. am currently engaged to a Roman Catholic woman and her family is very adamant about her faith,obviously a problem for myself. Religious theologists help

Answer 1

Jehovah's Witnesses are absolutely *NOT* Creationists. They believe that the universe, planets, and earth itself must be untold millions of years old.

While Jehovah's Witnesses do not pretend to be privvy to the particularities of exactly how the Almighty created the spirit realm or the physical universe, they do note that the creation account in Genesis uses an interesting phrase: "[created] according to its kind".

According to Hebrew scholars, the term “kind” here means a created or family kind, but with those terms' older traditional meanings and not the modern scientific nomenclature of organisms. That seems to indicate that each general family organism "kind" was directly created, rather than allowed (or "encouraged") to evolve from a previously existing "kind".

There is no reason to assume that interesting "in between" or so-called "almost there" fossils are not simply extinct species in their own right. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the bible is in complete agreement with true science.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/g/2004/6/22/article_03.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/g/2002/6/8/article_01.htm

Answer 2

It's good that you are searching for answers...there are a lot of close-minded people today. I'll start off by saying that I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses. I'll be honest, I don't know why this person you were talking to avoided this subject. Honestly, there could be a number of reasons. One thing to keep in mind, when we go door-to-door, we never know what kinds of questions people are going to ask us. We try to be as prepared as possible, but we're all imperfect. I'm sure you'd agree, that when you're under pressure from being put on the spot, sometimes things just don't go the way you'd like them too. When you look back on situations, you think "Man, why didn't I say it like this, instead of putting it that way"? Again, we're all imperfect. May I ask what "scientific proof of evolution" you are refering to? I'm not trying to be rude...I'd just like to know what in particular makes you feel the way you do.

The flood of Noah's day has been proved. I have provided a link that supports that statement. (It is un-biased and not affiliated with Jehovah's Witnesses in any way.)
In the 1500's, the first ship sailed around the world, proving that the earth was round. But, the Bible (recorded thousands of years earlier) had already stated that fact. Isaiah 40:22 says: "The One who is dwelling above the *circle* of the earth..." And, Proverbs 8:27 mentions this: "When He decreed a *circle* upon the face of the watery deep..."
Brilliant scientists suggest theories and are awarded the Nobel Prize for their work. How much more brilliant must be the intelligent Being who designed and brought into existence the universe, which scientists try so hard to understand!
The second and third links go into further detail about this...please take a few minutes to read over these articles. (It discusses in-depth scientific facts as well as theories and, finally, the Bible's involvement.) Hope I've helped...please let me know of any questions you may have...I'd be more than happy to help. :)

Answer 3

Evolution is not about genetic differences developing within one species over time, but is about an entirely new species coming into being that had never been there before. Racial differences are genetic differences withing one species, not the creation of an entirely new species. All humans are 100% human no matter what their race. So the existence of multiple races does not prove evolution at all. Now, someone will point out that if you cross one breed of dog with another breed of dog, you'll get a new species.... Sure, but you still get a DOG. If one dog mates with another dog, you will always get a dog. This is not evolution, this is genetics. If a dog mated with another dog and she gave birth to something that wasn't a dog, but was somehow more advanced/adaptable than a dog, then you'd have a case for evolution. On the other hand, I would suggest that the existence of multiple races is actually more proof for the theory of intelligent design. If you study nature, you will see that things, including genes, break down over time, they don't become more complex (as evolution suggests). Christians believe that everything in nature was created in a perfect state, and that because of sin things break down over time. So the first human created, being perfect in every way, would have had perfect, complete, very diverse DNA. Thus incest would not have been a significant problem genetically until many generations later after our DNA had begun to breakdown due to the effects of sin on the natural world. In fact, I recently listened to a lecture where a geneticist had found some evidence that the entire white race began as a result of darker-skinned humans giving birth to children with the absence of one particular gene. Thus, a genetic mutation producing offspring with less complex DNA, and less adaptable characteristics, and this happening in a just one generation. This certainly goes against what the evolutionists say--that in many, many generations we become more complex and adaptable.

Answer 4

Evolution is a theory, therefore has not been proven as fact. Animals do make adaptations, but a bird is still a bird. Evolution suggests that one species (human) can emerge from another (ape). Huh?!?! The thought of that primordial soup getting charged by a lightning bolt reminds me of Dr. Frankenstein. Life cannot come from nothing. The Bible is the word of God, and He can't lie. How adamant is your fiancee about her faith? It seems like you are searching for the truth. Please don't shut the Witnesses of Jehovah out of your life. They have the truth, and it might take years before the veil is lifted from before your eyes, but it's worth it. In the meantime, the Witnesses have a book about evolution vs creationism that you might find fascinating. Any Kingdom Hall should have them.

Answer 5

This is a question I have answered a couple of times now. It is difficult to understand how intelegent people can be so tunnel Vissioned.

