Would you date someone who doesn't believe in evolution?

[RedCaves]

I often participate in Traditionalist Forums and I am surprised by the amount of denial that people over there have about Evolution.

With some exceptions, I often get into situations where I am the only guy who is convinced of the reality of Evolution.

I was told that, since I exclusively attend a Traditionalist parish, I would be hard-pressed to find other Traditionalists who believe in Evolution.

Since I am into the sciences, I don’t think I would tolerate dating someone with idiosyncrasies that undermine scientific truth.

Then again, the situation itself doesn’t mean a lot to me because I intend to be single forever.

 

[truetofaith]

Single forever…then you are becoming a priest or just celibate?

 

[Rau]

The argument I learned was…if you find a working watch in the middle of a desert, would you conclude that over a period of millions of years, it just happened to get put together by chance?

   No, the logical conclusion would be it had to be made by an intelligent person. Same with the clock- like movements of our Solar System & Universe.

But later, if you found a set of “photos” that revealed the stages of development of that clock, and the photos revealed extraordinary age, and a set of natural laws that explained its development, might you conclude that the intelligent person went about the task in an altogether different way than you had first thought?

The scientific explanations in question do not argue to exclude God.

 

[LoveGod102]

My understanding of the Church’s teachings on this topic is that it’s conceivable that God may have used evolution for the creation of humans. Hence, the theory of evolution is not necessarily at odds with theology. My question is whether you’d date someone who dismisses the concept of evolution outright? To be honest, someone like that scares me a bit. But then again, is that something you can overlook? Thoughts and (name removed by moderator)ut are greatly appreciated.

I believe in intelligent design, and not in a literal 6 day creation, but I’m not convinced of the big bang theory or the theory of macro-evolution. There just isn’t enough evidence for either form of evolution, in my opinion. So, I wouldn’t not date someone just because they don’t believe in evolution, or just because they did.

 

[Rico_S]

I think the real issue is respect. I think intelligent people can disagree about evolution and any number of other things and still respect each other.

What I personally would have a problem respecting is if a person simply dismissed evolution out of hand as being “non-biblical” and was unwilling to even look at the science at all. I could still like that person, admire that person as a Christian, and be friends with that person. But I could not respect them intellectually if they were that incurious and unwilling to explore ideas, and I couldn’t contemplate marriage to a person that I didn’t respect in that way. But that is just me, of course.

I think this is a good way to put it.

I have had something similar happen to me…but not someone whom I was dating. My wife and I are friends with this couple who were super devout–truly lived their Catholic faith. I was always so impressed how devoted they were to their Catholic faith and how they made it the center of their lives. I always held them up as an example…like “this is really how we should live!!” Then one night at a couples gathering a topic came up where the woman took issue with the “assumption” that the earth was billions of years old. She started to argue that it was only 6000 years old using the bible as her basis – I was simply stunned. Her husband seemed content to let her go on, but didn’t join in, and he always seemed like a sharp guy. At first I honestly thought she was joking, but she was dead serious. Right or wrong…my level of respect absolutely plummeted. I still admire for her devout faith, and we occasionally see each other socially, but I simply don’'t hold her in the same high regard as before.

 

[TheWarriorMonk]

My question is whether you’d date someone who dismisses the concept of evolution outright?

If a person rejected evolution outright, I would be drawing one of two conclusions. The first is that they are not Catholic, but Protestant, as this position seems to be fairly common with certain Protestant denominations. I made the mistake of marrying outside my religion once, and I won’t do it again. The second is that they are utterly rejecting a possibility that is acceptable to the Catholic Church. So I would have a problem with that issue also. In conclusion, the answer is no.

 

[truetofaith]

I actually am undecided about evolution. The Bible is not a science book, but Genesis does state God created the universe first,( sun, moon, light, water etc.) then He created the fish, birds & mammals, …According To Their Own KIND.
Maybe they evolve in their species but I don’t see a crossing over from fish to mammal.
Then God does not take a lower mammal & make Man from it. No. He takes the dust of the earth & forms Man separately, and breathes life into his nostrils.

      No evolution from apes or whatever !  :eek:

All this could have taken billions of years. The point is …

…If we believe the Bible is inspired by God, animals & man did not evolve into each other.

 

[truetofaith]

But later, if you found a set of “photos” that revealed the stages of development of that clock, and the photos revealed extraordinary age, and a set of natural laws that explained its development, might you conclude that the intelligent person went about the task in an altogether different way than you had first thought?

The scientific explanations in question do not argue to exclude God.

I would believe the clock was made differently than I thought, but Not that the clock evolved into a 747.

