Is it possible to think Evolution correct and remain Catholic?

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I do believe that the fossil evidence for evolution is enough to form a basis for belief in the evolution of species. I also think that natural selection and random mutation are enough to account for evolution. Man also evolved from lower species.

The difference is this though that man was given an immortal soul at birth by God. This was given to no other creature.

I think the universe was kick-started by God and afterwards left to its own devices . I see no contradiction between these views of mine on evolution and Catholicism. Darwin had it right. What are your views on the topic?
 
If you are speaking of “darwinian” evolution and all chance processes then it is incompatible with Catholicism.
 
You mean, it is possible to think that the whole of creation moves according to an independent, unguided, naturalistic process and believe in a personal God that controls all aspects of creation and holds the whole of the cosmos in His creative hand?

No.
 
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Pondero:
I think the universe was kick-started by God and afterwards left to its own devices.
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So, you’re a Deist? That’s not a Catholic belief.
 
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buffalo:
If you are speaking of “darwinian” evolution and all chance processes than it is incompatible with Catholicism.
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Not quite Buffalo, Darwinian Evolution is simply a scientific theory, and is not incompatible with Catholic faith as such. It it only when people try to turn it into a philosophy that it becomes wrong.

People like to make blanket statements about chance processes etc without actually doing the research.

Read “Finding Darwin’s God”, a very good book.

As far as the “kick-started and left alone” thing goes, that is called Deism and is incorrect.

At the base base base bottom of the universe, at the quantum level, things are guided by chance and probibility, not certainty. At this level, God could interact with the universe in a way that sustains it without blatently interrupting in it’s overall orderliness. (This is not to say miracles don’t happen.)
 
Mike 182D:

Perhaps I should add that God interferes by means of miracles but normally does not interfere in the natural process. I also believe that praying to God can influence the outcome of natural processes. Why does that make me a Deist?.:confused: I believe everything the Catholic church teaches
 
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Pondero:
The difference is this though that man was given an immortal soul at birth by God. This was given to no other creature.
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Actually, man is given an immortal soul at conception. Not at birth.
 
Joan M wrote:

“Actually, man is given an immortal soul at conception. Not at birth”

I agree with you.
 
Frankly, not believing in some form of evolution is incompatible with possessing intelligence.
 
As a scientist, I believe that the theory of evolution is largely correct. However, I also think that the missing link between humans and apes will never be found. That God endowed Man with some other attribute than those gained from apes (i.e., immortal soul) is an article of my faith. And who says God can’t do wahtever He likes with the universe? :twocents:
 
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bengeorge:
Not quite Buffalo, Darwinian Evolution is simply a scientific theory, and is not incompatible with Catholic faith as such. It it only when people try to turn it into a philosophy that it becomes wrong.

People like to make blanket statements about chance processes etc without actually doing the research.

Read “Finding Darwin’s God”, a very good book.

As far as the “kick-started and left alone” thing goes, that is called Deism and is incorrect.

At the base base base bottom of the universe, at the quantum level, things are guided by chance and probibility, not certainty. At this level, God could interact with the universe in a way that sustains it without blatently interrupting in it’s overall orderliness. (This is not to say miracles don’t happen.)
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Uh no! Darwinian evolution starts with the underlying presumption that God does not exist. This is the faith of atheists. Scientific theory or not, it is incompatible with Catholicism. Science is the tool they are trying to use to prove it.
 
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Pondero:
Mike 182D:

Perhaps I should add that God interferes by means of miracles but normally does not interfere in the natural process. I also believe that praying to God can influence the outcome of natural processes. Why does that make me a Deist?.:confused: I believe everything the Catholic church teaches
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Deists believe in an impersonal God and that the universe is a lot like a top that God spins on the table and sits back and watches.

I think it would do well to ask: what is a “force,” exactly - such as gravity, strong force, and weak force? Is it a tangible entity? A causal agent?
 
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Pondero:
Mike 182D:

Perhaps I should add that God interferes by means of miracles but normally does not interfere in the natural process. I also believe that praying to God can influence the outcome of natural processes. Why does that make me a Deist?.:confused: I believe everything the Catholic church teaches
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Then you have to beleive Catholic dogma:

** The Beginning or Creation of the World **
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      [list=1]
*] All that exists outside God was, in its whole substance, produced out of nothing by God. (De fide.)

*] The world is the work of the Divine Wisdom. (Sent. certa.)

*] God was moved by His Goodness to create the world. (De fide.)

*] The world created for the Glorification of God. (De fide.)

*] The Three Divine Persons are one single, common Principle of the Creation. (De fide.)

*] God created the world free from exterior compulsion and inner necessity. (De fide.)

*] God was free to create this world or any other. (Sent. Certa.)

** The Continuous Preservation and Governing of the World **
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      [list=1]
*] God keeps all created things in existence. (De fide.)

*] God co-operates immediately in every act of His creatures. (Sent. communis.)

*] God through His providence, protects and guides all that He has created. (De fide.)


  1. *] God has created a good world. (De fide.)

    *] The world had a beginning in time. (De fide.)

    *] God alone created the World. (De fide.)

    *] No Creature can, as Principal Cause (causa principalis) that is, from its own power, create something out of nothing. (Sent. communis.)
 
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Benedictus:
Frankly, not believing in some form of evolution is incompatible with possessing intelligence.
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What causes a thing to evolve?
 
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bengeorge:
Not quite Buffalo, Darwinian Evolution is simply a scientific theory, and is not incompatible with Catholic faith as such. It it only when people try to turn it into a philosophy that it becomes wrong.
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Evolution is not scientific in that it is not a falsifiable theory. It essentially states that things change because they change and the cause for that change is the fact that they change.

How do you disprove such a theory?
 
“Frankly, not believing in some form of evolution is incompatible with possessing intelligence.”

I wouldn’t go that far Benedictus. There are many intelligent people about who are creationists. I know of one or two whose intelligence I respect on other boards.
We agree to differ when discussing evolution.
 
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bengeorge:
At the base base base bottom of the universe, at the quantum level, things are guided by chance and probibility, not certainty. At this level, God could interact with the universe in a way that sustains it without blatently interrupting in it’s overall orderliness. (This is not to say miracles don’t happen.)
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thats probably one of the best explanation of how the universe operates, and scientific theory and God are compatible.

THAT is probably the reason that Grand Unification Theory (GUT), the merging of quantum physics and reletivity, is so amazingly hard to decipher. more than likely, we are trying to write down God’s First Principles and Interactions into mathematical equations.

tell you what, thats a Nobel prize if i ever saw one. but who would get it? God or the person who translates God’s math? 🙂
 
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BioCatholic:
thats probably one of the best explanation of how the universe operates, and scientific theory and God are compatible.

THAT is probably the reason that Grand Unification Theory (GUT), the merging of quantum physics and reletivity, is so amazingly hard to decipher. more than likely, we are trying to write down God’s First Principles and Interactions into mathematical equations.

tell you what, thats a Nobel prize if i ever saw one. but who would get it? God or the person who translates God’s math? 🙂
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Certainly - quantum physics requires an observer outside the frame of reference to actually witness the actuality. Extrapolating this you eventually get to God.
 
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