The Catholic Church, Darwin, and Popular Misconception
With the domestic debate about intelligent design being white-hot, it's not entirely surprising that the media should throw themselves all over any pronouncements of the Catholic Church which--however tangentially--pertain to the debate.
Now we're seeing a bit of a tempest, particularly in the blogging world, about this piece from The Australian.
But back to the point at hand: the article implies that the Church rejects "intelligent design." This of course is preposterous, and Cardinal Poupard said no such thing. The important point, he noted, is that "the universe wasn't made by itself, but has a creator." A Creator who, according to Church teachings, has taken an active role in human history. How exactly is this contrary to a broad definition of "intelligent design"?
No, the debate on evolution's concordance with Church teachings is much more complicated and nuanced; but of course this makes for the kind of longer, analytical articles those in the mainstream media shy away from these days.
Tags: Intelligent Design Catholic Church Evolution Darwin Mainstream Media MSM
Now we're seeing a bit of a tempest, particularly in the blogging world, about this piece from The Australian.
Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of the Pontifical Council for Culture, said the Genesis description of how God created the universe and Darwin's theory of evolution were "perfectly compatible" if the Bible were read correctly.Now, of course, the respect for evolutionary theory is not a new thing for the Church; indeed, for centuries there has been a strong distaste for overly literal interpretations of scripture. If, as the famous example suggests, Jesus is the "lion of Judah," does that mean He's got fleas in His mane?
His statement was a clear attack on creationist campaigners in the US, who see evolution and the Genesis account as mutually exclusive...
His statements were interpreted in Italy as a rejection of the "intelligent design" view, which says the universe is so complex that some higher being must have designed every detail.
But back to the point at hand: the article implies that the Church rejects "intelligent design." This of course is preposterous, and Cardinal Poupard said no such thing. The important point, he noted, is that "the universe wasn't made by itself, but has a creator." A Creator who, according to Church teachings, has taken an active role in human history. How exactly is this contrary to a broad definition of "intelligent design"?
No, the debate on evolution's concordance with Church teachings is much more complicated and nuanced; but of course this makes for the kind of longer, analytical articles those in the mainstream media shy away from these days.
Tags: Intelligent Design Catholic Church Evolution Darwin Mainstream Media MSM
posted by Jeff at 8:06 AM
3 Comments:
Georges Lemaitre, one of the architects of the Big Bang model was a Jesuit priest. Pope Pius XII even endorsed Lemaitre's ideas. As you say, one can be a man of Faith and still accept what the science is telling us.
Most of the argument, though, isn't really about the origin of the universe, such as the big bang model, but rather it seems to be biological evolution.
The press seems to just fan the flames of any controversy, and to hype the most radical viewpoints. I guess that is more entertaining. It just isn't helpful.
Isn't it all of a piece? I mean, which is the more unlikely: that a singular explosion of energy should have, after 13 billion years, result in the creation of a planet among the myriad in the heavens that is capable of supporting carbon-based life; or that, after a mere three or four, those life forms should have such complex structures as brains and eyeballs?
A tortured sentence, but perhaps the meaning is clear.
Yeah, you'd think that it is all related. But for some reason, there is less resistance to the idea of the Big Bang than there is to evolution. I know that I don't normally get much flak for teaching about the origin of the universe in my stellar astronomy or cosmology classes, but the biology faculty report all sorts of problems with students when they talk about evolution in their classes.
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