Not only does the current pope believe in evolution but so did John Paul ll. Pius Xll was in support of the Big Bang theory also, so Popes believing in scientific discoveries of this magnitude is not all that unusual of a thing.
For those who may hold true to the YEC stance (young earth creationists), consider this quote:
" In maters that are so obscure and far beyond vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without predujice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search for truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it."
Now from a modern point of view the above quote may seem like back pedalling on the Church’s part, however when in fact the above quote was made by St. Augustine it becomes an insightful one. The problem is that until recent times the Church failed to heed Augustine’s advice when it came to science.
Now science can neither prove nor disprove God’s existence conclusively. Let’s face it, Augustine and Aquainas couldn’t even do that so what makes anyone think a scientist can? It is still strictly a matter of faith as to whether believe or not believe. However, in science’s push to explain the Big Bang and the evolutionary theories, what has happened is the more they discover the greater the indicator points towards the distinct possibility of a creator or supernatural force/entity behind it all.
As a sidenote here, there is a difference between scientific theory and phiolosophical theory. The former is law, the latter is educated conjecture. If a scientist has a possibility to explain that has not been proven, the word hypothesis is used to describe the possibility.
How does all of this affect the believer? Take the possibility of a creator. Such an entity could not be part of or the result of our present universe. That entity would need to exist outside the scope of space or universe. Further such an entity would have to exist at least one second prior to the creation in order to have been able to create. Such an assumption would indicate another creator though so a safer assumption would be that such a being existed with no boundaries of time or limits or area. Which boils down to the being having to have the ability to exist outside and independent of our universe and our time. Hmmmm sounds like a description of the Almighty to me. Of course that is within the scope of the theistic evolutionist. The atheistic evolutionist merely clings to the belief that all that just happened out of accident and that because of some very lucky events, we came to be and are enjoying the benefits of such a lucky break. Now if I were to go to Las Vegas to visit the casinos with a mere 5 dollars in my pocket and had no idea of how to play the various games of chance or even how to work a slot machine I would have a better chance of walking out of those casinos richer than Bill Gates than the odds were of the Big Bang and the Theory of Evolution just all happening as the result of one very lucky accident. Both scenarios are possible but the probabilities skirt just at the edge of the impossible.
All in all there is no sacriledge in believing in the Big Bang or Evolution. The sacriledge comes in not believing God orchestrated the whole thing from beginning to end.
Take care
Dennis
