Does the Roman Catholic Church embrace theistic evolution?
score:8
The position of the Catholic Church is necessarily consistent with the position espoused by the pope, which position can also be described as having evolved since the middle of the twentieth century as:
- Pope Pius XII stated in his encyclical Humani Generis (1950) that there was no opposition between evolution and the doctrine of the faith and that he considered the doctrine of "evolutionism" a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation and in-depth study equal to that of the opposing hypothesis;
- Pope John Paul II, in an address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences (1996), said that new knowledge has led to the recognition of the theory of evolution as "more than a hypothesis";
- Pope Benedict spoke of "theistic evolution" which considers that God created life through evolution with no clash between religion and science.
- In 2014, Pope Francis told an audience from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Vatican City, "When we read in Genesis the account of Creation, we risk imagining that God was a magician, with such a magic wand as to be able to do everything. However, it was not like that. He created beings and left them to develop according to the internal laws that He gave each one, so that they would develop, and reach their fullness."
This is the position as stated by Catholic Answers:
Concerning human evolution, the Church has a more definite teaching. It allows for the possibility that man’s body developed from previous biological forms, under God’s guidance, but it insists on the special creation of his soul. Pope Pius XII declared that "the teaching authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions . . . take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—[but] the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God" (Pius XII, Humani Generis 36). So whether the human body was specially created or developed, we are required to hold as a matter of Catholic faith that the human soul is specially created; it did not evolve, and it is not inherited from our parents, as our bodies are.
While the Church permits belief in either special creation or developmental creation on certain questions, it in no circumstances permits belief in atheistic evolution.
As we can see, the Church holds that the soul is not part of physical evolution, not having been inherited from our parents. The first parents to have souls were Adam and Eve, whether they were the first of creation or evolved from previous soul-less hominids. Only Adam and Eve, and their successors can look forward to salvation, because only we have a soul.
The Catechism of the Church takes a carefully ambiguous position, neither supporting nor refuting evolution, thereby allowing catechumens to hold either beliefs:
283: The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: "It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements. . . for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me."
Upvote:0
"Theistic Evolution" imply that Adam was conceived in the womb of an ape, which is against Catholic teaching, because one must believe that
The first three Chapters of Genesis contain narratives that correspond to objectively real and historically true events (rerum vere gestarum narrationes quae scilicet obiectivae realitati et historicae veritati respondeant), no myths, no mere allegories or symbols of religious truths, no legends.
—1909 Pontifical Biblical Commission (Latin original)
And Genesis 2:7 says that God "formed man of the slime of the earth," not in the womb of an ape.
See the sermon "Errors of Theistic Evolution" by Fr. Chad Ripperger.
More post
- 📝 What did Jesus mean when He said “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me”
- 📝 Pascal's wager vs 1 Corinthians 15:17-19
- 📝 Do Trinitarian Protestants regard it as wrong to make false claims publicly?
- 📝 What was the most likely method of crucifixion that was used on Jesus?
- 📝 How do Trinitarians respond to passages in the Bible that seem to clearly distinguish between God and Jesus after his ascension?
- 📝 What is the biblical defence used by Anglicans to appoint female vicars/bishops?
- 📝 What do non-Catholic Christians do with the power of binding and loosing?
- 📝 From what biblical basis can it be argued 'God heals damaged emotions or physiological problems through the Bible'?
- 📝 If baptism washes away original sin, why do women still get periods and pain?
- 📝 Would this book be considered a relic of S.D. John A. Hardon, S.J.?
- 📝 Should biblical laws apply to non-Christians?
- 📝 What is the official status of the person of Philomena who at one time was liturgically canonized by Pope Gregory XVI?
- 📝 Proof of the Messiah’s Role?
- 📝 What is the Dispensational Interpretation of Daniel’s Stone Kingdom?
- 📝 What were the early Christians officially persecuted for?
- 📝 According to the YEC, when was the earth created?
- 📝 What is the basis that some Protestants teach the non-necessity of baptism for salvation?
- 📝 Were any of the Apostolic Fathers Jews?
- 📝 What is the Catholic understanding of what "God is Love" means according to the four senses of scripture?
- 📝 Can different levels of the Church hierarchy provide different types of blessings?
- 📝 Is there any theological reason that Eastern Orthodox clergy tend to maintain long beards?
- 📝 Why did God use humans to write the Bible?
- 📝 How do Christians who think animals have only existed for <7,000 years on Earth reconcile their views with Pleistocene saber-toothed tigers?
- 📝 How does Matthew 25:31-46 ("The Sheep and the Goats") reconcile with salvation by faith?
- 📝 Is the Catholic Church NOT against all birth control?
- 📝 What is the scientific effectiveness of "street preaching" as a method of evangelization?
- 📝 When did the one-way monologue sermon first become a normal feature of church assemblies?
- 📝 Who first came up with the "four attributes of Scripture"?
- 📝 Are there any Unitarian Catholic Churches?
- 📝 How do Young Earth Creationists account for the arising of millions of species after the flood?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic Church embrace theistic evolution?
- 📝 What does the Roman Catholic church teach about those who die having never heard of Christ?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church reconcile evolution with original sin?
- 📝 Why does the Roman Catholic Church not hold to the perspicuity of Scripture?
- 📝 Why does the Roman Catholic Church consider beatification of the pope?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic church recognize marriages outside of the church?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic church consider HIPAA to be an unjust law?
- 📝 Why in the Roman Catholic Church does the sixth commandment differ between languages?
- 📝 How does the Roman Catholic Church interpret predestination?
- 📝 Why does the Roman Catholic church allow girls to serve the altar?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic church recognize LDS baptisms?
- 📝 What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about covenant theology?
- 📝 How does the Orthodox Church view the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 Apart from any claim related to antiquity, does the modern Roman Catholic Church claim to be ‘The Body of Christ'?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic Church have a daily Bible reading?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church explain the juxtaposition of two tenets of faith with two different pre-conditions at Roman 10:9?
- 📝 Does the Roman Catholic Church consider other religions evil, demonic, and satanic?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church officially recognize Protestants as Christians?
- 📝 How does the Catholic church explain Matthew 19:9, which seems to allow divorce in case of sexual misconduct?
- 📝 What does the Catholic church teach about fate of non-Catholic christians?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church oppose universalism?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church teach there is only one person?
- 📝 Where does the Catholic church procure most of its Bibles?
- 📝 How does the Catholic Church understand the priesthood of all believers?
- 📝 What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
- 📝 How does a Roman Catholic reconcile a preference for purely procreative sex with the Song of Solomon?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church consider abortion to be murder?
- 📝 What does the Catholic Church mean when it calls humans co-creators with God?
- 📝 How does the Catholic church view Freemasons?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church teach that it has the authority to change what is morally right and wrong?