The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #158223   Message #3749961
Posted By: Joe Offer
10-Nov-15 - 10:54 PM
Thread Name: BS: The Pope in America
Subject: RE: BS: The Pope in America
Steve Shaw sez; What we know is that God disobeys every law of nature so far discovered

Either that, or God is the essence of every law of nature, which is what I believe.

I believe that God creates through the wonderful, natural process called Evolution. Why shouldn't God follow the laws of nature in the process, Big Bang and all?

This seems to be the general direction of Catholic thinking, although the Catholic church considers evolution to be a matter for science, not for doctrine. The official teaching of the Catholic Church on creation begins here (click). There is no doubt that Catholics believe that God created heaven and earth. Although Catholic doctrine pays great respect to scientific research into the origins of the universe, the doctrine does not specify evolution as the way the universe came to be.

If God created the laws of nature, why should God then have to violate them?

Now, I'm sure some will most likely be appalled by this Catholic belief in God as the Source of Nature, but I don't understand why. I fail to see how this belief can cause any harm. It should certainly motivate Catholics to have respect, even reverence, for our environment. This is what Pope Francis taught in his latest encyclical, Laudato Si. An encyclical is, by the way, official Church teaching. Though not considered to be infallible dogma, it is not just the Pope's personal opinion.



Pete sez: But, tell me, am I correct that though the pope favours evolutionary ideas, that the official church teaching is still creation ?. And I would certainly not want to argue with how many likes the Kolbe institute has on Facebook. I was merely pointing out that evolutionism does not hold full sway over all catholic thinking.
Yes, Pete, the official church teaching is still "creation," and it will always be. But the means of creation is not specified. I was educated in the 1960s in a Catholic seminary, licensed by the Vatican to teach theology. We were taught evolution.
But if you wish, you can "like" the Kolbe Center here: https://www.facebook.com/KolbeCenter/. Catholic doctrine is not determined by Facebook "likes," however.

-Joe-