I am a morrmon and it may surprise you the commonly stated creation story is not really all that correct. To many people, mormons included don't actually read the story in either Genisis or Moses. Let me share.

First forget the 6 days of creation. They were not days but periods of time called days. THey could have been seconds or more likely millions of years.
Second. Realize that God as not asked us to subject ourselves to anything that he is not subject to or hasn't been subject to. There for the laws that govern our universe are not just ours but the universes and inturn God. Now this is not to say that we understand all the laws that govern the univers but that weather imperfect or not the laws stand for all. Let us assume that Evolution is correct in that things, molecules, intelegences, what ever you want to call them did start simple and move to more complex systems like humans. How did this happen? Not by chance or Chaos. THose things lead to lesser complexities not greater. There for we can assume that still though Evolution was the TOOL it was just that, somthing used not somthing that randomly happened. That is my feeling on the matter. God did create us and the Universes but he did not just go "poof there it is" he followed laws established by himself to do so. Those laws may enclude Evolution or maybe somthing more complex we havn't puzzled out yet but he did use them.
To deny science is folly. To deny what the human is capable of is folly. But to deny that there may have also been devine involvment is just as silly. The universe is too complex to have just happened by chance.
I hope that you find the anwers you are looking for. I do incourage you to read some of James E Talmages works. Yes he was a mormon but he knew the bible as well as any ever has.
God bless you, may you find happiness in everything you do. Don't forget your parents love you and so does your Heavenly Father. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Answer 6

The Catholic church is actually quite hospitable to the science of evolution and has been since the 1950s when Pius XII said in his encyclical Humani Generis that there was no reason a Catholic needed to disbelieve in evolution.

One of the most important scientists in discovering the principles of evolution was actually a Catholic Priest! Gregor Mendel in the 19th century, experimenting with peas, discovered how inheritance worked - a thing even Darwin had not directly put together.

In 1986, John Paul II effectively accepted that evolution was a fact of science:

"Today, almost half a century after publication of the encyclical, 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. "

of course, the Catholic acceptance of evolution is nuanced. We do believe existence is purposeful, and that the human soul is a creation of God, and not itself an accident of biochemstry. But since "souls" are the realm of the province of theology and not biology, I think this is an acceptable detente for religion and science to have for one another...

The Catholicism of your fiance is not a form of "bibliolatry" - Catholics worship God and Jesus, not the Bible. The bible's utility is in telling us about the salvation history of God's interaction with his people... it is not a science text, and that is not the way Catholics approach it.

A better way to understand the Bible is how the Catholics teach it... notice how the readings are selected for Mass... they focus on the season. Advent is about the coming of God, Christmas is about God's arrival in helpless form in our world... Lent is about our sorrow for our sins and faults, and Easter is about the sadness of the Passion followed by the Glory of the Ressurection. It is a whole new way to look at the Bible that takes you well beyond worrying about how Noah got so many critters on an ark.

Answer 7

Personally, I do not understand why it is so absurd to think that evolution might have just been God's way of creating everything. Maybe he just wanted everything to go in a cycle, or maybe he wanted to try some things out and just take his time.

It's good that you are open-minded about spirituality. Personally, I don't know how you are going to handle the situation with your fiancee, and since I have never been in that situation, I am not sure I can give any advice other than that you can suggest that their daughter loves you and they need to accept you for who you are, just like she does. I know that would probably ignite some fires, but I'm not sure what else to do.

Answer 8

I do not think the creation story is literal but rather an explanation for people at the time.

Anyway, I, a Christian, agree with evolution AND creation. God created everything no doubt. But God, being the omniscient and omnipotent entity that he is, also invented evolution, knowing that it would result in us, humans. God also controlled evolution making SURE that humans were created. The moment before the first human was to be born, God created that human in the womb and set him aside. He gave the child a soul. He set aside humans from everyone else.

I don't see why people think that God hates science. God created science(all the principles and stuff).

E=mc^2. I think God was smart enough to think that out.

It was not a matter of luck because someone directly made and created EVERYTHING. all the equations and intricacies of science were made by God.

If anyone disagrees with my viewpoint please e-mail me. But please give a reason.

Answer 9

It will probably help to point out that the creation stories work best with science when not taken literally. Ask yourself "how long is God's day?", and "Could God not have set evolution in motion?"According to the book of Genesis, day and night were not formed until God made them so, which leads to questions of could God not arrange time around Himself for His benefit. Faith does not have to exclude science, nor the other way around.

Answer 10

I certainly don't claim to know and understand everything concerning creationism and evolution,but I do know that I wholeheartedly believe every word in the Word of God,which says that God created the Heavens and the Earth. And that is all the proof I need to discount The Theory of Evolution,which is just what it is called,a theory. 1 Timothy 6:20 says to turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.(NIV).In the King James version,Paul actually calls that false knowledge science. God knew there would be scientific data that would deceive people,and He has already warned us to not be deceived. Science is one of satan's greatest tools of deception,and the Theory of Evolution has become one of his greatest masterpieces.