Do You Believe in Evolution?

Posted on May 10, 2024 by Father Joe

Krystal Smith poses this question at STAPLER CONFESSIONS and states: “Creationists, or people who take a literal translation of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, feel that scientific evidence for evolution was put here by God, possibly to test their faith. Atheists tend to believe strongly in Darwinism (the findings of Charles Darwin), and feel that it’s undeniable evidence that life evolved on our planet from simple life forms to all of the species we have now. There are some theists who believe in evolution, and believe in both modern science and the existence of God.”

Catholics are not fundamentalists who subscribe to a literal biblical interpretation of everything in the Old Testament. Believers are free to believe or not to believe in evolution. However, most scientists and no Catholics believe in strict Darwinism as one of his tenets was the evolution of the human soul. Atheists reject the existence of the soul. Catholics admit that the body might develop from more elementary forms but that the soul is directly infused by almighty God.

The Protestant notion of faith over reason would make God and not the devil into a prankster with the fossil record. This is ridiculous. Given that we live in a rational world with objective truths, there can be no competition between the truths of science, philosophy, and religion. All truth is complementary. Catholicism, which is Christianity 101, sees order in creation and makes the deduction of intelligent design and a first cause.

The complexity of creation and even the prospect of evolution points to an intelligence behind it all. It is ludicrous to imagine that given enough time and the right chemical stew that one might find the current complexity and vast diversity in the animal kingdom that we know. Order does not emerge from chaos and random accidents. The analogy is given of the first man to land on Mars. If he finds a watch, he will not surmise that it developed on its own from the natural properties of the planet. He would conclude that someone designed and built it. While this is a mechanical and not a biological find, we must admit that the complex diversity and interaction of systems in a human being are of a far greater level. A man might make a watch but only God can make a man— meaning from scratch!