Artenvielfalt - Produkt der Schöpfung oder Evolution?
06.05.2007 um 00:32
Mal so zum Thema Evolution aus katholischer Sicht…
Instruction onControversial Questions: Evolution
by Ronald L. Conte Jr.
I. Which iscorrect, creationism or evolution?
Neither is entirely correct.
Creationism is not the teaching of the Catholic Church. The Church does not teachthat the world was created in only six literal 24-hour days. The Church has alwaysunderstood this passage from Scripture to refer to a much longer period of time. Each'day' of creation is a metaphorical day, i.e. some period of time, not a literal day.Creationism also errs by ignoring, or unreasonably denying, scientific theories andevidence that are worthy of consideration by the reason of man. However, creationism doescorrectly teach that God created everything that exists.
The theory of evolutioncertainly contains some truth and has much scientific evidence to support it. But it alsodenies (or ignores) the fact that God created all things and guides all things. It deniesthat God used His power, providence, and grace to cause or to guide the various events ofcreation and of the development of life. And it particularly denies that God chose tocreate the human race and to give human persons an immortal soul.
So, bothcreationism and evolution teach some truth and some falsehoods.
II. What isthe correct Catholic understanding of evolution?
Some portions of the theoryof evolution have been proven to such an extent that they can be called scientific fact.However, other portions of this theory are a matter of debate and disagreement amongscientists, and have undergone, and continue to undergo, substantial revision. Forexample, the field of genetics has changed and added much to Darwin's original concepts.Also, evolution was once thought of as the accumulation of a large number of smallchanges over a long period of time; but it is now acknowledged that, at least in somecases, evolution involves significant change in a short time, as well as long periods ofrelative stagnation. And each new scientific fact has the potential to revise priorscientific facts, no matter how well proven any of these facts may be.
The Churchdoes not forbid its members to consider and to adhere to various scientific theories andteachings, as long as these do not contradict any teaching of the Church on faith ormorals. And all Christians should consider it part of their duty in life to make use ofthe intellectual ability given to them by God, including the ability to reason aboutideas presented by various fields of study. On the other hand, the approach of somefundamentalists, who blindly argue against every scientific theory that seems to threatentheir point-of-view, is contrary to the will of God and is a sin against the gift ofreason given to man by God.
Now the theory of evolution has some aspects that areacceptable to Christians, and it has other aspects that must be rejected by all faithfulChristians.
“For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbidthat, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology,research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place withregard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of thehuman body as coming from pre-existent and living matter-for the Catholic faith obligesus to hold that souls are immediately created by God.” (Humani Generis, n. 36)
Several categories of ideas about evolution are acceptable to the Christian faith,including, but not limited to the following:
1. Life on earth developed over along period of time.
2. The development of life progressed in stages, fromsimpler organisms to more complex ones.
3. The development of species includedsome species giving rise to other species, through a series of changes that occur fromone generation to the next, and some species becoming extinct.
4. Genetic changesare involved in the development of life and of various species.
5. Variousfactors are involved in these genetic changes, including the survival of one species overanother due partly to genetic factors that make a species or individual better adapted totheir environment.
6. Random chance may play some role in the development of lifeand of various species, for example in the random mutation of genes, or in the occurrenceof environment-altering events, such as a comet crashing into the earth.
7.Specific details and variations within the theory of evolution, which are debated byevolutionists, often do not contradict the Christian faith, even when scientists cannotagree.
These ideas about evolution are not the teaching of the Church. But,because these ideas do not contradict Church teaching, they may be accepted byindividuals in accordance with reason. These ideas may or may not be proven to be true inthe long run.
However, several categories of ideas about evolution are entirelyunacceptable to the Christian faith, including, but not limited to the following:
1. The idea that the starting point for life on earth was a random or chanceevent.
On the contrary, the Church teaches that God chose to create the universe,and the earth, and life on earth, and that these events occurred in some cases by asingular act of God (such as the creation of the universe out of nothing), and in othercases by God's Providence guiding all things.
2. The idea that the direction thatevolution takes is entirely random, or that it is due solely to a set of factors (such asgenetics, environment, etc.) that do not include God.
On the contrary, the Churchteaches that God always nurtures His Creation, through subtle Providence as well asthrough extraordinary or miraculous acts.
3. The idea that the development oflife on earth has no particular direction, other than the survival and multiplication ofvarious species.
On the contrary, the Church teaches that God guides all thingsand that God has a plan for His Creation.
4. The idea that the human speciesmight never have developed and that this was a chance event.
On the contrary, theChurch teaches that God intended to create mankind and that He deliberately created theother species of life on earth for the sake of mankind.
5. The idea that thehuman species developed gradually, such that there could be no clear demarcation of thestart of the human species.
On the contrary, if the body of man developedgradually through evolution, the Church nevertheless requires the belief that, at somediscrete point in time, by a singular act of God, the human form leapt suddenly fromdarkness into light by being given a soul and a mind guided by freewill and reason. Justas the earth began as a formless void in darkness, until God said, 'Let there be light,'so also, the progenitors of humanity were like a formless void in darkness, lacking asoul, freewill, and reason, until God gave us the light of an immortal soul.
6.The idea that the first human persons were not one man and one woman, but a group ofindividuals.
“When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namelypolygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithfulcannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on thisearth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as fromthe first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Nowit is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which thesources of revealed truth and the documents of the Teaching Authority of the Churchpropose with regard to original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by anindividual Adam and which, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone ashis own.” (Humani Generis, n. 37).
7. The idea that evolution is a sufficient theoryto explain the origin and development of all living things. Such an idea exalts evolutionfrom a limited scientific theory, to a religion or a substitute for religion.
“NowCatholic theologians and philosophers, whose grave duty it is to defend natural andsupernatural truth and instill it in the hearts of men, cannot afford to ignore orneglect these more or less erroneous opinions.” (Humani Generis, n. 9)
8. Since thetheory of evolution is not one theory, but exists in many different variations and issubject to on-going revision, there may be other aspects of the theory that offendagainst the truths of the Christian faith.
III. What should Catholics believeabout Adam and Eve?
1. Adam and Eve are two real human persons, who existedat the beginning of human history.
2. Adam and Eve were each created by God,miraculously. Their bodies were created from the dust of the earth, either (a) through asudden miracle, or (b) through a long process that included evolution, as well asProvidence, and, at times, God's extraordinary intervention. In either case, we must alsobelieve that Adam and Eve were miraculously given an immortal soul with freewill and thelight of reason.
3. Adam and Eve each had original innocence. They were createdby God with sanctifying grace from the first moment of each one's life (either at themoment of sudden miraculous creation of each one's body, or at the moment of conception).And that each had neither original sin nor personal sin, until each one fell from grace.
4. Adam and Eve each fell from grace by committing a mortal sin of deliberatedisobedience to God. (For Adam and Eve before the Fall from grace, any sin would be amortal sin.)
5. We are the descendents of Adam and Eve, physically andspiritually, and we have inherited the effects of original sin, in body and soul, as aresult of their fall from grace.