Why I Don’t Believe in a 6-Day Creation
A small but growing number of Catholics are embracing “young earth creationism,” which believes that the earth is only thousands of years old and was created in six 24-hour days. Why do I not join them?
Creation, Evolution, and Catholicism (Guest: Dr. Gerard Verschuuren)
Man has always wondered about where we have come from and how we were created. Religions have given various answers, and in recent centuries so has science. How does a Catholic evaluate these claims in light of our faith?
Faithful Reasoning and Reasonable Faith: Genetics at the Dawn of Humanity
How far can genetics take us in explaining what makes humans different from other animals?
The Catholic Case for Intelligent Design (Guest: Jay Richards)
As Catholics we believe that God created everything out of nothing. But how He did that is the subject of intense debate among Catholics. We’ll talk today to a proponent of the theory of “Intelligent Design.”
Transcending the Evolution-Creation Debate
Recent scientific developments and philosophical interpretations of these developments can lead to a greater unity among Catholics debating evolution.
Theistic Evolution vs. Creationism: A Catholic Debate
Two Catholics – Dr. Douglas Darnowski (Professor of Molecular Biology) and Dr. Kevin Mark (Kolbe Center for the Study of Creation) – debate whether theistic evolution or creationism is most compatible with Catholic teaching.
A Catholic Defense of Evolutionary Science
God usually works slowly and predictably within the laws He Himself made. When we study the details that we know about the living world, we see that they are truly astounding and enthralling.
Two Paths to Hell
Dear Swillpit, The sure way to Hell is by a series of incremental adjustments so small, and seemingly innocuous, that earthlings never notice they are woefully off course until they find themselves aboard Charon’s skiff heading for the opposite shore. A believer who turns against our Adversary in a moment of anger or doubt is … Read more
The Metaphysical Implications of Darwinian Theory
Darwin was always unsettled by the implications of his theory, and his growing agnosticism, along with his eventual belief that there was no soul, no eternity, just blind matter and its inexorable laws, troubled his pious, Unitarian wife, Emma, who wanted to be with him in heaven. Unsettled Darwin should have been; for all the … Read more
The Darwinism of Hollywood Filmmakers
HBO’s animal rights documentary Unlocking the Cage, now playing in art theaters across the country, is a signature piece for the respected cable outlet. Although it is not the first documentary of this kind, it comes with a pedigree of esteemed filmmakers and a unique protagonist in the form of a Harvard trained lawyer who … Read more
Challenging the Rehabilitation of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
As the sixtieth anniversary of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin’s death approaches this April, a renewed interest in his thought has found its way into the popular consciousness. A play praising the life of Teilhard, titled The De Chardin Project, ran from November 20 until December 14 in Toronto, Canada. Additionally, a two-hour biography on Teilhard’s … Read more
Dawkins’ Unholy Trinity: Incoherency, Hypocrisy and Bigotry
Earlier this month, the BBC interviewed E.O. Wilson (a highly reputable emeritus Professor of Entomology at Harvard University) asking him about his differing views on natural selection with Richard Dawkins. He responded that: There is no dispute between me and Richard Dawkins and there never has been, because he’s a journalist, and journalists are people … Read more
Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?
Pure myth! That is today’s typical view of a literal Adam and Eve. Yet, contrary to current skepticism, a real Adam and Eve remain credible—both in terms of Catholic doctrine and sound natural science. By calling the Genesis story a “myth,” people avoid saying it is mere “fantasy,” that is, with no foundation in reality … Read more
Is Richard Dawkins on the Way to Belief?
On Easter Monday, the Telegraph published a Letter to the Editor from around 50 leading atheists, predictably including such names as Philip Pullman, Peter Tatchell, Polly Toynbee, Anthony Grayling, Evan Harris, and on and on: from my own point of view, a list of many of my least favorite bien pensant Lefties. It began as … Read more
The Blind Faith Beliefs of Secular Culture
Secularists are known for dismissing religion as merely espousing a set of blind faith beliefs without any evidence to support them. The crudest among them will often do it in a snide and sneering way, holding that religious belief is imagination and fantasy—like a childhood fairy tale—in contrast to the “scientific” view that they espouse. … Read more
Intelligent Design: Philosophy or Science?
Trouble brews for the occasional scientist who decides to publicly question the orthodoxy of neo-Darwinism in peer-reviewed journals. Occasionally there are slip-ups which help to corroborate the general rule. For example, in 2004 Richard Sternberg, evolutionary biologist, and editor of the journal, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, published Stephen C. Meyer’s “The Origin … Read more
Sorry USA Today, Evolution Isn’t “Settled” Science
It’s official, ladies and gentlemen! The Theory of Evolution via Natural Selection is no longer a “theory”; it’s confirmed science! At least, that’s what USA Today would have us think anyway. In a column entitled “Evolution is Not a Matter of Belief,” Tom Krattenmaker proclaims, “As settled science, evolution is not a matter of opinion … Read more
This Cro-Magnon Doesn’t Fight for a Word
Lost in the hubbub surrounding the unsurprising “personal evolution” by President Obama toward support of a radical redefinition of marriage was how the president characterized the position of the majority of Americans who uphold the natural and traditional definition of marriage as the union between one man and one woman. His May 9 ABC news … Read more
Evolution, Human Dignity, and Crafting Public Policy
“A man who has no assured and ever present belief in the existence of a personal God or of a future existence with retribution and reward, can have for his rule of life, as far as I can see, only to follow those impulses and instincts which are the strongest or which seem to him … Read more
Why Catholics Like Einstein
This article originally appeared in the March 1996 edition of Crisis Magazine. Science is mankind’s great success story since the Renaissance. Only the most obdurate Luddite can regret the computer chip, the Hubble telescope, and the heart bypass. But these material triumphs have come at a philosophical cost. The scientific method has been so successful … Read more