does Christianity oppose natural selection?

Question

what does Christianity have to say about natural selection

Answer 1

What many people fail to realize is that natural selection, evolution (both micro- and macro-...take one, take 'em both!) and all related biology concepts are NOT religion, and that intelligent design / creationism is NOT science. In other words, no, Christianity cannot oppose natural selection because a religion has no more business saying what is and isn't scientifically accurate than science does telling you if there is or isn't a god. And that's the truth.

Anybody who tells you otherwise either has no idea what religion really is, or has no idea what science really is.

Answer 2

Christianity as a whole does not oppose natural selection.

There is a small, but remarkably vocal minority of Christians, who are fundamentalist Bible-literalists and insist that ever word in the Bible is literally true. This vociferous, anti-science group is most influential in the United States, but is gaining ground elsewhere.

This group sees that the implications of the theory of biological evolution through natural selection, which explains the development, speciation and complexity of life on Earth today are incompatible with the Creation story as presented in Genesis, and thus outright reject the theory of evolution.

Even this group doesn't actually reject natural selection, which has been amply demonstrated in controlled laboratory experiments, as well as in short term developments such as antibiotic resistance in bacteria, pesticide resistance in insects, or even the ratio of dark moths to light moths in regions with lots of coal dust.

However, they claim that these small scale events - what they refer to as 'microevolution' cannot produce new species, even if they are carried out for long periods of time.

But Christianity as a whole has no problem with either natural selection or the theory of evolution as a whole. The Catholic Church (the largest Christian sect in the world) has specifically stated that the Genesis story is an allegorical tale, and that evolution is in no way, shape, or form incompatible with a religious outlook that says that God is the driving force behind the rules that govern natural selection and evolution.

Answer 3

Christianity regards all human life as of infinite value, and so Christians make an effort to protect and heal even the sick, disabled, and weak.
You could consider this as opposing natural selection, since people with genetic defects are kept alive and allowed to reproduce.
Or you could see the Christian decision as a contributor to natural selection: more people survive and reproduce under this doctrine than by allowing the weak, sick, and disabled to die.

Answer 4

They can disagree with it but how can they oppose it?

That's like me opposing the fact that I was born with brown hair.

Answer 5

I hope you are ready to be shot at(verbally) by close minded, violent, idiot, shallow, control freaks!! uh oh!! I'm next!!!