How long will it take the Church to accept that evolution occurs, and to move on?

Question

It took them hundreds of years, after telescopes, just to admit that the bible wasn't literally correct about a heliocentric solar system.

P.S. let's get this out of the way now....

Evolution isn't a theory. Evolution occuring is documented, proven, fact. Only the mechanisms of evolution are theories.

Creationism isn't a theory. Creationism is a disproved belief....just like an earthcentric solar system.

It is long past time for you to accept that the translation of the Bible you read isn't literally true on the topic of creation. The same thing happened in astronomy. Christianity will survive accepting evolution, just like it did a shperical Earth.

I didn't know that it was only a few branches that DIDN'T accept it.

So we're only dealing with a few fundamentalists and born agains?

If that's the case, why does roughly half the nation believe in literal creation?

Answer 1

I think the church has already accepted it. Its the members that haven't.

http://atheism.about.com/od/popejohnpaulii/a/evolution.htm

On October 23, 1996, Pope John Paul II said in a speech to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences:

"[N]ew findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a 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. The convergence in the results of these independent studies—which was neither planned nor sought—constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.”

“A theory is a meta-scientific elaboration, which is distinct from, but in harmony with, the results of observation. With the help of such a theory a group of data and independent facts can be related to one another and interpreted in one comprehensive explanation. The theory proves its validity by the measure to which it can be verified. It is constantly being tested against the facts; when it can no longer explain these facts, it shows its limits and its lack of usefulness, and it must be revised.”

http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/evo-pope.html

http://www.bible.ca/tracks/b-pope-accepts-evolution.htm

Answer 2

The main churches all accept evolution.

The reason so many people remain sceptical is due to a phenomenally successful misinformation campaign by certain extremist religious organisations.

Simple tricks such as misusing the word 'theory' to imply doubt; claiming scientific doubt and controversy to suggest the theory doesn't have practically unanimous scientific support; claiming ID is a theory and that it's only fair for them both to be treated equally, when ID is not a scientific theory; claiming science has disproven evolution when it clearly hasn't; misrepresenting evolution to claim man evolved from the monkey, when really we just share a common ancestor; claiming there are two types of evolution - one that's real and proven (micro-evolution) and one that's impossible to prove (macro-evolution) when they are the same thing and it is supported by all the evidence; claiming there is no fossil record when there is; etc etc etc etc

Answer 3

First of all, most Christians do believe in evolution, but not macro-evolution, which involves one species changing to another. We believe in micro-evolution, which is basically interspecies adaptation. So, macro-evolution is indeed a theory because it cannot be proven scientifically.

True, Creationism is a theory, but so are literally dozens of other things in the scientific community. Most astronomical knowledge is theory.

BTW, it's called geocentric, not earthcentric. Also, please point me to the Bible verse that states that the Solar System is heliocentric; I seem to have missed that one...

This reminds me of a great movie line:

1500 years ago people KNEW the Earth was the center of the universe.
500 years ago people KNEW that the Earth was flat.
5 minutes ago you KNEW people were alone on this planet.
Imagine what you'll KNOW tomorrow.

Answer 4

Evolution within within a species, now, evolution as in from species to another, never, I refuse to be that stupid. Now for your history lesson. The Pope and the Vatican believed the earth was flat, that the solar system revolved around the earth. If you read the bible and studied religious history you would know that most of Christianity and most other religions other than the Pope ALWAYS maintained the earth was round, and always maintained that the stars were as numerous as the grains of sand on the earth.Before they could count the stars. The Vatican does not speak for all Christianity as do not the Scientists that told the Pope the Earth was flat. There are numerous references in the Bible to the fact that the earth is spherical, and not one anywhere in the Bible that indicates it is flat. Get some real information and do some real study

Answer 5

It depends what you mean by "evolution". While there is Micro-evolution(small changes within a species), there is not Macro-evolution(the idea that a species could become a new species). Some Christians such as myself believe that the Genesis creation "days" were long periods of time that spanned over billions of years, but that God created Adam and Eve fully human. Darwinism is not compatible with the Bible, and Darwinism is not supported by science either. Biblical creation is affirmed by modern science. www.reasons.org

Answer 6

Minor correction: evolution is both theory and fact. We can observe microevolution occurring day to day (fact), and we can extrapolate that, over a large period of time, this process turns into macroevolution (theory). Also, chemical evolution is still definitely theory. That's not to say that it's invalid, though.

One thing that irritates me about my fellow Christians is that they fail to ask, "What if our interpretation of the Bible is wrong?" Curse you, William Jennings Bryan. You doomed the public opinion on Christianity for at least the next 2 centuries.
(William Jennings Bryan = Scopes Monkey Trials)

Answer 7

Just cause the Church persecuted scientests doesn't mean that the Bible is wrong. U gave no scripture that says the earth is the center of the universe or that it's flat. In fact, it says at Isaiah 40; 22 that the earth is a circle.

Answer 8

Which Church? The Roman Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists (UCC), most Lutherans, and American Baptists already accept evolutionary theory.

Answer 9

Um, the Catholic Church, DOES accept evolution. Guess they learned a lesson with that Galileo fiasco.

Answer 10

I guess that when your head is stuck among the rules, instead of being busy studying the environment and your nature to understand, to `see`, and to be awed at how magnificient the Creator is, you wont advance much.

Thats why were here isnt it? To advance? Instead of reveling in our own self engrossed egotistical `save` ance.