| The Vatican’s Puzzling Views of God by Warren Krug (March/April, 2006) |
Roman Catholics who are paying attention to recent pronouncements from the Vatican must be in a state of
bewilderment over what the Vatican believes about God, the Creator.
It has been ten years since Pope John Paul declared that “new discoveries lead one to acknowledge the
theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis.”
One could conclude from this statement that Catholics now were allowed to believe in evolution as an
explanation for how we got here. One also had to assume that this was a version of theistic evolution, the
belief that God used evolution as His method of creating the universe.
Theistic evolution can explain why there is so much obvious design and so many examples of incredible
planning in nature. But it doesn’t explain why there is so little evidence for amoeba-to-man evolution. It also
doesn’t tell us why we need a Savior if the Fall of Man isn’t historical.
With the Intelligent Design movement much in the news these days, Vatican spokesmen have weighed in on
the topic. It doesn’t sound good. It certainly seems as if the Vatican is officially moving closer to approving the
atheistic variety of evolution.
In a January article, the Vatican newspaper said “intelligent design” is not science and that teaching it
alongside evolutionary theory in school classrooms only creates confusion.
Perhaps, but if evolution, by natural processes alone, is taught in Catholic science classes as fact, what is
happening in the theology classes?
If the Vatican is saying that God was not involved in the Creation of the universe, exactly what was He doing
at the time? Was He busy in some other universe oblivious to what was happening in this one?
If God had nothing to do with Creation, what makes anyone think that He is concerned with the world now?
Are our petitions to Him falling on deaf ears?
New Pope Benedict XVI, to his credit, did affirm in November that the universe was made by an “intelligent
project” and criticized those who say creation was without direction or order.
But this shows the Vatican needs to speak with one voice and confess the Creator—before more and more
Catholics lose their faith, or for that matter, Lutherans who might be influenced by reading about such things.
LSI
bewilderment over what the Vatican believes about God, the Creator.
It has been ten years since Pope John Paul declared that “new discoveries lead one to acknowledge the
theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis.”
One could conclude from this statement that Catholics now were allowed to believe in evolution as an
explanation for how we got here. One also had to assume that this was a version of theistic evolution, the
belief that God used evolution as His method of creating the universe.
Theistic evolution can explain why there is so much obvious design and so many examples of incredible
planning in nature. But it doesn’t explain why there is so little evidence for amoeba-to-man evolution. It also
doesn’t tell us why we need a Savior if the Fall of Man isn’t historical.
With the Intelligent Design movement much in the news these days, Vatican spokesmen have weighed in on
the topic. It doesn’t sound good. It certainly seems as if the Vatican is officially moving closer to approving the
atheistic variety of evolution.
In a January article, the Vatican newspaper said “intelligent design” is not science and that teaching it
alongside evolutionary theory in school classrooms only creates confusion.
Perhaps, but if evolution, by natural processes alone, is taught in Catholic science classes as fact, what is
happening in the theology classes?
If the Vatican is saying that God was not involved in the Creation of the universe, exactly what was He doing
at the time? Was He busy in some other universe oblivious to what was happening in this one?
If God had nothing to do with Creation, what makes anyone think that He is concerned with the world now?
Are our petitions to Him falling on deaf ears?
New Pope Benedict XVI, to his credit, did affirm in November that the universe was made by an “intelligent
project” and criticized those who say creation was without direction or order.
But this shows the Vatican needs to speak with one voice and confess the Creator—before more and more
Catholics lose their faith, or for that matter, Lutherans who might be influenced by reading about such things.
LSI