Does Current Pope "believe In Evolution"

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nydas said:
Then maybe you can explain to me this: How did god come to be?
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nydas: “Come to be” necessarily implies that at some point God did not exist. God exists outside of time. He created time. You can no more ask when did God come to being than you can ask where does a circle start. God has no beginning or end, because beginnings and endings are time based constructs. He just is. In his own words “I AM”.
 
nydas said:
Then maybe you can explain to me this: How did god come to be?
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He didnt -he always was and always will be. and the evidence of his existence is overwhelming-at least for those who will open their eyes.
 
JamesD said:
The main reason that people have difficulty thinking that evolution and our faith are somehow incompatible is not because of the creation stories of Genesis. The main problem that those who do see an incompatibility have, (both atheists and believers), is that they limit the power and capabilities of God. God did not create a big bang, let it go, see what happens and then intervene here and there to produce the outcomes that he desires. He created the whole of the universe AND the whole of it’s existence in time all at once. He created the beginning, middle and end all at once. There is no event in the past present or future of the Universe that is outside of his knowledge from the beginning. And all of these events are his creation except for the affects of our free will. However, the consequences of our actions are formed and created by God. He created the greatest and best possible universe that our free will would allow. And not only that but for all of us at the same time!
This is so much cooler than the other “theories” don’t you think?
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Beautiful!! Excellent work at laying out this approach. It synchs up with the eternal nature of God and reconciles the past, present and future of His creative efforts. Well done.
 
nydas said:
Then maybe you can explain to me this: How did god come to be?
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God did not come to be. God existed and exists outside of time.
Time must have a beginning.
God created/began time as well as the material world.
Because God exists outside of time there is no such thing as beginning or end to God.
It is interesting to note in scripture (Exodus 3:14) God refers to himself as “I am who am”.
Jim
 
JamesD said:
God did not come to be. God existed and exists outside of time.
Time must have a beginning.
God created/began time as well as the material world.
Because God exists outside of time there is no such thing as beginning or end to God.
It is interesting to note in scripture (Exodus 3:14) God refers to himself as “I am who am”.
Jim
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This is exactly why i prefer science. It provides answers. Even if the answers arent perfect. Science is always working towrds finding those answers. With god its just “because its god”. And im sorry, but that is not good enough.
 
nydas said:
This is exactly why i prefer science. It provides answers. Even if the answers arent perfect. Science is always working towrds finding those answers. With god its just “because its god”. And im sorry, but that is not good enough.
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It does? Has Scinece told us how something can come from nothing? Has science shown us how life can spring from non-life?
 
wcknight said:
Every scientist worth his salt would disagree with you.
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Ah, negatory, you’d be hard-pressed to find a scientist who would say it is a law and not a theory.

As for the question…I did find this:

*On the morning of Sunday, April 24, 2005, during his Coronation ceremony homily Pope Benedict XVI made a clear indication that he is distancing himself from the theory of evolution. Translated from the Italian, the pope stated:

“We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed , each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”
To help get the point across even better, the pope used a play on words. According to Fr. Brian Harrison who knows Italian and heard the pope speak, the words translated in English as “is willed” are the Italian words “é voluto.” The word in Italian for “evolution” is “evoluzione.” Hence, the intended pun was: we are not the product of “evoluzione” but the product of divine “é voluto.”

Moreover, if the pope were not giving an indication about his reservations concerning the theory of evolution, he simply could have said that we are all willed and loved by God, but to preface this with a denunciation of evolution means that the pope wanted to put in opposition the Christian viewpoint of a created universe over against the haphazard world of chance espoused by evolutionary theory.

Those of us who know the pope are not surprised at this sudden turn of events. Members of our Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation met with the then Cardinal Ratzinger in October 2002 and explained to him the scientific evidence against evolution and the scientific evidence for creation, evidence that prior to our visit the Cardinal had not been made aware.

Thank God we have a pope who is willing to take a critical look at the claims of modern science. Please continue to pray for him that God enlightens his mind.

