Christians: What is your reaction to the Pope saying that evolution and creation theories can coexist?

Answer 1

Its not the first thing he was wrong about, and I don't suppose it will be the last.

Answer 2

Christians have traditionally believed that the entire bible is literal truth. This belief has been slowly changing over the last couple of centuries; especially over the last century.

The church is slow to acknowledge scientific facts when those facts contradict the traditions or beliefs of the church. Nowhere is this more evident than in the book of Genesis. The debate, between the evolution taught by science and the creation traditionally taught by the church, has been a festering problem for over a hundred years.

Like I said, the church moves VERY slowly. Evolution is a FACT that explains the diversity of life. The church has finally capitulated to this fact -- just as it did with Galileo and his astronomical discoveries.

Christians have 3 main schools of thought on the biblical story of creation:

1.) First was the traditional, literal view, now championed by the "Young Earth Creationists". This view had been suffering from a credibility problem but has recently been revived by Intelligent Design "science". The literal view takes Genesis literally. If you add up the years detailed in the Genesis story, you go back to about the year 4004 B.C. Some young earth creationists might concede that the world is more like tens of thousands of years old.

2.) Progressive creationism, also known as day-age creationism, asserts that the "days" of Genesis refer to indefinite time periods (ages). They say that God created the universe out of nothing, over the course of billions of years.

3.) Theistic Evolution, also known as Evolutionary Creationism, appears to be the view the Pope is now supporting. Evolutionary creationists assert that Genesis should be read theologically, not historically. Like the progressive creationists, evolutionary creationists believe the universe is billions of years old. However, where the progressive creationists believe the universe was actively and entirely created by God, evolutionary creationists maintain that the universe and life have evolved by natural processes that God devised and put in place. God doesn't need to intervene in the natural world.

By adopting the evolutionary creationist world-view, the Pope is attempting to extricate the church from the evolution/creation debate. It is far better to admit that the church's prior, literal view of Genesis was wrong than to continue struggling against a fact (evolution) that can't reasonably and logically be denied.

It's my personal opinion that the Young Earth Creationists, with their ridiculous claims and false science, pushed the Pope to finally make a stand. A tour of the New Creation Museum should be enough to convince all, but the fundamentalists, that the young earth idea is, at best, for young children.

Listening to those fundamentalists talk is embarrassing and disheartening.

Answer 3

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 4

Pope Leo X was rumored to be the Anti-Christ. The current Pope ain't got nuthin' on ol' Leo.

Check out the website below. It's about as non-Biblical a creation science site as I have found, but it will answer your question quite well.

Keep in mind that not all of us believe that (The Pope only gets to speak for the Catholics, anyway).

Answer 5

I disagree with the Pope. As a Christian, I think the Pope should know better that evolution and creation can't co-exist because there will be contradictory such as the man came from apes but in the Bible it tells us that God created man in His own image. Ok, for all the people that will say to me that so "God is an ape because He created man in his own image, forget it, that's not what I meant". It was the evolution theory that man came from Apes not from God. Otherwise the Bible will tell us so.

For me, I don't consider catholics as Christian since they have a very different practice compared to other Christian religion. The country where I grew up, majority are catholics they worships statue of virgin Mary and all the other statue of apostles that they consider saints which is strictly prohibited by the Bible because that's Idolatry. Second, is that they have a repetitive prayers which is also contradictory in the Bible because people who believe in God should not memorize their prayers but pray with their mind and heart. Third, they confess to the priest for the forgiveness of sin. In the Bible when Jesus died on the Cross He became the mediator between man and God. So, why confess to a priest so that your sin will forgiven? Fourth, is the infallibility of the Pope, In the Bible ever man had committed sin, no one is pure and the Pope is not an exemption to that because he's also a man. And the list goes on.

No offense Catholics out there, but I think the Pope just needs attention/controversy that's why he's making these comments for the past month and it's really not good. Personally, I like Pope John Paul II. I really respect the guy

Answer 6

As an orthodox christian I do not consider the Pope to be a christian at all. If he really said and believes that then he has employed the same foolish thinking that many men do who do not literally translate the bible. The thought of the statement defies logic and reason!

Answer 7

Dear dragonseye,

First i think that Catholics are the ones who adhere to everything that the pope says.

To me the pope is a man, and is supposed to be a man of God who knows and follows the Bible. i find his statements about evolution/creation contradictory to the Bible- and i would say that he is being Unbiblical in this theory- and he's certainly not someone i'm going to follow in terms of this teaching.

I imagine that to be the pope- He must have some good and redeeming qualities.

As a Christian- its simply to be like Christ and follow Christ- and any teaching that contradicts that is one that i wouldn't want to follow.

Hope that helps. Kindly,

Nickster

Answer 8

The Pope is not a total idiot. He speaks of evolution of the body, and creation of the soul. Any biologist knows that this is nonsense (there is no such thing as a separate soul), but we can leave the Pope to his confusions.

Answer 9

Most Christians agree with the Pope. Evolution is science and is taught as such. It is only the Old Testament Fundamentalists who reject science, not the Christians.

Answer 10

As a Christian I could care less what the pope says or believes.

The bible is my only authority. I know a lot of Catholics like to call themselves Christian but there is gigantic differences in belief between the two.

Answer 11

Anything the pope says is of little interest to me.