Information Related to "Creation or Evolution: Did God Create Man?"
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Did God Create Man?
This issue of The Good News begins a series on creation and evolution. Did
God form the heavens and earth, or is the world and everything in it the result of
mindless, random evolutionary forces?
by Mario Seiglie
He couldn't believe his eyes. Along with
many other Catholics around the world, on Oct. 25, 1996, he read a newspaper headline
that announced, "Pope John Paul II Backs the Theory of Evolution."
For Tulio Hernandez, a 32-year old-Catholic, the news came as a shock. The newspaper
mentioned the pope had addressed the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Rome and mused
that the theory of evolution seemed valid for the physical evolution of man and other
species through natural selection and hereditary adaptations.
"The Pope said we could have descended from the apes," said Il Giornale, a
conservative Italian newspaper. The Pope clarified that he regarded the human soul
as being God's creation and not subject to the evolutionary process. (This mixing
of evolution and God is called theistic evolution and, as we shall see, has an enormous
impact on whether people take the Bible at face value or much is considered to be
well-meaning myth.)
What was Tulio's reaction? "It left me quite confused," he remarked. "I had always
thought Adam and Eve really existed and had been created directly from the ground
by God."
What were his thoughts now about biblical teachings and the afterlife? "I don't know,"
he said, "but I'm looking seriously into reincarnation and other religions for more
answers."
How did this surprising declaration by Pope John Paul II come about? What are factors
that led to this far-reaching conclusion?
How Early Catholics Understood Genesis
Notice what Time magazine said about the pope's endorsement of evolution:
"(Pope) Pius (in 1950) was skeptical of evolution but tolerated study and discussion
of it; the statement by John Paul reflects the church's acceptance of evolution.
He did not, however, diverge at all from Pius on the question of origin of man's
soul: that comes from God, even if 'the human body is sought in living material which
existed before it.' "
The statement is unlikely to influence the curriculum of Catholic schools, where
students have studied evolution since the 1950s. Indeed, taking the Bible literally
has not been a hallmark among Catholics through much of the 20th century. Asked about
the pope's statement, Peter Stravinskas, editor of the 1991 Catholic Encyclopedia,
said: 'It's essentially what Augustine was writing. He tells us that we should not
interpret Genesis literally, and that it is poetic and theological language' "
(Time, international edition, Nov. 4, 1996, p. 59).
Related Information on UCG Sites:
Table of Contents that includes "Creation or Evolution: Did God Create Man?"
Other Articles by Mario Seiglie
Bible and science: