LeafByNiggle
Well-known member
No, but if you do interpret it literally you are doing so on your own initiative. Like I said, people are free to believe in the literal interpretation if they want to.Does it teach that it can’t be literal?
No, but if you do interpret it literally you are doing so on your own initiative. Like I said, people are free to believe in the literal interpretation if they want to.Does it teach that it can’t be literal?
It’s not a mandate from the church.There’s a reason that when a pope says something positive about evolution it’s all anybody needs and when he says something negative, he is labeled incorrect. When a pope says 2+2=4, that’s all anybody needs. When he starts telling people 2+2=22, people object. And yes, that is an appropriate analogy because evolution is as clear and definite as 2+2=4, despite your adamancy otherwise.
I was referring to the specific post you were responding to as a way to avoid addressing the issue. Nice try though.I guess according to you “disgrace to your religion” should be accepted and is in no way rude. Strange. Get out of the mix if you have nothing to add but flamebait.
I didn’t say Genesis was mere legend. I said the Church does not teach that Genesis is to be interpreted literally as regards the science. And the quotes that you posted above do not contradict that. There is a big difference between scientific literalism and “mere legend”. Just because one avoids taking the science literally that does not mean he dismisses Genesis as “mere legend”. Genesis is true regarding what it was intended to teach, which is that God is the source of all of creation. Genesis was never intended to be a history or science text in the way that we mean them today. It was written in a style of the time in which accuracy in those areas was not the point. The quote you posted reaffirms that understanding.That is incorrect.
"Real History
"The argument is that all of this is real history, it is simply ordered topically rather than chronologically, and the ancient audience of Genesis, it is argued, would have understood it as such.
"Even if Genesis 1 records God’s work in a topical fashion, it still records God’s work—things God really did.
“The Catechism explains that “Scripture presents the work of the Creator symbolically as a succession of six days of divine ‘work,’ concluded by the ‘rest’ of the seventh day” (CCC 337), but “nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The world began when God’s word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history is rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun” (CCC 338).”
"It is impossible to dismiss the events of Genesis 1 as a mere legend. They are accounts of real history, even if they are told in a style of historical writing that Westerners do not typically use.
"Adam and Eve: Real People
"It is equally impermissible to dismiss the story of Adam and Eve and the fall (Gen. 2–3) as a fiction. A question often raised in this context is whether the human race descended from an original pair of two human beings (a teaching known as monogenism) or a pool of early human couples (a teaching known as polygenism).
"In this regard, Pope Pius XII stated: “When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains either that after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parents of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now, it is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the teaching authority of the Church proposed with regard to original sin which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam in which through generation is passed onto all and is in everyone as his own” (Humani Generis 37).
"The story of the creation and fall of man is a true one, even if not written entirely according to modern literary techniques. The Catechism states, “The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents” (CCC 390).
Source: Catholic Answers library
Peace,
Ed
Decisions decision…If I presume you wrote what you mean I give one answer, if I instead presume you are not as precise with language as I would hope it is another, what shall I do?I am asking for a reference to your statement that God created evolution. Where did you get this idea?
Peace,
Ed
Why accept the part about Adam as “true” as the pope said and then make the rest an allegory? Part is true but what surrounds it isn’t? How do you know what Genesis was intended to be? I wouldn’t eliminate all science from it. Also, would Jesus reference people who arose from a fictitious creation?I didn’t say Genesis was mere legend. I said the Church does not teach that Genesis is to be interpreted literally as regards the science. And the quotes that you posted above do not contradict that. There is a big difference between scientific literalism and “mere legend”. Just because one avoids taking the science literally that does not mean he dismisses Genesis as “mere legend”. Genesis is true regarding what it was intended to teach, which is that God is the source of all of creation. Genesis was never intended to be a history or science text in the way that we mean them today. It was written in a style of the time in which accuracy in those areas was not the point. The quote you posted reaffirms that understanding.
