Pope fails to address 'intelligent design' theory of evolution

thisislondon.co.uk ^ | 04 September 2006 | Staff

[Torie]

Thanks, I appreciate it, but I gathered that from SJ using terms within my more secular vocabularly. Of course, one answer, just leads to the next question, for this lawyer's mind. :)

[andysandmikesmom]

Wonderful Patrick Henry...we, as humans, cannot fully comprehend or understand God...

[curiosity]

But if one accepts that homo sapiens are a splendid accident of evolution, and God was only there to create the processes that allowed it to happen, by accident, than we have a species created in "God's image" or whatever the correct term is, that was an accident.

We are all accidents. Most people's parents met as a result of chance events. This poses no problem for Catholic theology, for we hold that nothing is random for God. He sees all and knows all. Thus what appears to be an accident to us is not an accident to God.

it was not an accident, and it was part of God's plan, his planned end game, than you are positing mechanisms that inevitably lead to the emergence of homo sapiens, and that gets rather near to ID, does it not?

No. ID posits that natural processes are insufficient to explain the diversity of life on Earth. The Catholic view of evolution does not make any such assertion. It merely asserts that everything that happens on Earth, even random events and accidents, are part of God's plan, for He is outside time and knows all.

[StJacques]

". . . But if one accepts that homo sapiens are a splendid accident of evolution, and God was only there to create the processes that allowed it to happen, by accident, than we have a species created in "God's image" or whatever the correct term is, that was an accident. . . ."

To use the term "splendid accident" is to deny God's omniscience, which true Catholics never do. Roman Catholicism holds that all creation is teleologically oriented (driven to a final point) which God has planned from the beginning and has always known how it would be achieved.

[Torie]

Is the mechanism by which it is driven to a final point, simply an eternal mystery, not for science to address? That seems a bit fuzzy to me.

[Torie]

Whatever science finds out, is part of God's plan, with the random divinely ordained, as part of his plan. I think I get it. The composer certainly composed a lot of random notes, but in any event, those random notes, at least in one instance, produced a masterpiece.

No, I doubt that happened personally, but that is just my Baysian take on matters.

[freedumb2003]

Lovely in its eqloquence, SJ!

I am bookmarking for posting to the CreoTrolls (assuming they have the wit to understand your post).

[freedumb2003]

Read Post 29.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Imagine that: the media was wrong AGAIN.

No matter one's stance on the debate, we can all be happy the LameStream Media BLEW IT AGAIN!! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

[StJacques]

"Lovely in its eqloquence, SJ!"

Thanks freedumb. I rather enjoyed writing that.

[freedumb2003]

You'll have to take my word on it that I will be quoting it in part or in whole and giving you credit.

I won't drag you down by pinging you each time, but I'll credit you and link the post.

:)

[StJacques]

"Is the mechanism by which it is driven to a final point, simply an eternal mystery, not for science to address?"

As far as science is concerned, this is correct, because it is a metaphysical question.

[StJacques]

Your word is worth gold in my book freedumb. Feel free to use it as you wish, and if for any reason you fail to mention me, you may count upon knowing that I will still be pleased to have made a contribution.

[stands2reason]

So much for being nice.

[stands2reason]

that I should never fear what science might produce because science was of the material world and was therefore limited in what it has to offer mankind and that it can never bring humanity to an understanding of God.

Amen. Science is no magical legitimizer of spiritual things, despite what the CR/IDers think.

Science is limited.

[stands2reason]

Besides, "random" really means "random to our puny minds."

[Liberal Classic]

Good post. Thanks for writing it.

[stands2reason]

Wow, 42 posts and only one ad hominem. It's a record!

[andysandmikesmom]

That was one grand post...thanks for sharing...

[andysandmikesmom]

You may be right...