When I was in the 7th grade, I had a very good teacher in my science class. Mr. George McGough was his name. In his classroom there were many ancient artifacts and posters of archaic man like Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon Man. He took the class to fields trips at the museum to study the evolution of human beings in a more interesting way.
I was fascinated by everything that
Mr. McGough taught us. Yet at the same time, I was internally disturbed. I had
grown up always thinking that God created the world and human beings, the first
were named Adam and Eve. So how could it be possible that we evolved from apes
and from simple living organisms millions of years ago? It just seemed like my
science class was going against everything that I had been taught to believe in.
One day I found a Christian
magazine that had articles refuting the theory of evolution. I read the
magazine and thought that the arguments made sense. I decided to bring the
magazine to Mr. McGough one morning before class began and gave it to him to
read. I was thinking that I would “enlighten” my teacher on the truth. Mr.
McGough took the magazine and thanked me. He didn’t try to tell me to believe
or not to believe. He just accepted the magazine. I am not sure if he ever read
it.
My interest in the theory of
evolution began with my 7th grade science class and it continued for
years afterward. In 8th grade, I even wrote an extensive “research
paper” on the “Origin of Species” to enter into a district science competition,
of which I received the first place prize.
When I entered the university, my
major was biochemistry, so I became a full time science student. Although I am
now a missionary priest, and everything I do is about God, I am very proud of and
thankful for my science background. Studying science has helped me to think
logically, to appreciate the laws that govern how life and nature work, and to
look for facts and evidence in every situation that I encounter.
Some may be surprised why a priest
would have a degree in science, but in fact it shouldn’t be surprising. In the
history of the world, some of the greatest mathematicians, physicists, and
scientists are Catholic. The Catholic Church is comprised of countless men and
women past and present who are scholars in all kinds of fields. One can say
that no matter what field of studies there are on earth, there are probably Catholics
engaged in that area.
We can do this because there is
nothing in our Catholic faith that prevents us from studying science, to use
our reasoning to understand the universe. Human reasoning is a gift that God
has granted to us so that we can understand the things around us in a fuller
and deeper way. From there, we can also gain knowledge and insights about God
as the Creator of the universe in which we live.
The theory of evolution has come
about as a result of looking at the evidence available to us. Many famous
scholars have studied this theory, and it has been put forth based on solid
scientific evidence. Pope Benedict XVI used to comment, “There are many proofs
in favor of evolution.” If we look at the evidence and see that it is
convincing, why do we have to reject it? The Catholic Church does not reject
the theory of evolution as false.
On the other hand, does accepting
the theory of evolution mean that there is no God? Absolutely not. It’s true
that things on earth evolve from one thing into another over long expanses of
time. The evidence show us that. But as our Pope said in a meeting on evolution
at the Vatican,
"In order to develop and evolve, the world must first be, and thus have
come from nothing into being.” How does the world come into being? There has to
be a Creator, whom we call God. Pope Benedict also said, the Creator “is the
cause of every being and all becoming.”
Therefore, by accepting evolution
as the process of how human beings came to exist, we do not have to exclude God
out of the picture. In fact, God is involved in the creation of the universe
and the development of life and the world. So we don’t have to believe that
everything in the world is just pure chance and chaos. Most importantly, we
definitely don’t have to believe that we came about on earth just by accident.
Yes, we came about by evolution. But evolution does not mean that God did not
think about us, did not forsee our presence, did not want us, and did not love
us. Evidence from science only tells us what is on the surface. However, our
faith and experience tell us a much deeper and more meaningful truth. And that
truth is: we came to be because God planned it for us.
Now you ask, OK, if we believe in
evolution, then what do we do with the stories from the Book of Genesis that
tell of God creating the universe and the world in six days and of the creation
of Adam and Eve? As you know, not everything in the Bible is meant to be taken
literally. The Catholic Church believes that the creation account from Genesis
is an allegory. An allegory is an extended metaphor, especially a story in
which fictional characters and actions are used to understand and express
aspects of concepts relating to human existence. We read this story to
understand how the world and human beings have come about as a result of God’s
plan, love, and care. In fact, the creation story tells of a progression of
events leading to different things coming about. If we think about it, this is
quite symbolic of an evolutionary process that takes place in nature.
From the Book of Genesis, we also
see how humans beings are favored and loved by God, but also how we have
rejected God due to our weaknesses. From the story, we see the difference
between what it means to live in the state of God’s grace and the state of sin.
When we read the creation story and the story of Adam and Eve, we don’t have to
take every word literally. It is the truths that the story tries to tell us
that are most important.
As we can see, the Catholic Church
is by no means rejecting evolution as an explanation for the development of
life, specifically how human beings came about. However, we must understand
evolution and nature properly. There is nothing about the things going on in
nature that deny God’s existence. In fact, by looking at nature and using the
scientific method, we come to learn more about God. Galileo once said that
nature is like a book whose author is God Himself.
So, in short, just because we are
Catholic, and that we believe in an almighty and loving Creator, it does not
mean that we only act based on blind faith. In the 2000-year history of the Catholic
Church, science and scholarship have always been an essential part of our
tradition. The theory of evolution, when we examine it fairly and properly,
helps us to see that science does not have to be in contradiction with our faith.
On the other hand, science helps us to be stronger in our faith, to help us
marvel at how great our God is. So next time when you hear that human beings
come from apes, you don’t have to be upset. What is most important to us is
that human beings, and all things in this universe for that matter, come from
God.
1 comment:
excellent.
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