Catholics and evolution?

Question

I know Catholics have not outright accepted evolution but have allowed the possibility. My question is this. If you are a Catholic who accepts evolution what does that do to the idea of original sin? If Adam and Eve is only allegory and the Garden of Eden never existed then man did not fall. Or do you think man evolved and then God put them into the Garden?

Karenita - Actually a couple popes have said Catholics are free to accept evolution or at least parts of it.

CC - I understand that. I am just trying to understand how Catholics who accept evolution see this.

Answer 1

Interesting question.

You won't often see a Catholic entering into the ongoing debate on R&S between believers and unbelievers about evolution (which often gets to ridiculous levels). I am one who has little interest in the issue. It rather amuses me that unbelievers think this is the trump card: Prove evolution over Genesis, and God doesn't exist. Not so cut-and-dried, I'm afraid.

The Bible was never intended to be a history or science textbook. It is the story of our relationship with God, and His plan for our salvation. What we are told about anything else is on a "need to know" basis. Why is the story of creation condensed to a week? It's the first and most dramatic illustration of something we are told elsewhere in Scripture: God is not limited to a 24-hour clock. We're locked into space and time as it is measured upon the earth He created, and so in those terms it may as well have been a week as far as we're concerned. It is an emphatic statement that He is God: He can breathe an entire universe into existence in the blink of a human eye, if He desires. We can barely grasp the blink, and so we are given it as a week to correlate with our own cycle of "work". Genesis starts on a huge scale -- the universe -- and quickly bears down upon one of His creations more than any other: Mankind. Made in His image, made to know and love Him.

If Adam and Eve were allegorical or composite (and I'm not entirely certain of this) then our fall from innocence occurred in more than one place, but it definitely occurred. This is not incompatible with an evolutionary track, either. The fact is that at some point, whether it was truly the first two humans or the first that God ensouled and showed Himself to, the fall of man (original sin) did happen. This sin and our inheritance of it have corrupted everything -- we've banished ourselves from the garden of perfectly harmonious creation as surely as did Adam and Eve (or the first humans cognizant of God who they represent, take your pick).

Evolutionary theory is no threat to divine truth.

Answer 2

Here is the problem. . . It seems you are under the impression that there are only two choices. One must either choose evolution OR Intelligent Design.

This is what happens when the naive allow the reckless to to redefine the issues. . . not calling you either naive or reckless. I am merely speaking in general.

The point is, you have one extreme view that proclaims Intelligent Design, implying that there is no such thing as evolution. The other extreme side comes from those who accept Evolution while out-right rejecting Intelligent Design.

As is so often the case, extremes don't represent the reality of the situation. The moderates are always far more measured in their response as well as their rational.

Truth be told, Intelligent Design and Evolution co-exist. God created the universe. There's no way the univese and everything in it came to be "by accident". God created the universe. in so doing, He is the grand-architect of the Natural Laws that dictate hoe evolution works. It's not a stretch to claim God created mankind through a Natural process we've dubbed "evolution". See how responsible this is?

Whether or not Adam and Eve were, literally, the first human beings to exist in the human race is a matter of opinion. What we can be certain of it that Adam and Eve (allagory or not) represent the first man and woman to have a relationship with their Creator. They are also the first to rebel against God in sin - as everybody does.

What do you mean the fall of mankind never happened? Take a look around the world and see all the injustice, strife, famine, war - all this is the result of the fall of mankind.

Answer 3

Here is how I see it. In the creation story it says God created the world in seven days, but the real question is how long is seven days in God's time? No human can understand this because we only see time through human eyes. So evolution cannot take place with out Gods will for one of his creations to change into another. Humans on the other hand have always been the way we are because it said God created us from the dirt and in his image and likeness. Because we are created in his likeness we have been given a soul which makes us different from monkey and didn't evolve from them. When human disobeyed God human knows what evil is and that is why there is original sin. Science and religion go hand and hand. They are two different points of view of the same thing.

Answer 4

I'm Baptist, not Catholic, but a Christian none the less and believe in the Bible. This is a very good question the way you put it. I think it is possible that God may have let man evolve to the point where he could be placed in the Garden for his testing, etc. If you can't accept the creation idea, this would be a pretty good explanation, don't you think? Keep studying the Bible with an open mind, and may God bless.

