Last week I had a chance to present a talk along with Paleontologist Michael Cherney. Michael gave his perspective as a Catholic and a Scientist and presented the reasons why he considers himself to be a “Darwinian” Christian. He believes in the theory of evolution as the best explanation for the biological diversity in the world today. He rejects Young Earth creation accounts that take the book of Genesis to be referring to 6 literal 24 hour periods of time, and date the earth to less than 10,000 years. He also rejects many of the Old Earth creation models, like Gap Theory (where God takes a long break between the days), or Intelligent Design (which seeks to find the finger-prints of a creative intelligence in the natural world). He believes evolutionary biology is the theory best supported by the evidence and so he believes in it.
He does so as a very faithful Catholic.
There are other Catholics who hold to different perspectives. Some believe in six 24-hour periods, others believe that God stepped in from time to time and worked miracles to help guide and shape the natural progression of biology, still more might argue that God created different species at different times. There are many, many perspectives in the world.
Although I tend to agree with Michael’s perspective, it is important to realize that there is no official perspective on what Catholics should believe about the mechanisms that have created life as we know it on the earth today. That, however, does not mean that the Church is silent on the issue. There is a wealth of tradition and reflection on the creation of the earth.
The talk I gave (which I have included below) seeks to help to contextualize the “Science VS Religion” debates that are increasingly common within a context of what the Bible actually says, what the church actually teaches, and what the Church fathers have actually said. Take a listen, and let me know what you think in the comments below!
Grace and Peace!
Billy Kangas
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In