Wow, straw man and ad absurdum fallacies. What would Jesus do is now, and has always been an exercise in silly. Scripture contains the Revealed Truth of God does not mean every word as translated to and understood in English is accurate and factual. FYI ADAM means person. There are three traditions in the OT Y T and E. Every book is redacted. They are based on a previously existing oral tradition.Why accept the part about Adam as “true” as the pope said and then make the rest an allegory? Part is true but what surrounds it isn’t? How do you know what Genesis was intended to be? I wouldn’t eliminate all science from it. Also, would Jesus reference people who arose from a fictitious creation?
You will notice that the quote that you referenced from Pope Leo was not on evolution. It was on Christian Marriage. And the reference to the creation of Eve was to reinforce that concept. It was not part of a refutation of evolution. This understanding is confirmed by other writings in the Church. But if you want to pick and choose only the writings that work against evolution, those writings will probably not impress you. The poetic language of Pope Leo’s encyclical is evident by his use of the word “slime”. The Bible tells us God created Adam from the dust of the earth - not the slime. These are two very different things scientifically, but they are not very different in view of the intent of the encyclical.Then you’re reading of it is in error. Eve was created by God from Adam’s side. This is in contradiction to the slow, gradual development process in the textbooks
Peace,
Ed
Wasn’t talking about a mandate from the church. Stop trying to divert the discussion.It’s not a mandate from the church.
Don’t ask me. I’m just reporting what the Church teaches. If you are interested in how the Church came to this nuanced understanding of Genesis, then ask the teachers of the Church.Why accept the part about Adam as “true” as the pope said and then make the rest an allegory? Part is true but what surrounds it isn’t? How do you know what Genesis was intended to be?
I never said Adam was fictitious. You keep trying to shift my position into one that is easier to argue against. For the record I accept the Church’s teaching that Adam refers to a real person. So I have no trouble with Jesus referring to Adam.Also, would Jesus reference people who arose from a fictitious creation?
So, if the new Testament refers to Cain or Able, were they part of the characters in the make-believe world you imply Adam was? I didn’t say or ask about what Jesus would do now.Wow, straw man and ad absurdum fallacies. What would Jesus do is now, and has always been an exercise in silly. Scripture contains the Revealed Truth of God does not mean every word as translated to and understood in English is accurate and factual. FYI ADAM means person. There are three traditions in the OT Y T and E. Every book is redacted. They are based on a previously existing oral tradition.
I may have confused you with another poster.Don’t ask me. I’m just reporting what the Church teaches. If you are interested in how the Church came to this nuanced understanding of Genesis, then ask the teachers of the Church.
I never said Adam was fictitious. You keep trying to shift my position into one that is easier to argue against. For the record I accept the Church’s teaching that Adam refers to a real person. So I have no trouble with Jesus referring to Adam.
Obviously you prefer making things up to fit your view. I have no time to engage trade fallacies of logic.So, if the new Testament refers to Cain or Able, were they part of the characters in the make-believe world you imply Adam was? I didn’t say or ask about what Jesus would do now.
I didn’t “make up” Luke 11:51. These are Jesus’ words. "From the blood of ABEL unto the blood of Zacharias…Obviously you prefer making things up to fit your view. I have no time to engage trade fallacies of logic.
I thought this was a Catholic forum, not fundamentalist. The Christ stands opposed to fundamentalism.I didn’t “make up” Luke 11:51. These are Jesus’ words. "From the blood of ABEL unto the blood of Zacharias…
Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from ADAM to Moses…
There are plenty more verses. These are real people that lived in the world God created. Jesus’ words confirm that.
In which case not taking Genesis totally literally is permissible.That is not a reason to abandon the meaning behind what is written or what is "poured into " a word.
Thankfully Catholics like me and multitudes of others read the bible. Same words in the Catholic bible. At least Adam and Abel are in these verses. Lets not take a real person that Jesus referenced and say he didn’t please.I thought this was a Catholic forum, not fundamentalist. The Christ stands opposed to fundamentalism.
Sure, you don’t have to. I’m just making the case that even the New Testament refers to these people in the creation story. So, Jesus speaks of these people. The Epistoles speak of them. But, according to the logic of some on this thread, if you believe these people are real, God put these people into a symbolic story. In other words, the people may be real, but the surrounding enviorment and how they got there isn’t.In which case not taking Genesis totally literally is permissible.