World News and Trends: Pope discusses evolution
Nearly 140 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, the pope has recently written about the theory of evolution.
Nearly 140 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's Origin of Species, the pope has recently written about the theory of evolution. Said a recent papal letter: "New knowledge leads us to recognise in the theory of evolution more than a hypothesis."
Yet the pope's version is something akin to so-called theistic evolution-the belief being that God somehow had a hand in the whole process. Pope John Paul II wrote about "spiritual readings of evolution" and spoke of "the spiritual soul" being "directly created by God."
Still, this latest papal revelation is a significant departure from the position of Pius XII in 1950. According to one source, he "claimed that Catholics must believe there was a literal Adam, a first man [from] whom all subsequent humans descend[ed]."
Even earlier in this century a French priest, Teilhard de Chardin, pioneered in the metaphysical study of human evolution, drawing on what was then known about early humanlike creatures and the fossil record. He wrote several such books, with perhaps The Phenomenon of Man his principal work in that field. The Catholic Church, however, viewed his writings with suspicion.
According to a recent book review, the church has some 100,000 priests and 200,000 nuns. One wonders what they think of this latest letter. (Sources: The Sunday Times; The Independent; The Independent on Sunday; Teilhard de Chardin, The Phenomenon of Man, Harper & Row, New York, 1959.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 1997
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Scott Ashley
Scott Ashley was managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course until his retirement in 2023. He also pastored three congregations in Colorado for 10 years from 2011-2021. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado.
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he worked for 50 years.
During his career, he has worked for several publishing companies in various capacities. He was employed by the United Church of God from 1995-2023, overseeing the planning, writing, editing, reviewing and production of Beyond Today magazine, several dozen booklets/study guides and a Bible study course covering major biblical teachings. His special interests are the Bible, archaeology, biblical culture, history and the Middle East.
