by Father John Catoir
The theory of evolution has prompted many Catholics to question their faith. Before you join them in their doubt, you should know more about the troubles that surround Darwin’s theory.
The doctrine of original sin is true. Even if the story of Adam and Eve is only a parable that tells us that human nature fell from grace in some mysterious way, the main point is that we do need a savior.
In order to live joyfully because of the knowledge of God’s love, each of us must hold fast to the Nicene Creed or we will become sad and confused, and Jesus will say, “O you of little faith.”
Many aspects of Darwin’s theory of evolution are disputed among his own followers, who are divided into two camps: the gradualists and the saltationists.
The gradualists maintain that the higher species of life evolved gradually from the lower by small changes, which over millions of years brought about many new species through a process Darwin called “natural selection.”
The saltationists are honest enough to admit that there is no scientific evidence to prove Darwin’s gradualism. So they maintain that new forms of life do appear, but suddenly, after millions of years of stability. They believe that a reptile one day produced an egg that in turn produced not a reptile but a bird. They claim this is all done without any divine intervention.
Scholar Larry Azar responded: If any sane person believes this, then he surely must believe in fairy tales.
Azar wrote a 636-page book with over 40 pages of carefully researched, scientific bibliography titled Evolution and Other Fairy Tales, published by Author House in 2005. It is a book that carefully studies the claims of the evolutionists and examines the logic and cogency of their arguments.
Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI approved the concept of theistic evolution, which presumes that God is the first cause of our evolving universe. How and when we humans appeared in the process is not spelled out clearly.
Jesuit Father Kenneth Baker wrote an excellent review of Azar’s book in Homiletic & Pastoral Review (July 2006), saying that “this is not a book of creation science. It is a critical analysis of the claims of the evolutionists. The author shows that there is no evidence for evolution in the sense that essential changes occur in a rising spiral from amoeba to reptiles to birds to mammals to apes to man.”
Beware, all you Catholics who left your religion behind because of your misguided acceptance of the unverifiable theory of evolution. You may have traded your birthright for a bowl of cold porridge.
Albert Einstein is correct: there must be a supreme intelligence behind the universe.
The Church is also correct in teaching that Jesus Christ is our Divine Savior. The story of the fall in Genesis is not to be interpreted as literal history; rather, it is a revealed truth that teaches us to turn to Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
For me, the doctrine of original sin, which proclaims the fallen state of mankind, is the easiest doctrine to prove. Just look at the carnage of the last century.[hr] Father John Catoir writes a syndicated column for Catholic News Service.