Pope Benedict XVI says the theory of evolution is backed by strong scientific proof - but the theory does not answer life's "great philosophical question."
Benedict told 400 priests at a two-hour event that he's puzzled by the current debate in the United States and his native Germany over creationism and evolution.
Debaters wrongly present the two sides "as if they were alternatives that are exclusive - whoever believes in the creator could not believe in evolution, and whoever asserts belief in evolution would have to disbelieve in God," the pontiff said.
"This contrast is an absurdity, because there are many scientific tests in favor of evolution, which appears as a reality that we must see and enriches our understanding of life and being.
"But the doctrine of evolution does not answer all questions, and it does not answer above all the great philosophical question: From where does everything come?"
A transcript of the Tuesday event was posted in Italian yesterday on the Vatican's Web site.
From the NY Post.
Interesting enough, I was thinking about just this the other day.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy the Pope has been more forceful about the evidence for evolution. It will make it harder for militant atheists to lump him in with the Pandas and People crowd and for the flacks at the DI to claim he's supporting Intelligent Design.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Ken Miller got to him with his presentation? The guy gets around.
ReplyDelete;)
At last...something Benedict and I agree on ;-)
ReplyDeleteHe took the words right out of my mouth.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of something a wise woman once said:
ReplyDeleteWe find a well-known biologist writing in a weekly paper to the effect that: "It is an argument against the existence of a Creator" (I think he put it more strongly; but since I have, most unfortunately, mislaid the reference, I will put his claim at its lowest)--"an argument against the existence of a Creator that the same kind of variations which are produced by natural selection can be produced at will by stock breeders." One might feel tempted to say that it is rather an argument for the existence of a Creator. Actually, of course, it is neither; all it proves is that the same material causes (recombination of the chromosomes, by crossbreeding, and so forth) are sufficient to account for all observed variations--just as the various combinations of the same dozen tones are materially sufficient to account for Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata and the noise the cat makes by walking on the keys. But the cat's performance neither proves nor disproves the existence of Beethoven; and all that is proved by the biologist's argument is that he was unable to distinguish between a material and a final cause.
-Dorothy L. Sayers, from The Lost Tools of Learning
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ReplyDeleteThe main thing here is the unrecognized baggage of atheistic materialism smuggled under the guise of evolutionary biology. This stance, better called "evolutionism", takes evolution as the basis of a metaphysical system and not as a mere scientific theory or hypothesis used to account for actual data. Catholics should have no problem with evolutionary theory as such but with unfounded materialistic and atheistic interpretations thereof
ReplyDeleteLots of strong evidence for creation and worldwide
ReplyDeleteflood. Evolution has no good evidence. Radioactive dating is highly innaccurate and unreliable. animal life is present in the fossil record from the very beginning, cambrian explosian etc.. Vestigial organs have been debunked. They have no evidence left that hasn't been discredited. Believe the Bible, it has the best document for the evidence that is seen. The Bible has geneology all the way to Jesus that cannot be dismissed as Jesus himself makes literal comments on them. As Jesus says, "If you cannot believe the word that has been told to you, how will you believe the spiritual matters:.