How can Christians believe in the theory of evolution?

Question

In an October 22, 1996, address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II updated the Church's position to accept evolution:

"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. 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." (John Paul II, Message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Evolution)

Honest c -- did you read what I posted? Clearly they CAN and DO.

sweetballr13 -- he's speaking for Catholics - and more than 1/2 the world's Christians are Catholic.

sdr35 -- apparently, according to some of the greatest religious minds out there, you are wrong and the Bible does not rule out evolution.

Sweetheart -- How judgmental of you. Where in the Bible does it say that you have to reject evolution to be a Christian? Last I checked, one is a Christian by accepting Jesus as lord and savior. If one is wrong about their interpretation of Old Testament passages, that doesn't change that fact.

Bullet b -- You are wrong. I believe the Pope died a Christian......he was ok with evolution.

Answer 1

Darwin was a christian which is what few people recognise. I'm not buyist, I'm telling the truth.

A christian who believes in evolution merely believes that God had set up the big bang rather than it all coming from a few days.

PLUS! Who is to say that one day to us as written in Genesis isn't really millions of years?

Answer 2

I don't need to believe it. I've researched a lot about evolution and there is no temptation to believe in it. There are so many difficulties for evolution, especially in explaining how life started. Microevolution, or whatever you want to call it is real. Animals do change. But they'll never change into something else completely. And humans never evolved from monkeys. @House the bible doesn't say to kill witches and ****'s, if you know the New Testement . Actually the bible says not to kill. You should learn about things before you form an opinion.

Answer 3

becuase it is a proven fact. only ignorant people would dismiss evolution as not being real. watch the history channel, read a book, and you will find the truth in a minute. it is important for religion to, if you may, evolve. it cannot sit still with the same beliefs of 1000 years ago, when advancements in science and human development have made people question what was considered to be truth. the pope was a very smart man.

technically, the story of creation does go hand in hand with evolution, it just skips a few parts. it is impossible to truly believe that humans were created by god and just plopped unto earth, then populized the earth. that is just stupidity. but is it a far fetch that maybe, if there is a god, he started the chain of events that created the earth (the big bang) and thusly created humans through the evolution of the molecules on earth?

Answer 4

The Pope is just a man, born a man and dies a man, not even necessarily a very smart man!

Christians can believe what they want. Religion is like a club, nobody can possibly tell people what their own personal relationship with God should be like, and certainly not 2000 years later! Your relationship with God is personal and develops from your own free thought, something religion despises. If you are "religious" you are just a drone following some uneducated peasants view of thier own relationship with God, heavily influenced by the political situation of their time. Try reading some philosophy (start with Herclitus, move onto Socrates and Plato, look into the birth of the Indo-European religions, into Stoicism and Cynicism and onto post middle age thinkers like Satre, actually think about and UNDERSTAND what is going on rather than just reciting it from a roughly translated 2000 year old Greek diary of various peasants!)

Please stop confusing Religion and Spirituality. That is what is killing the world today. Forget the outdated religious dogma and have the guts to say that you are going to decide for yourself what you believe in.

Been studying it 22 years now and still not worked it out, but at least what I believe in are MY OWN CONCLUSIONS.

Christians think they know everything, the more I learn, the less I am SURE I know. Release your mind and become a human being once more. If God really is out there, do you think he./she/it is going to get annoyed that you dont say the right words in the right order and the right time to "worship" him. God is to be enjoyed, not mourned like Christians do.

Answer 5

Did you actually read and understand what he said? He acknowledged that there was no conflict between evolution and the Bible, only a literal interpretation of the six days of Creation. He also said that there is more than enough evidence to show it to be truth and that the idea of evolution has not actually destroyed the faith or spirit of researchers of all kinds. Pope John Paul II was a great man (I'm a pagan and I can see his great love for people and what he tried to do) and he could see much truth of the world. He, like many, have learned that an intimate knowledge of the natural world does not make it less wondrous, but more so.

Answer 6

Why can't evolution be seen as something set in motion by a creator?

The same can be asked of the big bang theory. In fact a "big bang" could be the result of the command "let there be light." I'm sure there are conflicts between "big bang" and evolution vs. a very strict literal reading of Genesis, but some Christians take some Bible passages as figurative.

Answer 7

A good Christian might well believe the words of Jesus, who patiently explained that most of the stories in the Bible were parables, which not necessarily literally true. In fact, Jesus drove from the temple the Pharisees, who were the literal interpretors of the old testament. Of course, so many American Christians believe more in the Old Testament than in the teachings of Christ. It's really rather paradoxical.

Answer 8

It's quite simple, really. There's no particular reason to think Evolution wasn't just part of God's design. Evolution describes how things progress, not what started it all. It amazes me that so many people on both sides tend to be so closed-minded as to think they have to be mutually exclusive.

So, God created the universe, and designed it to be able to adapt, to *evolve*, so it wouldn't be stagnant. Works for me.

(Yes, I know, the whole "faith" thing isn't scientific... the question was how can a Christian believe in Evolution, not "prove God exists" ;) )

Answer 9

There are plenty of Christians who do not listen to or care about what the Pope says. It's easy to believe in both if you believe that the creation story was just that--a story. I know a lot of Christians who just focus on Jesus' life and teachings and consider the Old Testament just some nice stories that may or may not be true.

Answer 10

That is not an infallible statement....THUS, the Church does not teach this. Besides, you are taking this way out of its intended context. The Catholic Church, in its intended, true teaching, is the most conservative Christian faith of them all. Just because we have been flooded by modernists over the past century (like everything else has) doesn't mean that these fools can change infallible doctrine.

And Matthew, if you think that Catholics aren't Christians then you are brainwashed by modern fundamentalist protestantism. The Catholic Church is Christianity, it has been here for 2,000 years. The protestants broke away from the one true faith, over 1500 years after the fact. They have a hard time agreeing on anything...that is why there is 36,000 + protestant denominations out there, all with different doctrines. Just read your Christian history and what the early Church Fathers have to say. A wise man once said to study Christian history is to become Catholic.