Question by jcmazza101: Do you want to know the Catholic position of evolution vs creationism?
Then read this. This is the Catholic Position. I do not know the positions of other denominations.
Today, the official Church’s position remains a focus of controversy and is fairly non-specific, stating only that faith and scientific findings regarding human evolution ARE NOT IN CONFLICT, though humans are regarded as a “special creation”, and that the existence of God is required to explain the spiritual component of human origins. This view falls into the spectrum of viewpoints that are grouped under the concept of theistic evolution.[1][2]
In an October 22, 1996, address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II updated the Church’s position to accept evolution of the human body:
“In his encyclical Humani Generis (1950), my predecessor Pius XII has already affirmed that there is no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of the faith regarding man and his vocation, provided that we do not lose sight of certain fixed points….Today, more than a half-century after the appearance of that encyclical, some new findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than an hypothesis. In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies — which was neither planned nor sought — constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.”[9]
In the same address, Pope John Paul II rejected any theory of evolution that provides a materialistic explanation for the human soul:
“Theories of evolution which, because of the philosophies which inspire them, regard the spirit either as emerging from the forces of living matter, or as a simple epiphenomenon of that matter, are incompatible with the truth about man.”
In addition, the Vatican’s former chief astronomer, Fr. George Coyne, prior to his retirement, issued a statement on 18 November 2005 saying that “Intelligent design isn’t science even though it pretends to be. If you want to teach it in schools, intelligent design should be taught when religion or cultural history is taught, not science.” Cardinal Paul Poupard added that “the faithful have the obligation to listen to that which secular modern science has to offer, just as we ask that knowledge of the faith be taken in consideration as an expert voice in humanity.” He also warned of the permanent lesson we have learned from the Galileo affair, and that “we also know the dangers of a religion that severs its links with reason and becomes prey to fundamentalism.” Fiorenzo Facchini, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Bologna, called intelligent design unscientific, and wrote in the January 16-17, 2006 edition L’Osservatore Romano: “But it is not correct from a methodological point of view to stray from the field of science while pretending to do science….It only creates confusion between the scientific plane and those that are philosophical or religious.”
In a commentary on Genesis authored as Cardinal Ratzinger titled In the Beginning… Benedict XVI spoke of “the inner unity of creation and evolution and of faith and reason” and that these two realms of knowledge are complementary, not contradictory:
Source: Wikipedia.and other Catholic sources
Edit: I have always maintained it was a beautifully blended combination of the two positions. Both positions are proof of the beauty of life.
Edit: Catholics have never rejected the Bible. Catholics have always protected the Deposit of Faith as handed down by the Apostles. It is other denominations who have manipulated it to their own benefits.
Edit: Old man from scene 24. Thank you for the acknowledgement. I appreciate that.
Best answer:
Answer by Karenita EWTN ((Allecat))
cool.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!