Answer 5

As I keep teaching and hopefully enough people will learn. Evolution has no effect on the Doctrine of Original Sin. Evolution is not capable of affirming or denying Original Sin for such a thing is beyond the biology it studies. The questions that Evolution ask of origins is different than the questions that authors of Genesis asks. Granted it is one subject matter; Creation and its origin. However, Evolution is only studying how a thing's origin and progression occurs. The authors of Genesis is asking why is there evil in the world and note its progression.
Now with Evolution in discovering how things originate, it cannot answer as to why they originated. Nor can it discern the why of its progression except through the limited scope of biological methodology.
The authors of Genesis have a much grander scope to work with (e.g.) Theology, which can contain and study the question of "why" a thing originated (including evil). Evolution has no interest in this. It can answer that the improvement of a thing through successive years is due to selection and health. And it could say a thing that is deficient or limited is due to disease, but cannot not answer as to why the disease in the first place. The authors of Genesis are able to in their theology. There is a whole lot more to this and not enough room on these things. Yet, I hope this at least helps you. May the Lord bless and keep you. May the light of His face shine upon you.

God's and your beast of burden
Father john

Answer 6

There are certain tenets that are acceptable to our faith (God created and created evolved) but Adam and Eve are not an allegory. If indeed man came from a lower creature, God would have created his soul upon his conception. I believe in some parts of evolution, but it's only a theory.

Answer 7

This requires a much more figurative interpretation of Genesis.

The theory is that man's evolution would be the falling itself, that our capacity for sin, and understanding of it would be "falling from grace", that is to say that, as we evolved, we sinned, and understood that sin. There were more then two people originally. There was no literal garden.

There are some answers which only reflect upon the answerer's stupidity. I'm going to take some time to clarify:

1) There are more types of catholics then Roman Catholics.

2) The Pope (or Patriarch of Rome, depending upon what type of catholic you are) is not considered infallible, or "God on Earth". He was for about 50 years in Byzantine Rome, but, that was just an attempt of a power-hungry emporer to have even more power. Catholics may question him. This is a primary teaching of Catholicism: Do not me blind in your religious convictions lest it lead to improper worship.

3) There are plenty of Catholics, and many member of the church, that believe in Evolution. That makes them no less Christian.

Answer 8

Well, the Pope says evolution has scientific evidence behind it and appears to be reality, and Catholics say he's infallible and a representative of their god on earth.

So Catholics that don't accept evolution have to explain how the Pope was fooled, and how he's not really infallible after all.

In other words, oppose their own church.

Gosh, I wouldn't want to be a Catholic having to explain that!

Interesting that Policy Debate Addict falsifies history. The various Orthodox Churches, such as that which some Serbs worship in, aren't Catholic! The dispute about that, as well as other ethnic stupidities, were why Serbian Orthodox and the equally foolish Croatian Roman Catholics were murdering each other through much of the 1990s! He ignores the Roman Catholic doctrine of Papal Infallibility. Very convenient.

He also dodges a question, one which should be dealt with, by everyone here - is or is not the Pope wrong on this matter? And if he is, what are the implications for those who follow his church?

Answer 9

Really! Do actually think that the Garden of Eden really existed? This is story with a snake and a man and a woman, and of course the woman is the one who was tempted, not the man. She is the one to blame I was raised Catholic but never believed in it. Also, don't forget about God surgically removing Adams rib to create women. We both have the same amount of ribs. This story does nothing but make woman out to be the blame. Because Christians have to blame sin on someone. This is one story that sounds like a fariytale. One more thing since, I don't understand why people care so much about trying to understand why Christians believe in this. That is their problem, let them stay in their own sick way of believing crazy and absurd writings. The one that really gets me too is women created insest too. By getting their father drunk and then having sex with and each daughter getting pregnant. I am wondering who does the bible blame homosexuality on. HMMMMM. Whoever they deem fit.

Answer 10

Catholics must believe that we are descended from one couple.

This was taught by the pope in his encyclical Humani Generis.

The first mans and woman's bodies could have evolved. But the soul is created by God directly.

Evolution is a scientific theory and is accepted as such.
Faith still stands.