 

[Peter_Plato]

If a person rejected evolution outright, I would be drawing one of two conclusions. The first is that they are not Catholic, but Protestant, as this position seems to be fairly common with certain Protestant denominations. I made the mistake of marrying outside my religion once, and I won’t do it again. The second is that they are utterly rejecting a possibility that is acceptable to the Catholic Church. So I would have a problem with that issue also. In conclusion, the answer is no.

The problem is with the word “evolution” itself. There are at least six aspects or definitions of the word.

1. Change over time; history of nature; any sequence of events in nature
2. Changes in the frequencies of alleles in the gene pool of a population
3. Limited common descent: the idea that particular groups of organisms have descended from a common ancestor.
4. The mechanisms responsible for the change required to produce limited descent with
   modification; chiefly natural selection acting on random variations or mutations
5. Universal common descent: the idea that all organisms have descended from a single
   common ancestor.
6. Blind watchmaker thesis: the idea that all organisms have descended from common
   ancestors through unguided, unintelligent, purposeless, material processes such as natural selection acting on random variations or mutations; the idea that the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection acting on random variation, and other similarly naturalistic mechanisms, completely suffice to explain the origin of novel biological forms and the appearance of design in complex organisms.
   Source: discovery.org/articleFiles/PDFs/Meanings2000.pdf

It is entirely possible to accept one or more of these meanings as factually or theoretically true without having to accept all of them. So it very much depends upon what the denier means by evolution.

It is entirely possible for a very reasonable person to accept the first four, but deny that the last two have been “proven” beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, denying the first through third is likely a sign of an uninformed, irrational or unthinking person. Though none of those necessarily mean the person is intransigent with respect to their views. They may just be naive or too busy with the business of their lives to give the matter much thought. Nothing wrong with that.

The fourth, however, is contentious because natural selection as a sufficient mechanism for genetic novelty is becoming more and more a questionable idea even by credible scientists today, so it would depend upon how strictly the person adheres to natural selection as a possible mechanism or the main one.

 

[Rau]

I would believe the clock was made differently than I thought, but Not that the clock evolved into a 747.

But now you move the goal posts?

Doesn’t matter. Just keep in the back of your mind that the Church does not speak against a universe arising from a Big Bang, nor evolution. There is no article of catholic that stands in opposition to those scientific explanations of the world. Your position on the matter is of your making and it is yours to hold, or to change.

 

[thewanderer]

To get this thread back on track (remember that discussing evolution itself is still a banned topic) I would say it depends. If they refused to acknowledge the difference between theistic evolution and anti-theistic evolution and just insisted on condemning all forms of evolutionary theory indiscriminately, then, yeah, I’d have a problem with that. However, if they recognized that theistic evolution is compatible with Catholicism, but did not believe it was true because they looked into the science of it and found it unconvincing then I would be fine with that. It is important to me that they be willing to be reasonable, and condemning all theories of evolution because some theories of evolution are incompatible with Catholicism is just too close-minded for me. I would not be able to respect such a person as much as I would want to respect my spouse. Not that this is really a practical question for me, I already married a wonderful Catholic man whom I can respect just fine.

 

[Stillsosola]

I actually am undecided about evolution. The Bible is not a science book, but Genesis does state God created the universe first,( sun, moon, light, water etc.) then He created the fish, birds & mammals, …According To Their Own KIND.
Maybe they evolve in their species but I don’t see a crossing over from fish to mammal.
Then God does not take a lower mammal & make Man from it. No. He takes the dust of the earth & forms Man separately, and breathes life into his nostrils.

      No evolution from apes or whatever !  :eek:

All this could have taken billions of years. The point is …

…If we believe the Bible is inspired by God, animals & man did not evolve into each other.

I find your theory acceptable that God created everything that it just took longer thank you for sharing it

 

[Rau]

I find your theory acceptable that God created everything that it just took longer thank you for sharing it

Since the role of God is no less, no matter how creation has played out, I wonder why anyone discusses this!

 

[EasterJoy]

To get this thread back on track (remember that discussing evolution itself is still a banned topic) I would say it depends. If they refused to acknowledge the difference between theistic evolution and anti-theistic evolution and just insisted on condemning all forms of evolutionary theory indiscriminately, then, yeah, I’d have a problem with that. However, if they recognized that theistic evolution is compatible with Catholicism, but did not believe it was true because they looked into the science of it and found it unconvincing then I would be fine with that. It is important to me that they be willing to be reasonable, and condemning all theories of evolution because some theories of evolution are incompatible with Catholicism is just too close-minded for me. I would not be able to respect such a person as much as I would want to respect my spouse. Not that this is really a practical question for me, I already married a wonderful Catholic man whom I can respect just fine.

Generally speaking, yes: it isn’t the opinion a person I might have dated held so much as why it is held…the thought process behind it. You have to choose someone whose thought processes you respect, even if they don’t always run that one way and even if you don’t always agree even if they do.