Informal Poll: Are you a Christian (or Muslim or Jew) who believes in evolution?

Question

I'm curious because so many here seem to feel that if you believe in evolution you must be an atheist or you don't believe in God. Personaly I don't think they're mutually exclusive but I'm interested in what others think.

I used the word "believes" for lack of a better one in this context.

Answer 1

I'm a Christian, and evolution is crazy, there's no way we could have evolved from anything.

If there's no god then how all of these miracles, and blessings, and so many other stuff(Good and Bad) happen in the world.

Answer 2

I am a Catholic Christian who believes that evolution is the best theory around at the moment.

The Catholic Church does not take the stories of creation in the Bible literally. Catholics believe the book of Genesis tells religious truth and not necessarily historical fact.

One of the religious truths is that God created everything and declared all was good.

Catholics can believe in the theory of evolution. Or not. The Church does not require belief in evolution.

On August 12, 1950 Pope Pius XII said 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, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God.

Here is the complete encyclical: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html

The Church supports science in the discovery of God's creation. At this time, the theory of evolution is the most logical scientific explanation. However tomorrow someone may come up with a better idea.

As long as we believe that God started the whole thing, both the Bible and modern science can live in harmony.

With love in Christ.

Answer 3

I am New Age spiritual, and I don't follow any religion per say! I believe that evolution and intelligent design, are both true. This may not make sense to some of you, and I don't know how to explain it so that you can understand....but the two are absolutely NOT mutually exclusive. If you read a lot of New Age spirituality books, then you would be much more likely to understand what I am talking about. *sm*

Answer 4

Even though I am a strong Christian, I do not think that God intended for us to take every single word in the Bible literally. I believe Genesis is an explanation of "the fact that he began it all" in terms we humans could comprehend at the time it was written. Humans are thus far God's crowning achievement. Whether or not we are genetically similar to the ape or other animals is not relevant at all. For example....Henry Ford built his first automobile many years ago...but Fords with an engine, four wheels, headlights etc. are still being made today although they LOOK entirely different from that original car. It does not make sense that when a basic design works, that you would throw it away and begin with something entirely different. I believe that God designed the universe and set the process of creation in motion. He planned it... Whether or not that plan was and is similar to the theory of evolution I do not know. I am not God. However, it would make sense that he would use the same basic structure...and just add improvements to it through time. The six day scenario for creation could also be thought of in this way. I have to ask myself...WHY...would God take as long as six days to do everything when he was capable of doing everything in one of our miliseconds if he so chose? The answer could be that this was the easiest way for HIM to explain to us the basic processes of his plan. ...step by step. At the time of early man...they barely understood the concept of a day...let alone billions of years. To me, this does not diminish God's power in any way. My only argument with some people who are what we call "evolutionists" is when they seem to have the opinion...that the theory automatically means that there is no God that had anything to do with it. One does not necessarily disqualify the other.

Answer 5

Yes! I am a Christian, and just to be clear, I don't "believe in evolution" in the sense that I believe in God, as though evolution involves faith. Evolution is simply a scientific fact, and I accept it as such, just as I accept that natural selection is one of the best theories to explain the driving force behind evolution.

For a while I fought against evolution because I thought I was supposed to. Then I read actual books about the evidence by mainstream scientists, and it was clear that I had been lied to. Fortunately I merely lost my faith in young-earth creationism and not my faith in God, since my faith in God was not based on creationism.

More about my story and experiences at http://blue.butler.edu/~jfmcgrat/blog/

Answer 6

I am a Christian who believes the bible. God created the earth in 6 days. I know because God said so. It was only one day because God said the evening and the morning were the first day. note evening and morning. This does not sound like anything besides a 24 hour day. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(Romans 5:12) There was not death before sin. So when you say you are a Christian that believes in evlolution, you are saying that God is a liar. God said: And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. God made man from dust.

Answer 7

I'm a Christian (Protestant) and I absolutely believe in evolution. I have a healthy respect for science but I also believe in God. I'm not a fanatic and am very private about my beliefs. I think it's important to respect that in others, regardless of their religion. Besides, some of my best friends are Agnostics. :~)

Answer 8

I agree they're not mutually exclusive. I'm a Christian and I have no problem accepting evolution.

Answer 9

I am a born again Christian and a professional biologist. I believe in God and what He has revealed. I don't "believe" in evolution. Evolution, photosynthesis, DNA synthesis, etc. are not "beliefs". They are simply natural processes that I am quite knowledgeable about.
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Answer 10

I am a Jew and I believe in Evolution