Christianity + science = Catholicism?

Question

Ok...this is a follow up of a question...

Someone said that a church I wanted to start...christianity + science(basically) sounds like Catholicism...

I looked into Catholicism for 2 years and in no time I was reading, going to mass, talking to the priest, did anyone say ANYTHING about evoultion, big bang, etc...I don't see how it's anything alike...

Why do people associate Catholicism as having a lot to do with science?

Dang...I love how spell check didn't catch evoultion...

I know Catholics are Christians

Answer 1

"Why do people associate Catholicism as having a lot to do with science?"


I think it's because The Vatican does do a lot of research.

Say a miracle happens, well they dive right in and explore every aspect of the miracle before they say it is or is not in fact a miracle.

They do a lot of research, have their own scientists, they do everything possible to explain certain events and only if it can not be explained away to they profess it is a real miracle.

They do this with other things too, such as possession, they will always go through psychiatrists first and make sure it is not a mental disorder....I'm glad you asked this question because most people don't understand the lengths the church goes through to prove, science, science fiction, miracle or fake.

Answer 2

I suspect it's because Catholicism has a history of learning from experience. Whenever a scientific revolution occurred, the Catholic church would be in the front lines of the persecution. But when the evidence became incontrovertible, the Church learned. Being inerrant, it would have to carefully re-evaluate its previous understanding without actually admitting to being wrong. This amounted to a change in interpretation of the eternal truths about God, as presented in the Bible. In other words, a literal reading is not good enough.

A primary foundation of the Protestant Reformation is the idea of biblical inerrancy. They look upon the experience-derived Catholic propensity for reinterpreting its doctrines over time as "the traditions of men", since God couldn't really "change", could he?

But anyone with significant exposure to reality realizes that you can't get everything right the first time. You can resist a change in understanding, but if you're wrong, you'll end up looking foolish. Some of the older, mainline Protestant churches are as open to scientific interpretations as the Catholics (with the implicit understanding that God is behind it all, of course).

But individuals are a different case. There are Catholics, and Protestants, working in the sciences. (Jesuits often have a strong representation in the hard sciences.) But there are also Catholics and Protestants who completely reject any theory that suggests anything but a hands-on approach by God.

The Vatican maintains an observatory and participates in other forms of scientific research, not necessarily because it is enthusiastic about the potential of human reason and investigation. More likely it is trying to keep near the front of the parade of progress, reformulating doctrine in response to new discoveries in order not to be caught without a theological answer. At the rank-and-file level, the Catholic church seldom sees a need to bring the subject up on its own. So unless a question arises, Catholics (including the pope) are free to believe as they see fit regarding cosmology and biogenesis.

The Big Bang and Evolution are fine because the Church has a way to explain it as God's methodology, even though it isn't literally biblical. Those Christians who think this is excessive tweaking of holy writ will reject them, Protestant or Catholic.

Answer 3

Catholicism does not see a conflict between religion and evolution as some denominations do. A one-minute web search turned up this site:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/religion/faith/statement_01.html

A brief excerpt reads:

Francisco J. Ayala is professor of biological sciences and of philosophy at the University of California, Irvine. His scientific research focuses on population and evolutionary genetics; he also writes about the interface between religion and science. He is the author of several books, including Genetics and The Origin of Species (1997).

Well-informed Catholics do not see conflict between their religious beliefs and the Darwinian theory of biological evolution. In 1996, Pope John Paul II stated that the conclusions reached by scientific disciplines cannot be in contradiction with divine Revelation, then proceeded to accept the scientific conclusion that evolution is a well-established theory.

PS I hate copy and past answers ;)

Answer 4

Are you kidding? I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic School.

We learned that all people came from God. He created the Universe and Adam and Eve. I never learned about the Big Bang or anything. In fact, most science classes in Catholic School end with a lecture about how God created the Universe, all the people and the animals, etc.

I think lots of people are Catholic Haters. But, I'm very content with my religion. It's been around much longer then Protestantism (no offense to those that believe that) or Baptist (you too). So, for me. There has to be some truth in it's basic teachings.

Answer 5

Most Christian denominations, including most Protestant denominations, are fully compatible with scientific thought. It is just those that turn to the ignorance of Biblical Literalism that produce the noisy ignoramuses.

The Catholic Church has a good track record in science. The Vatican Observatory has produced some good science, and Georges Lemaître, a Catholic Priest, proposed the Big Bang model.

Answer 6

Well, did you ask?

The Catholic Church has some of the most highly educated people within it, regarding topics of both theology and science. Especially the Jesuits value knowledge very highly. For it is through knowledge that we can come to a better understanding of our Faith, and God's role in our world.

Answer 7

They accept Science instead of denying it, that's the only similar thing, the people who said that Catholicism and Science are related, know nothing of either.

Answer 8

I thought Christianity + Science = Christian Science?


I still feel the only appropriate name is going to be Polytheistic Monotheism

Answer 9

Well, I am a scientist, and am a Catholic.

Indeed, does anyone say ANYTHING about evolution, big-bang, etc? WHY SHOULD THEY?

These are proper studies in science, so let the NSF decide who gets the money, I say.

Answer 10

This isn't really an answer to your question, but here's a cool link I found about Christianity and Science. I liked your question. It really got me thinking!