‘God is not a magician’: Pope says Christians should believe in evolution and Big Bang
The Big Bang and evolution are not only consistent with biblical teachings, Pope Francis told a Vatican gathering they are essential to understanding God.
When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything but that is not so, the pope told a plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment, Pope Francis said.
The earths origins were not chaotic, the pontiff said, but were created from a principle of love, reported Religion News Service.
He gave autonomy to the beings of the universe at the same time at which he assured them of his continuous presence, giving being to every reality, and so creation continued for centuries and centuries, millennia and millennia, until it became which we know today, precisely because God is not a demiurge or a magician, but the creator who gives being to all things, the pope said.
Pope Francis said the theory of evolution did not contradict the Bible or church teachings, as creationists claim. Source
Related:
- Creationists Are Upset Over Pope Francis Pro-Evolution Statements
- The Creationist Freak Out Over The Pope's Evolution Speech Has Begun
- Conservatives Attack The Pope
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Im not a Catholic but I am a deist. I generally leave religion alone unless it poses a threat to me, my rights and other facets of my existence such as the educational process. The anti-science of the religious fundamentalists and evangelicals poses such a threat to education.
The religious right has firmly embedded itself in the GOP and political conservationism, along with it their bastardized version of science.
While the basis for the so-called creationism science came from the fundamentalist and evangelical sects of Protestantism and their literal translation of the bible, it seemed that Catholics were buying into that, if for no other reason than for the sake of politics. The lines between the two religions became blurred.
What the Pope is doing is reconstructing a buffer zone between the far right religious groups and the Catholic Church. The Big Bang and evolution was taught in the catholic high school my oldest daughter chose to attend and the catholic university I graduated from. The Popes message is nothing more than a reiteration of something that always has been.
This does not sit well with Catholics whom have allowed themselves to be mislead by the highly politicized teachings of the religious right and their conservative allies. The Catholic acceptance of conventional science, along with his message of acceptance of gays and the rejection of the evil wrought about by the immoral greed of capitalism, he has made a lot of enemies. I wish him well. From a secular standpoint, we need a person like this.
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Please keep on topic.
CoC violation, off topic.[ph]
MODS,
1) This person is deliberately taking this thread off topic. I was under the impression that such actions were prohibited here.
2) This is a topical news item dealing with secular events, it is NOT a theology discussion.
3) If people want to discuss religion or tear it down, there are other venues here that they can easily voice their opinion;
Despite the fact that I asked courteously to stay on topic, this individual refuses. I can understand topics "reasonably related" such as creation science, education, political overtones in religion, etc but I refuse to allow my thread to be used by a person with their own agenda. This topic is NOT theology.
I would expect the moderators here to do their job.
Hal stay on topic.
Aeon, if you want a mod, you have to get one. The only reason I got wind of this, is because a member notified me.
It's a BIG world out there;
Zero points. You are hardly an expert on that topic...read the links I posted and get educated.
Excuse me but who the hell is on duty at any given time? Do I message all of them? Do you mean to say that your mods are not pro-active?
I give up.
Hal, she spells out her thesis and that is the topic.
Aeon,The mods are listed on the front page and when they are online they show up on the chat list for easy access.
BTW great topic... but now I can't respond.
I have felt for some time thatto view this beingsome call God,as a magician, israther shallow and likely wrong.Doesn't itcreate an ideological obstruction,to recognizing the awesome responsibility ofbeing the"creator", and attempting then to understand a relationship with this creator? Imho, understanding that moral choices are more important than informational/technological/magical choices, are the one aspect that this creator would surely want for us to understand. IOW, being all-powerful did not create a God that is good, rather being good, created an all-powerful God.
Now, having said that. It also makes sense then ,that indeed, just as is stated at the first,..."The Big Bang and evolution are not only consistent with biblical teachings, Pope Francis told a Vatican gathering they are essential to understanding God."...is exactly so. If all truth is God's truth, it is entirely consistent to see that humans attempt to understand the creation, by expressing itin/with words, music, art, and numbers. To me this make absolute sense.
This pope seems to be a good man, who is trying to do the right thing by the people of his world-wide flock. I hope that he is able to continue his work, dragging the cardinals and other church heirarchy along with him. We desperately need a religious voice that speaks common sense, and remembers the plight of the poor.
I'm a Methodist, just because I grew up that way. There doesn't seem to be any other religion where I would fit in better, so I guess I'll stay Methodist. But, for the first time in my life, I find myself agreeing with the majority of what the Pope says, and supporting him.
Bravo, sir!