Robert Sungenis
Advisory Board of the Koble Center
4-25-2005*

I know, I know, the source may be a little biased, but if it is legit, it lends some insight into the Pope’s beliefs.
 
estesbob said:
It does? Has Scinece told us how something can come from nothing? Has science shown us how life can spring from non-life?
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Its a work in progress. At least scientists are making an attempt to answer these questions.
 
nydas said:
Its a work in progress. At least scientists are making an attempt to answer these questions.
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But they can’t answer them, And they are no closer to answering them than they were 5,000 years ago. Religion. has already answered them. And the answer is obvious to anyone who will open their eyes and see. In fact the more science delves into creation the more apparent God becomes.
 
estesbob said:
But they can’t answer them, And they are no closer to answering them than they were 5,000 years ago. Religion. has already answered them. And the answer is obvious to anyone who will open their eyes and see. In fact the more science delves into creation the more apparent God becomes.
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No closer? That is an ignorant comment. We have come a tremendous way. Heck, we would be further along if it wasn’t for the churches need to lock up or eleminate anyone that might have come up with a different theory, back in the Galileo’s time.

Yes, religion has an answer, not a very good one considering there is no way to proof it, but it is an answer. And that is why so many people unquestioningly follow it.
 
nydas said:
. And that is why so many people unquestioningly follow it.
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I take offense at the last statement. Please do not stereotype religious people. Many of us asked many painful questions and looked in many religions and belief systems before we finally became Christian.
 
nydas said:
No closer? That is an ignorant comment. We have come a tremendous way. Heck, we would be further along if it wasn’t for the churches need to lock up or eleminate anyone that might have come up with a different theory, back in the Galileo’s time.

Yes, religion has an answer, not a very good one considering there is no way to proof it, but it is an answer. And that is why so many people unquestioningly follow it.
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Obvioulsy you havent a clue about what the dispute with Gallelio was or you would not have mentioed. Do you know what Copernicus’s profession was?.

You say science is closer to answering how something can come from nothing and how life can spring from non-life than they were 5,000 years ago? Care to elaborate?

The really funny thing is the majority of the pople on the face of the earth and most of those who have lived before us already know the answer. Only science seems to be blinded to the truth.
 
Im sorry, i wasnt trying to offend anyone. But i stand behind what i said.
 
nydas said:
This is exactly why i prefer science. It provides answers. Even if the answers arent perfect. Science is always working towrds finding those answers. With god its just “because its god”. And im sorry, but that is not good enough.
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That’s because you’re asking the wrong kind of question. 🙂​

And it’s wrong, because it takes for granted that God is just another entity in the universe, like a sock, a comet, an ash-tray or a planet.

Whereas God is not within the universe, just as no one blowing up a balloon for a birthday party is in the balloon. No one denies the existence of an author on the ground that the author is not to be found within the ink or pages of the books he writes. Yet that is what those who expect to find God by scientific methods do. God can be known - but not by methods proper to the sciences.

I believe in evolution because an evolutionary perspective on creation shows the greatness & majesty & wonder of the God Who created & sustains it all. It shows the infinite glory of God - just as it did to the Psalmist three thousand years ago here

FWIW - Copernicus was not a bishop, but a canon of Frauenburg (Frombork) Cathedral ##
 
nydas said:
Yes, religion has an answer, not a very good one considering there is no way to proof it, but it is an answer. And that is why so many people unquestioningly follow it.
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That is an illogical statement. What is it, in your opinion, that causes people to “unquestioningly follow it”? Are you suggesting that someone who has faith is ignorant or at least unable to make logical choices simply because they can’t “proof” it? If so, you make the same error that those who reject all science do.

I am a geologist. I accept an old universe, old earth and evolution because of the evidence. I also accept God as the Creator. I don’t need proof of that. That is my faith. While science requires proof, faith doesn’t. In my not so humble opinion, one is in error if they reject either science or religion.

Peace

Tim
 
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