Can you believe in Religion and Evolution?

Question

I know that I can, but I want to hear everyone's personal opinion on it. Is it possible for you to believe that God (or whichever deity you pray to) put a process like evolution in place to help us survive an ever-changing world? Is it possible (in the Christian tradition) that the Adam and Eve story is just an analogy for humans emerging through the evolutionary process? Why or why not?

Answer 1

If someone doesn't believe in evolution in any way then I cannot help but think they are a total moron. How do they explain cave men?

To reject science because of a book written thousands of years ago is plain ignorant. I only hope that these people don't home school their children.

Answer 2

Of course you can. Actually, you can't deny it because we humans are a product of evolution. Before you discredit this text, people, please allow me to explain. The bible states that God made Adam and Eve which is true to me but look at us now. Look how different we all are. For a better explaination, let's define evolution -

ev·o·lu·tion–noun

1. any process of formation or growth; development

2. a product of such development; something evolved.

Now, this doesn't sound like we came from monkeys correct? That's because there are two types of evolution - Microevolution and Macroevolution. Microevolution suggests that organisms adapt to the evironment that they're in. This is the reason that there are so many variations in humans and other lifeforms. For instance, a human of East Asian descent looks totally different from a human of West Asian descent.

Macroevolution suggests that all forms of life came from one species or life form. This is why many confused scientists say we came from monkeys (no pun intended.) Which is why they can not find "the missing link". Thats becuase there is no link between man and monkey. Further, this concept is totally contradictory of the bible and makes no sense because if that were the case, there would be missing links everywhere and "menfish" (since scientists suggest that, in Macroevolution, we came from a common fish ancestor and "evolved" into monkey and then to men/women). So, you can believe in Religion and Evolution. Hope this helped.

Answer 3

Some do.

For atheists it is the only option. For those who believe in the Bible as well as evolution it is a balancing act - how much to believe in the Bible and how much to believe in evolution. I believe it is because of their lack of knowledge about both.

For me evolution is not a fact. It is an interpretation of facts and I refuse to accept the interpretation. I prefer to believe God created man separate from other animals. And I believe this for the following reasons:

1. Creation story has been around for thousands of years.

2. The Book that records it has been around for thousands of years. Its history cannot be refuted.

3. The people who wrote that Book, the Jews, have been around for thousands of years. Neither can they be destroyed, Hitler even tried it! Still the Iranian President wants to wipe off Israel from the map of the world!

4. The Sabbath, weekly day of rest, which memorializes creation is still observed all over the world - "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth....and rested the seventh day." (Ex. 20:11).

If you believe in a God, how else could He have conveyed that He created this world and all the life in it and did it the way He says He did it? The evolutionists say that if God created this world then He did not do a good job. They point to all the imperfections in the plant and animal kingdoms. What they don't realize is that this world is not perfect today. Sin has brought disease, decay and death. And the way to reverse this situation is by getting back to God not by denying His existence which will only make things worse.

Anywhere you see design there's got to be a designer. Human body is an intricately complex design. Now, evolutionists say that life began as simple life forms which gradually as a result of natural selection came to be the way they are today. Why would an organism change while the others of its kind continue to flourish the way they did millions of years ago? Have they found out those causes of change? Have they been tested in an experimental situation? No. Things don't happen in this world for no reason. There is always a cause or purpose behind it and natural selection cannot account for the changes we see today. Of course, evolutionists say that they are not so much concerned with how life began. Only that they are certain how it proceeded from there. All based on minor changes that an organism can undergo. But these minor changes are governed by the laws of genetics and they do not change the genetic constitution of the organism, only a rearragement of different allelles present in the chromosomal structure. Has any scientific experiment shown to produce a change in the genetic constitution of an organism? No. It would produce unviable products. It's only the wishful thinking of evolutionists that can perform such miracles.

So, for someone to believe in God and still accept evolution is to admit one's lack of knowledge of both.

Answer 4

Absolutely. God as the Great Architect. The Pope believes both as well. I think the rational mind should comprehend the Bible not as a literalist book, but as one filled with wisdom, but still written by Bronze age nomads trying to describe the world around them. You don't need to believe in Genesis to be good Christian.

There is a belief that says God has revealed himslef to different people in different times and in different places in a way that they could comprehend.

SO if we suppose that the Divine Presence created the universe in all its complexity, you think some desert wandering shepards could even come close to comprehending such things? Nah, so God gives them a little story, like the way your parents told you storks bring babies, and that Santa exists. But as the human race has matured, we have learned many things and our comprehension has grown tremendously, and we have a much better idea of how the Creator constructed the world around us. Will we ever really grasp it, God or no God? of course not.
But thats how the two can meet.

People who take the bible literally are still living in the desert. And don't give God enough credit. They give the bronze age nomads all the credit.

Answer 5

As a Christian, an evolutionary creationist, I would say yes. Though I do take the Adam and Eve story literally. Afterall they lived about 4000 bc - long into the evolutionary development of man. For more see http://www.bcbsr.com/survey/genint.html

Answer 6

About God creating the world, heavens, universe, and "creating evolution" to help us survive an everchanging world? No

...about Adam and Eve being a "story"? No

To me, evolution is man's word that describes "change" or "growth".... we see the different stages in growth all the time. We see scientists can "imitate creation" but not able to do so in the same way....we see mankind creating new things but not "old things"...but....the earth itself with it's changing temperatures and growths, etc.,. can create new things all the time...just not mankind or the animals as we know them now....

Do you admit that satan is real? That he and his principalities have mated with many species and created many species as well through those unions, which, explains where SOME people's ancestors came from (but not my own!) And why God would flood out a world with what He considered an infusion of UNGODLY creatures? :) (LOL)

May you find Peace :)

Answer 7

As a Christian, I believe we've evolved, but not in the way you think probably. Through the years, our bodies have changed to adjust, i.e. babies being born without appendix, or wisdom teeth, etc. As a believer, I adhere to God creating Adam and Eve, in his own image, could they have been Neanderthals or Cro Magnons....I just don't see how we could have evolved from monkeys! Yes, I do believe in some form of evolution, friend, but not so extreme.

Answer 8

Yes, as long as you do not believe in the "Big Bang" evolution. Evolution happens today. New species emerge and others become extinct. That is evolution and it going on as God created things to be. If man ever came from monkeys, they still would. When was the last time you knew of a monkey giving birth to a human baby? It did not happen because it does not happen today nor in the immediate history.

Answer 9

H. L. Mencken expressed admiration for how Catholics handled the evolution issue:

[The advantage of Catholics] lies in the simple fact that they do not have to decide either for Evolution or against it. Authority has not spoken on the subject; hence it puts no burden upon conscience, and may be discussed realistically and without prejudice. A certain wariness, of course, is necessary. I say that authority has not spoken; it may, however, speak tomorrow, and so the prudent man remembers his step. But in the meanwhile there is nothing to prevent him examining all available facts, and even offering arguments in support of them or against them—so long as those arguments are not presented as dogma. (STJ, 163)

AMEN!!

Answer 10

I do. If God had showed a video of the beginning of history to any human in Biblical times..How would he interpret it? I have no problem with science and religion. The more I learn of the Universe the more I am in awe.

Answer 11

it depends if you believe in the crazy idea of Darwin's theory of evolution then you are contradicting the word of God. But if you believe that God created the universe and all creatures and they evolved within their own species not crossed over to an entirely different species then yes you can believe in both...always seek Gods word on this ...this theory has been deceiving many people...