C
CatholicIllini
Guest
Ok, so I know I am not a theologian or a scientist, but I think I finally found a way to reconcile evolution with Genesis and Original Sin. Of course, it requires reading Genesis not as literal truth, but as being allegorical. My ideas may not be entirely original, but I want to know what you guys think of this interpretation:
Evolution and paleoanthropology have more or less proved that modern humans evolved over time from simpler organisms and that the first humanoids appeared hundreds-of-thousands of years ago. From a theological standpoint, this begs the question: When were humans first given a soul? When did original sin occur? Where did evil come from? Are those prehistoric humans in heaven?
From our faith we know that, at some point, God decided that man had evolved enough for a soul. After millions of years, an organism finally reached the evolutionary threshold at which God deemed it worthy of possessing an immortal soul. Perhaps this was 50,000 years ago, when modern scientists claim that behaviorally modern humans emerged; it may have been 200,000 years ago when the first homo sapiens appeared - we do not know. At first, he may have deemed only one human worthy of a soul (Adam), or he may have given souls to many humans containing certain genetic and behavioral characteristics.
However, evolution itself suggests that someone had to be the first human. If we accept the theory of gradual evolution, there still has to be a point at which an organism goes from non-human to human. Perhaps the parents of the first human were themselves non-human, but when their genetic material was combined the resulting offspring was a human. The genetic mutation that differentiated the first man from his parents might have been a small one, but that does not mean it was an insignificant one. It may have been that one mutation that made God see that man as fit to be the first true soul-possessing human-being. And if that man existed 50,000 – 200,000 years ago, it is plausible that we are all descendants of him.
But whether the first human was one man or a group of people, we know that these humans lived in a pristine natural world (the metaphorical Garden of Eden) and were able to hunt and gather from the abundance that God provided. Scientific research suggests that even early humans had a belief in God and the afterlife. From this we can assume that God made himself known to these humans, either through external revelation (God walking in the Garden), or through the internal yearning that they felt for him in their hearts.
However, even though humans now possessed souls and knew of the existence of God, they did not yet know the difference between right and wrong. They still lived according to their animalistic instincts. They had evolved from animals and therefore lived like animals. They acted selfishly for the benefit of their own survival. But since they did not know that their selfishness was wrong, they did not mortally sin. They lived their entire lives in spiritual childhood. Just as children cannot commit mortal sin because they cannot comprehend that their actions are wrong, neither could the early humans. My belief is that this is how God intended it to be. Man possessed free will, but since he did not know wrong, he could not willingly choose it. The only choice was God, because that is all that man knew. He may have still committed venial sin by following his animalistic desires, but this would not have prevented him from being saved. An all-loving God would not punish humans for ignorance that was no fault of their own. Presumably, these venal sins would be burned away in purgatory.
Then the devil intervened. It may have been during the lives of the very first humans, as Genesis suggests, or it may have been later. The devil’s goal was to show man the difference between right and wrong (the knowledge of the gods) in order to show them the true error of their ways. His goal was to destroy man’s spiritual childhood. Once humans knew that their actions were wrong and offensive to God, what were once venial sins now became mortal sins. Since humans still possessed their selfish animal instincts, it was very hard for them to avoid doing what they now knew was offensive to God. They continued to submit to their selfish instincts, and therefore committed mortal sin. So the Original Sin was not the first time humans sinned period, but the first time they mortally sinned, for they knowingly chose to do wrong instead of right. This created the need for a Savior to redeem man.
Evolution and paleoanthropology have more or less proved that modern humans evolved over time from simpler organisms and that the first humanoids appeared hundreds-of-thousands of years ago. From a theological standpoint, this begs the question: When were humans first given a soul? When did original sin occur? Where did evil come from? Are those prehistoric humans in heaven?
From our faith we know that, at some point, God decided that man had evolved enough for a soul. After millions of years, an organism finally reached the evolutionary threshold at which God deemed it worthy of possessing an immortal soul. Perhaps this was 50,000 years ago, when modern scientists claim that behaviorally modern humans emerged; it may have been 200,000 years ago when the first homo sapiens appeared - we do not know. At first, he may have deemed only one human worthy of a soul (Adam), or he may have given souls to many humans containing certain genetic and behavioral characteristics.
However, evolution itself suggests that someone had to be the first human. If we accept the theory of gradual evolution, there still has to be a point at which an organism goes from non-human to human. Perhaps the parents of the first human were themselves non-human, but when their genetic material was combined the resulting offspring was a human. The genetic mutation that differentiated the first man from his parents might have been a small one, but that does not mean it was an insignificant one. It may have been that one mutation that made God see that man as fit to be the first true soul-possessing human-being. And if that man existed 50,000 – 200,000 years ago, it is plausible that we are all descendants of him.
But whether the first human was one man or a group of people, we know that these humans lived in a pristine natural world (the metaphorical Garden of Eden) and were able to hunt and gather from the abundance that God provided. Scientific research suggests that even early humans had a belief in God and the afterlife. From this we can assume that God made himself known to these humans, either through external revelation (God walking in the Garden), or through the internal yearning that they felt for him in their hearts.
However, even though humans now possessed souls and knew of the existence of God, they did not yet know the difference between right and wrong. They still lived according to their animalistic instincts. They had evolved from animals and therefore lived like animals. They acted selfishly for the benefit of their own survival. But since they did not know that their selfishness was wrong, they did not mortally sin. They lived their entire lives in spiritual childhood. Just as children cannot commit mortal sin because they cannot comprehend that their actions are wrong, neither could the early humans. My belief is that this is how God intended it to be. Man possessed free will, but since he did not know wrong, he could not willingly choose it. The only choice was God, because that is all that man knew. He may have still committed venial sin by following his animalistic desires, but this would not have prevented him from being saved. An all-loving God would not punish humans for ignorance that was no fault of their own. Presumably, these venal sins would be burned away in purgatory.
Then the devil intervened. It may have been during the lives of the very first humans, as Genesis suggests, or it may have been later. The devil’s goal was to show man the difference between right and wrong (the knowledge of the gods) in order to show them the true error of their ways. His goal was to destroy man’s spiritual childhood. Once humans knew that their actions were wrong and offensive to God, what were once venial sins now became mortal sins. Since humans still possessed their selfish animal instincts, it was very hard for them to avoid doing what they now knew was offensive to God. They continued to submit to their selfish instincts, and therefore committed mortal sin. So the Original Sin was not the first time humans sinned period, but the first time they mortally sinned, for they knowingly chose to do wrong instead of right. This created the need for a Savior to redeem man.
