Youcat commented through CCC. Question n. 42 – Part I.

YOUCAT Question n. 42 - Part I. Can someone accept the theory of evolution and still believe in the Creator?

(Youcat answer) Yes. Although it is a different kind of knowledge, faith is open to the findings and hypotheses of the sciences.      

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 283) The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: "It is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements… for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me" (Wis 7: 17-22).

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Theology has no scientific competence, and natural science has no theological competence. Natural science cannot dogmatically rule out the possibility that there are purposeful processes in creation; conversely, faith cannot define specifically how these processes take place in the course of nature’s development. A Christian can accept the theory of evolution as a helpful explanatory model, provided he does not fall into the heresy of evolutionism, which views man as the random product of biological processes. Evolution presupposes the existence of something that can develop. The theory says nothing about where this “something” came from. Furthermore, questions about the being, essence, dignity, mission, meaning, and wherefore of the world and man cannot be answered in biological terms. Just as “evolutionism” oversteps a boundary on the one side, so does “creationism” on the other. Creationists naïvely take biblical data literally (for example, to calculate the earth’s age, they cite the six days of work in Genesis 1).

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 284) The great interest accorded to these studies is strongly stimulated by a question of another order, which goes beyond the proper domain of the natural sciences. It is not only a question of knowing when and how the universe arose physically, or when man appeared, but rather of discovering the meaning of such an origin: is the universe governed by chance, blind fate, anonymous necessity, or by a transcendent, intelligent and good Being called "God"? and if the world does come from God's wisdom and goodness, why is there evil? Where does it come from? Who is responsible for it? Is there any liberation from it?   

(This question: Can someone accept the theory of evolution and still believe in the Creator? is continued)