Does Darwin's theory of evolution contradict Catholicsm?

[rossum]

You didn’t say much.

I didn’t need to because it is simple. Imperfect replicators will evolve if under a resource constraint. The “imperfect replicators” have some equivalent of mutations. The “resource constraint” brings in an equivalent of natural selection. Any good biology textbook will explain the basic concepts.

So the Big Bang created Karma and rebirth ?

No. The BB started the material universe. The overall universe, including both material and immaterial parts, has no beginning and so no cause. Just as in Christianity, the immaterial part (i.e. God) is eternal and uncaused. The same for the immaterial part of the Buddhist universe.

rossum

 

[Glark]

You are the one who is claiming the universe was created in 6 days.

No, no, no. Glarkism says life on earth was created about 6000 years ago and that the universe was created possibly billions of years ago (on account of the stars and the speed of light). Glarkism also says that Glarkism could be wrong and that the six days of creation may not be literal … but probably are.

And also you should believe the earth is flat … because that is what the Bible literally says.

Which verse literally says the earth is flat?

“In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.” (Psalm 19)

This is very obviously very literally scientific - not a hint of metaphor in it whatsoever … oh, except for the bits about pitching a tent, a bridegroom coming out his chamber, and a human running around race circuit.

 

[Glark]

YouHow do you explain the light being created on day one while the sun and moon were created on day 4?

God doesn’t need a Sun to create light. He’s clever that way.

“And the city hath no need of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it” - Rev 21:23

“And night shall be no more: and they shall not need the light of the lamp, nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ever and ever” - Rev 23:5

I’d say the writer of Genesis knew that its pretty strange that light appeared before the Sun was created. So what is this trying to tell us? The “light” that appeared before the Sun was created was most possibly some kind of large battery-powered torch the Lord brought down from Heaven.

You don’t have to be a ‘Darwinists’ to see the Bible is full of symbolism.

There is a lot of symbolic writing in the Bible, but very little of it is found in Genesis, which is primarily a book of history.

 

[edwest211]

I agree. God can create light without need for a sun. He does things only God can do.

Ed

 

[Glark]

“So the sun stood still,
and the moon stopped,
till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,” Joshua 10:13.

Have you heard of the Miracle of the Sun that occurred at Fatima in 1917? Seventy thousand people witnessed the Sun whizzing about, doing crazy things in the sky. Did the actual Sun move like that? Of course not, it was an illusion, one of God’s party tricks.

“And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven” (Genesis 1). “In Biblical cosmology, the firmament is the structure above the atmosphere, conceived as a vast solid dome. According to the Genesis creation narrative, God created the firmament to separate the “waters above” the earth from the “waters below” the earth.”

If I lived in ancient times and I read this passage, I would wonder what a “firmament” is and also what the separation of “waters” meant. Then I would conclude it had something to do with clouds and rain and sky … in which case I wouldn’t think it referred to anything solid or some sort of solid “dome”.

 

[jas84173]

Not at all. I love reading those books. “Origin of Species” and other famous science works such as Newtons “Principia” or Einstein’s "Relativity " , don’t make me question my faith at all. I just see God so much more when I see how complicated his works are that we only are beginning to understand it. We will never be able to totally grasp God. He’s to far out of our sphere of comprehension. These advancements do however let us get a small glimpse at him however.

 

[Techno2000]

No. The BB started the material universe. The overall universe, including both material and immaterial parts, has no beginning and so no cause. Just as in Christianity, the immaterial part (i.e. God) is eternal and uncaused. The same for the immaterial part of the Buddhist universe.

So, Karma and rebirth existed before the Big Bang ?

 

[rossum]

So, Karma and rebirth existed before the Big Bang ?

Yes, though it may not have been specifically “birth” for immaterial entities.

rossum

 

[Techno2000]

Just as in Christianity, the immaterial part (i.e. God) is eternal and uncaused. The same for the immaterial part of the Buddhist universe.

The big difference is that God is the actual creator of the universe. Who is the creator of the Buddhist universe?

 

[Glark]

The mechanism is karma.

Then karma must be omnipotent and possess vast intelligence. Only such a being or beings could see every deed of a person’s life and then decide what that person deserves in the next life … plus then execute that destiny. So karma is God or Gods.

 

[Techno2000]

immaterial entities

Who are what are these immaterial entities ?

 

[Rau]

I agree. God can create light without need for a sun. He does things only God can do.

What he can do is not in debate. What it appears (based on scientific enquiry) that has actually happened is the matter in debate.

 

[Glark]

Read what trusted Church sources say. You are leaning on your own understanding and not listening.

Read what the Church’s bishops and respected theologians say about Genesis, evolution, and Jonah. The information is out there, it’s on you to read it.

Oh, you mean I should be like a gullible, clueless child?

 

[Glark]

Right, it seems evolution is very crafty, in that it also produced organisms that have to be reborn/rehatched.

The more I learn about evolution, the more amazing it gets.

 

[Rau]

Oh, you mean I should be like a gullible, clueless child?

It is not unusual for young people to believe they have greater knowledge than all whom they encounter. But, ordinarily, Catholics do concede some authority to Christ’s Church in interpreting Scripture. I appreciate you don’t fully fit this model.

 

[Techno2000]

Glark:

Oh, you mean I should be like a gullible, clueless child?

It is not unusual for young people to believe they have greater knowledge than all whom they encounter. But, ordinarily, Catholics do concede some authority to Christ’s Church in interpreting Scripture. I appreciate you don’t fully fit this model.

The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelation 12:9

 

[HarryStotle]

Buddhist reality is eternal and uncaused:

At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said: “From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating and wandering on.”

– Assu sutta, Samyutta Nikaya 15.3

Sure, on “eternal and uncaused” we both agree, it is the other accretions that need to be posited and a rational case made. Transmigration and wandering on may or may not be correct, but simply saying it is so isn’t sufficient to make it so.

 

[Techno2000]

Techno2000:

Right, it seems evolution is very crafty, in that it also produced organisms that have to be reborn/rehatched.

The more I learn about evolution, the more amazing it gets.

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”

 

[Glark]

Benedict added that the immense time span that evolution covers made it impossible to conduct experiments in a controlled environment to finally verify or disprove the theory.

“We cannot haul 10,000 generations into the laboratory,” he said."

“The E. coli long-term evolution experiment (LTEE) is an ongoing study in experimental evolution led by Richard Lenski that has been tracking genetic changes in 12 initially identical populations of asexual Escherichia coli bacteria since 24 February 1988.[2] The populations reached the milestone of 50,000 generations in February 2010 and 66,000 in November 2016.[3] Lenski performed the 10,000th transfer of the experiment on March 13, 2017.” - Wikipedia.

Some scientists claim “evolution” was observed during this experiment. Yep, micro- evolution. In other words, its relevance to the theory that all life on earth evolved from unicellular life forms is zero.

 

[Rau]

The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 12:9

CCC119 “It is the task of exegetes to work, according to these rules, towards a better understanding and explanation of the meaning of Sacred Scripture in order that their research may help the Church to form a firmer judgement. For, of course, all that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgement of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God.”