Vatican: Faithful Should Listen to Science

arrowhead · Post by **arrowhead** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 2:31 pm

Finally

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051104/ap_ ... an_science

butters · Post by **butters** » Fri Nov 04, 2005 11:35 pm

Now would someone knock some sense into the heads of the nutjobs up in Kansas?

Synlor · Post by **Synlor** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 12:18 am

Its interesting that most people think of Catholics as the crazies... but in regards to creation and such we are "normal". Catholics don't take the bible fundamentally.... we really don't have to believe that Adam and Eve lived and all those stories are real. We don't have to believe in Noah's ark either.. basically everything before Abraham we can't be sure about. This means a member of the church can believe in evolution and still be falling in the church's teachings as long as we believe God gave us our soul at some point and seperated us from the animals.

Wagh · Post by **Wagh** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 1:41 am

Synlor wrote:Its interesting that most people think of Catholics as the crazies... but in regards to creation and such we are "normal". Catholics don't take the bible fundamentally.... we really don't have to believe that Adam and Eve lived and all those stories are real. We don't have to believe in Noah's ark either.. basically everything before Abraham we can't be sure about. This means a member of the church can believe in evolution and still be falling in the church's teachings as long as we believe God gave us our soul at some point and seperated us from the animals.

I didn't know you spoke for ALL catholics.

Synlor · Post by **Synlor** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:27 pm

I'm speaking from the point of view of an educated Catholic in church's teachings. There a bunch of crazies who don't acutally know what the church teaches and such.

Post by **|darc|** » Sat Nov 05, 2005 11:31 pm

Synlor wrote:Its interesting that most people think of Catholics as the crazies... but in regards to creation and such we are "normal". Catholics don't take the bible fundamentally.... we really don't have to believe that Adam and Eve lived and all those stories are real. We don't have to believe in Noah's ark either.. basically everything before Abraham we can't be sure about. This means a member of the church can believe in evolution and still be falling in the church's teachings as long as we believe God gave us our soul at some point and seperated us from the animals.

Catholicism has strong shared core beliefs and when I was a Catholic I was ALWAYS taught that all Bible stories were right.

If you don't share the views of the Vatican you're not following Catholicism and I doubt the Vatican ever said it was OK to not believe pre-Abrahamic stories.

Synlor · Post by **Synlor** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 12:20 am

After going to a catholic school for 11 years of my life I got a feeling I understand the faith quite well. The vatican has never said that those stories are wrong, but they have also never said that you aren't following church teaching if you don't believe in those stories. Catholics aren't fundamentalists... we don't believe every word in the bible is 100% true in a literal sense, but that they are symbolic more than anything else. Generally the old testament is regarded as symbolic more than truth.. while the new testament, especiallyt he gospels, are true events. That is of course, generally speaking, there are exceptions I'm sure.

Lunchbox · Post by **Lunchbox** » Sun Nov 06, 2005 5:10 pm

Synlor wrote:After going to a catholic school for 11 years of my life I got a feeling I understand the faith quite well. The vatican has never said that those stories are wrong, but they have also never said that you aren't following church teaching if you don't believe in those stories. Catholics aren't fundamentalists... we don't believe every word in the bible is 100% true in a literal sense, but that they are symbolic more than anything else. Generally the old testament is regarded as symbolic more than truth.. while the new testament, especiallyt he gospels, are true events. That is of course, generally speaking, there are exceptions I'm sure.

I was taught the same way. When we read the old testament we were taught to look for meanings and symbolism. Nobody ever told us that it was all truth and we were wrong if we didn't believe in it. Nobody ever brought it up now that I think about it.

In the later years of High School we learned about the catechism. We were taught about what the church approved of and what it didn't, but we were never told that you'd be a bad Catholic for not folowing it 100% or anything. It was there to help you if you needed guidance.

arrowhead · Post by **arrowhead** » Mon Nov 07, 2005 2:25 am

Im catholic and I believe in evolution and other scientific facts. I dont think of myself as crazy.