Why cant I do both?

Question

I believe in God and I believe in evolution. But all my bible beating friends yell at me when I talk about it... They say that’s a sin blah blah blah and say I don’t believe in God I know what I believe but why is it so hard for people to accept my belief in both... I won’t go into detail but I think it’s a rational belief. Why if someone doesn’t agree they have to push their belief down your throat

Answer 1

There is no conflict between the theory of evolution and the belief in God.

In America one is accustomed to seeing religious figures condemn evolutionary theory and argue that teaching evolution is incompatible with Christianity. Catholicism, however, not only doesn’t reject evolution but in fact has supported evolutionary theory for quite some time - Pope John Paul II even expressed some support for it. This continues to surprise people because it’s simply not reported in the news very often.

In 1950, Pope Pius XII wrote in his encyclical Humani generis:

“The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, insofar as it inquiries into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter.”

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.”

None of this necessarily means that Pope John Paul II accepted evolution as a fact and it certainly doesn’t mean that Catholics are required to accept evolution as a fact. John Paul’s address was designed to explain the Vatican’s theological position on human origins, not the Vatican’s position on science. The address wasn’t meant to be either an endorsement or (obviously) a condemnation.

Instead, the address was meant to lay out for Catholics a basis for accepting evolutionary theory. There are many scientific facts that the Catholic Church doesn’t require Catholics to accept — that the Sun in as the center of the solar system and that the Earth is round, for example. The truth of these statements is obvious to everyone, but that doesn’t make them appropriate for religious doctrine either.

On a practical level, evolutionary theory is taught without reservation at Catholic educational institutions. This has been a problem because the general anti-evolution trends in American society has made teaching evolution more difficult, even at private Catholic schools. This has led to calls for more detailed teaching about evolution in these schools. David Byers, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Science and Human Values from 1984 to 2003, has said that, “Denying that humans evolved seems by this point a waste of time.”

Answer 2

Think about it logically. It's not a sin.

The Bible does not say anything about differing beliefs about the Creation story in the Bible being a sin. Ask them to cite you chapter and verse as to where that is a sin.

Ask them to cite you chapter and verse where the Bible says that misinterpretation of the Book of Genesis is a sin. They can't - because the Bible does not say anything of the kind.

What they are doing is saying: "we believe the Book of Genesis says X, Y and Z and therefore if you think it means something else that you are sinning." That's absolute bullcrap. There are and have been many scholars and theologians that have researched and studied the Bible and come up with different understandings and meanings to many of the different stories in the Bible. It is NOT a sin to have different opinions on what the Bible means.

You can also point out that the Roman Catholic Church's opinion on evolution has itself changed over the years and now the Church is very accepting of the theory, saying it is not against Christian teachings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_and_the_Roman_Catholic_Church That doesn't mean that all Christians have to believe what the Catholic Church believes -- but it certainly tends to show that such a belief as yours is certainly reasonable.

Most Catholic, as well as liberal and mainline Protestant denominations have accepted evolution as the way God brought the world about, and this is also true of the theology of all but the most conservative Jews.

Answer 3

Not all churches feel that way.For example, I'm Catholic, and my church isn't hung up on the idea of creationism. Some of the fundamentalist groups say that creationism is the only possible answer, but that's not a universal belief, by any means.

If your friends don't accept you and your beliefs, I have to wonder how good a friend they really are to you. Part of being a friend is accepting the other person as they are, or at least that's my opinion on the subject.

Answer 4

I believe in God and evolution as well.

I think that if more Christians (and people of other religions) spent less time worrying about other people's sins and spent more time thinking of their own sins and behavior, the world would be a better place.

Answer 5

Back when I believed in God I believed the same thing!! No one has the right to force their beliefs down your throat. You have the right to believe in what you want to believe. Tell your friends to get off your back! They don't have the right to criticize what you believe in. ~Eve

Answer 6

You might try the Catholic Church.

I know it sounds weird, but it is the original Christian Church.

you can do a quick read of the Catechism and see what you think.

Most of what you hear from non-Catholics about us is not true. I used to be a Protestant and also thought those things at one time about Catholics, so I studied the Catholic faith for years and ended up becoming Catholic myself.

Good Luck and God Bless!

Peace!

Answer 7

Believing in God and in evolution is called Intelligent Design...it is a concept that God engineered evolution.

Blessings,

Answer 8

Well Jews and Catholics take your side. That's more than half the Christians in the world.

What religons don't accept is that man came from Monkey and it was all an accident.

That is something ALL of you should agree on.

Answer 9

You can and many do. We Catholic Christians believe that God may have indeed used evolution. We simply do not know and in the grand scheme of things it does not matter.

Answer 10

To believe evolution is to deny God and call Him a liar. Apparently you believe God's Word to be false.