{"id":15781,"date":"2014-10-28T15:38:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T15:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/?p=15781"},"modified":"2014-10-28T15:38:20","modified_gmt":"2014-10-28T15:38:20","slug":"pope-francis-declares-evolution-and-big-bang-theory-are-right-and-god-isnt-a-magician-with-a-magic-wand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/?p=15781","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis declares evolution and Big Bang theory are right and God isn’t ‘a magician with a magic wand’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Francis goes against Benedict XVI\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s apparent support for ‘intelligent design’ – but does hail his predecessor\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s ‘great contribution to theology’<\/p>\n

The theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real and God is not \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093a magician with a magic wand\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d, Pope Francis has declared.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Pope made comments which experts said put an end to the \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093pseudo theories\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d of creationism and intelligent design that some argue were encouraged by his predecessor, Benedict XVI.<\/p>\n

Francis explained that both scientific theories were not incompatible with the existence of a creator \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c arguing instead that they \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093require it\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d.<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093When 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,\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d Francis said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093He created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfilment.<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093The 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.<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d<\/p>\n

The Catholic Church has long had a reputation for being anti-science \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c most famously when Galileo faced the inquisition and was forced to retract his \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093heretic\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d theory that the Earth revolved around the Sun.<\/p>\n

\"Pope Pope Francis look on during the unveiling of a bronze bust in honor of Pope Benedict XVI on October 27, 2014 at the Vatican<\/span> <\/span> But Pope Francis\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s comments were more in keeping with the progressive work of Pope Pius XII, who opened the door to the idea of evolution and actively welcomed the Big Bang theory. In 1996, John Paul II went further and suggested evolution was \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093more than a hypothesis\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d and \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093effectively proven fact\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d.<\/p>\n

Yet more recently, Benedict XVI and his close advisors have apparently endorsed the idea that intelligent design underpins evolution \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c the idea that natural selection on its own is insufficient to explain the complexity of the world. In 2005, his close associate Cardinal Schoenborn wrote an article saying \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093evolution in the sense of common ancestry might be true, but evolution in the neo-Darwinian sense \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c an unguided, unplanned process \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0080\u009c is not\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d.<\/p>\n

Giovanni Bignami, a professor and president of Italy\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s National Institute for Astrophysics, told the Italian news agency Adnkronos: \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093The pope\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s statement is significant. We are the direct descendents from the Big Bang that created the universe. Evolution came from creation.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d<\/p>\n

Giulio Giorello, professor of the philosophy of science at Milan\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s University degli Studi, told reporters that he believed Francis was \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093trying to reduce the emotion of dispute or presumed disputes\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d with science.<\/p>\n

Despite the huge gulf in theological stance between his tenure and that of his predecessor, Francis praised Benedict XVI as he unveiled a bronze bust of him at the academy’s headquarters in the Vatican Gardens.<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093No one could ever say of him that study and science made him and his love for God and his neighbour wither,\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d Francis said, according to a translation by the Catholic News Service.<\/p>\n

\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093On the contrary, knowledge, wisdom and prayer enlarged his heart and his spirit. Let us thank God for the gift that he gave the church and the world with the existence and the pontificate of Pope Benedict.\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0539\u009d<\/p>\n

independent.co.uk<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Francis goes against Benedict XVI\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s apparent support for ‘intelligent design’ – but does hail his predecessor\u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u0549\u0084\u00a7s ‘great contribution to theology’ The theories of evolution and the Big Bang are real and God is not \u0569\u00a7\u0549\u0082-\u056a\u0093a […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15782,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15781"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15781"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15781\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aaeurop.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}