Religious question about Evolution

[BarkingMouse]

First of all i would like to say Hi, I just stumbled across this forum the other day and I havent really seen a forum like this where there is so much good information to read about that I decided I had to ask a question that has been bothering me lately.

Now my question is, since evolution is pretty much proven now, are there any religions that attempt to integrate it into their system of belief. It seems to me that this would be very hard to do, seeing as if you want to believe in a "soul" and also in evolution, you would have to pick a point at which this would show up. I have been thinking about this for awhile and it doesent seem to make sense, because if God was all powerful and also fair, it would not be right for one generation of people to get this "soul" while their parents didnt just because they are slightly less developed. Anyways, getting to the point I just dont see how you can believe in evolution but also an afterlife, which is sort of upsetting to me as I have been raised a Catholic all my life and am now just reading about all of these incredible scientific theories which are very fascinating, but are sort of disturbing seeing as it seems to me that they point to no afterlife being possible and everything just coming about because of random chance. Any believing evolutionists have a different take on this? Thanks for your replies.

 

[Lemming3k]

Evolution defies virtually all religions(evolution v's creationist arguements are gonna start), after all, god is the creator and made us, we did not evolve in any religion because they were all invented before science proved evolution, along with other things, the problem is some people move with the times and ignore certain parts of their holy book, but keep their religion, therefore defying their own god, weird huh?

 

[James R]

Barkingmouse:

Welcome to sciforums.

Catholicism accepts evolution. The Pope has even made an official statement saying that the theory of evolution is not in conflict with the Catholic faith.

The Pope also thinks that God gives a soul to a child at some stage during pregnancy. (I don't recall exactly when.) There's no problem with that, since souls are scientifically undetectable. You apparently have to have faith to recognise one when you come across it.

I have been thinking about this for awhile and it doesent seem to make sense, because if God was all powerful and also fair, it would not be right for one generation of people to get this "soul" while their parents didnt just because they are slightly less developed.

According to most religious texts, God thinks humans are pretty special. Christians tend to believe that humans have souls but other animals do not. I guess God just decided to make us a special case... *shrug*

Anyways, getting to the point I just dont see how you can believe in evolution but also an afterlife, which is sort of upsetting to me as I have been raised a Catholic all my life and am now just reading about all of these incredible scientific theories which are very fascinating, but are sort of disturbing seeing as it seems to me that they point to no afterlife being possible and everything just coming about because of random chance.

I hope you realise that evolution isn't just random chance. Natural selection is not a random process.

I don't see how evolution would affect the afterlife, if there is one. Why do you think they are incompatible?

 

[TheERK]

Barkingmouse: great to hear that you're learning about these things, and furthermore that you find it fascinating.

Many religions are forced to incorporate evolution into their beliefs due to overwhelming evidence, but I still think there's a conflict. Two reasons:

Evolution isn't random, really, but it is natural. To say that evolution is a guided process (by God) is like saying that the processes involved in the formation of a tornado is a guided process. Neither are random. Both, however, are natural, which means God would not be necessary for this process to occur.

Second reason: Evolution is beautifully disgusting. If God's intentions were to create the human race, I can hardly think of a *worse* way to acheive that than by using a system which consists of multiple trial and error failures, massive amounts of pain and death, and an end result riddled with flaws--not to mention, billions of years later.

 

[Cyperium]

First of all i would like to say Hi, I just stumbled across this forum the other day and I havent really seen a forum like this where there is so much good information to read about that I decided I had to ask a question that has been bothering me lately.

Now my question is, since evolution is pretty much proven now, are there any religions that attempt to integrate it into their system of belief. It seems to me that this would be very hard to do, seeing as if you want to believe in a "soul" and also in evolution, you would have to pick a point at which this would show up. I have been thinking about this for awhile and it doesent seem to make sense, because if God was all powerful and also fair, it would not be right for one generation of people to get this "soul" while their parents didnt just because they are slightly less developed. Anyways, getting to the point I just dont see how you can believe in evolution but also an afterlife, which is sort of upsetting to me as I have been raised a Catholic all my life and am now just reading about all of these incredible scientific theories which are very fascinating, but are sort of disturbing seeing as it seems to me that they point to no afterlife being possible and everything just coming about because of random chance. Any believing evolutionists have a different take on this? Thanks for your replies.

Well, the snake in the garden of Eden lost it's legs...that's some kind of evolution also. It may be that God's creation still is going on. You must understand that time is different in God's view.

It's only at the end that we can understand what all this means. But we have to hang on, in the end of time people will have trouble keeping their faith.

 

[okinrus]

Catholicism accepts evolution. The Pope has even made an official statement saying that the theory of evolution is not in conflict with the Catholic faith.

Yes, but there's difference between accepting and saying there's no conflict. There's been no divine revelation that I've know of concerning evolution.

The Pope also thinks that God gives a soul to a child at some stage during pregnancy.

At conception.

 

[Lemming3k]

Well, the snake in the garden of Eden lost it's legs

I hope you mean whatever it was losts its legs to become a snake since snakes dont have legs.

 

[GuitarToadster]

I don't believe religion should infuse evolution into itself. Religion is not science. Religion, more specifically the Bible, is a myth or a book of fables. There is no evidence of Adam and Eve but there is much evidence of creatures on this planet that have evolved into another form.

As far as evolution conflicting with people or animals having soul, why would it? A soul may be your personal being, it's energy... you can have a soul without being religious. They are completely separate and different.

 

[ConsequentAtheist]

I hope you mean whatever it was losts its legs to become a snake since snakes dont have legs.

It took all of 30 seconds to find the following ...

But a riddle remains: why do these two snake species have hind limbs? If legs were the norm for snake ancestors, it would make sense to see the species' advanced anatomy as only superficially similar to more modern snakes. On the other hand, the stubby limbs on the fossil snakes might represent an evolutionary reversal, where snakes with advanced skull design regain hindlimbs that were lost or perhaps greatly reduced in their ancestors. Rieppel and his colleagues counted the number of evolutionary steps involved in each possible scenario, and concluded that the redevelopment of limbs was a more likely story.

"We know of at least 62 lizard and snake lineages that have undergone some degree of limb reduction," Rieppel notes. "Since our fossil record of snakes is very poor, we can't exclude the possibility that limbs in snakes were lost not just once in the beginning, but several times throughout their history."

- see New Fossil Snake With Legs, Reported In Science