Darwinism

When and where did the challenge start

• Beginning 1859 (19th Century)

• England

Source of Challenge

Date: Beginning in 1859

Location: England

Source: Charles Darwin (Naturalist, Geologist and Biologist)

What caused the challenge?

• His first publication, The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Section (November, 1859) referred only to the evolution of plants and animals,

• The Descent of Man (1871) applied his theory to humans. It suggested the evolution of humans from monkey-like animals. Many people were offended by this.

Nature of challenge

External - Darwin was not a Catholic himself

Type of challenge

Theological - theory of evolution questioned the understanding of religious beliefs

Continued Existence - central beliefs were challenged and could disapprove the existence of God, causing the religion to lose its reason for existing

Responses Overview

1.Ignore (1859)

2.Issue a list of “errors” (1864)

3.Issue a Canon at Vatican I (1870)

4.Write an Encyclical (1880)

5.Write an Encyclical (1893)

6.Write an Encyclical (1943)

7.Write an Encyclical (1950)

8.Issue a Pastoral Constitution at Vatican II (1965)

9.Give a Papal address (speech) (1996)

10.Update the Catholic Encyclopedia (2000)

11.Give a Papal Homily (2005)

12.Give a Papal address (speech) (2014)

Ignore the theory

• 1859

  Stance: Indifference

• Catholic church did not want to repeat embarrassment associated with condemnation of Galileo

• 1860 - group of bishops in cologne, Germany condemned the idea of natural human evolution

• Vatican made no comment on the cologne council of bishops public statement

Issue a list of errors

• 1864

Stance: Defend against “progress”

-          Pope Pius IX authorised publication of the document ‘A syllabus containing the principle errors of our time”

-          Condemned progress, liberalism and modern civilisation – did not specifically name the theory of evolution

Issue a Canon at Vatican I

• 1870

  Stance: Defend against and condemn the theory

  -          A canon was produced that was promulgated by Pope Pius IX

  -          Stated that (in summary) if anyone believed in the theory and ‘denies that the world was created for the glory of God, let him be anathema” (excommunicated)

Write an encyclical (i)

• 1880

• Arcanum Divinae

• Stance: Defend against the theory

  -          The Encyclical Arcanum Divinae (On Christian marriage) was written

  -           The literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and 2 is reaffirmed – opposing the theory of evolution

Write an Encyclical (ii)

• 1893

• Providentissimus Deus

Stance: slight compromise (scripture shouldn’t always be taken literally)

-          Appropriate interpretation of scripture was addressed in encyclical Providentissimus Deus (on the study of holy scripture)

-          Since Holy Scripture can be explained in a number of ways, no specific explanation should be held so rigidly that one would presume to maintain this explanation if it can be proved with certainty to be false.

-          Otherwise, Holy Scripture would be exposed to the ridicule of unbelievers and this would block the unbelievers’ way to belief.”

Overall: don’t take the bible literally

Write an encyclical (iii)

• 1943

• Divino Afflante Spiritu

  Stance: Even more compromise (scripture shouldn’t always be taken literally)

  -          Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (with the help of the divine spirit)

  -          Pope Pius XII taught that catholic scholars should use modern tools in their exegesis, and make new translations from original languages

Write an encyclical (iiii)

• 1950

• Humani Generis

  Stance: cautious support for the theory of evolution

  Permission for the discussion of the theory in Humani Generis (of the human race)

  -          In this encyclical, Pope Pius XII gave cautious liberity for discussing the evolution of the human body:

  -          As long as it is acknowledged that the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God

  -          "[some interpretation of the Bible is permitted] provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith

   

Issue a pastoral Constitution at Vatican II

• 1995

  Stance: Indirect support for the theory

  -          Acknowledge a shift in the understanding about the human race in the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the modern world

  -          This Vatican II document states that, “The human race has passed from a rather static concept of reality to a more dynamic, evolutionary one.”

Give a Papal address (speech)

• 1996

  Stance: No conflict between faith and theory (support for theory)

  -          Pope John Paul II speaks to the Pontifical Academy of sciences

  -          John Paul II reaffirmed that there is “no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of faith”

  -          He stated that there is now a “recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis.”

   

Update the Catholic Encyclopedia

• 2000

  Stance: No conflict between Biblical Creation and Theory (support for theory)

  -          Update the new catholic Encyclopedia with recent teachings on the matter

  -          An entry in the New Catholic Encyclopedia now addresses the interpretation of scripture (specifically Genesis) saying that to read Genesis as a scientific account “trivializes biblical teachings by placing them in the same genre as scientific discourse”

Give a Papal Homily

• 2005

  Stance: support for theory, but God wills our existence

  -          Pope Benedict XVI refers to evolution in a 2005 homily

  -          Pope Benedict XVI commented: “Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”   

Give a Papal address (speech)

• 2014

  Stance: Full support and acceptance of the Theory

  -          Pope Francis speaks to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

  -          “When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so,” the pontiff said.

  -          “The Big Bang, which today we hold to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it.”

  -          “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.”

Aspects involved

Beliefs: theological

Sacred Stories: Theological

Social Structure: Continued Existence challenge

Ethics: Ethical challenge

How is beliefs challenged:

-          God is the creator of life and the universe: Threatened because in the theory of evolution, a creator or designer was not needed and nor is one evident

-          God is all powerful and loving: Questioned due to the significant amount of suffering and death observed in the principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest.

-          God became incarnate in Jesus to redeem us from the sin of Adam: Early in the history of Catholicism, the theology developed that Jesus was required to die to redeem humanity from ‘Original Sin’, by so doing he opened the way for eternal life for humanity.

However, if the Genesis stories are not factual but mythological, then where does “Original Sin” come from and why was Jesus necessary to redeem us?

-          Humanity is the pinnacle of creation and in unique relationship with God: Humanity is ‘made in God’s image’ (Gen 1:27), yet the theory places humanity as an evolved creature, not a divinely created creature which is the center of creation.

How are sacred stories challenged

The theory contradicts a literal reading of Genesis 1-3, where God creates all things, in order, for a purpose, as humanity as the pinnacle of creation

How is social structure challenged?

▪      God is revealed in Church Tradition/teaching and divinely inspires the actions and teachings of the Church.

▪      The Church has either explicitly or implicitly taught that life came about much as Genesis reads.

▪      However, the growing evidence that this was not the case led to skepticism about other Church teachings:

▪      If the Church and its leaders were guided by the Holy Spirit, how could it have been wrong for so long?

-          Credibility and reliability is called into question

How are Ethics challenged?

The theory of evolution suggested a contrary set of ideals. (love one another, generosity, love and self sacrifice) Its primary principle is ‘survival of the fittest’.

▪      Suggests that thriving in society is dependent on prioritizing the fittest and strongest in society, rather than caring for and prioritizing the poor and vulnerable

▪      Theory suggests that the death of the weak is necessary and good for the benefit of the species as a whole

what does ‘the origin’ teach

-          Variation (members of a population differ)

-          Inheritance of characteristics (differences are passed on from parent to child)

-          Advantageous traits (some differences make it easier for members to survive)

-          Natural selection/ “survival of the fittest” (offspring with advantageous traits survive and are passed on to their offspring)

-          Evolution (as cumulative advantageous traits are passed on through the generations, changes in species occur)