Origin of Life Worth the Wait

The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give Him thanks for all His works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers. With Solomon they can say: "It is He who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements ... for Wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me." (CCC 283)

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). The first verse in Scripture is the whole of what we as Catholics must believe. As long as we recognize that God was the beginning and the end of all things (and that man alone has an eternal soul), the details in between those bookends is left up to ourselves.

To believe in anything contrary to pure Creationism flies in the face of many Christian evangelicals. But I do not believe (nor does the Catholic Church require me to) that the early chapters of Genesis were ever intended to be taken literally. Instead, I think it is much more likely that the Bible's explanation for the origins of the universe were being explained to man at a time when their minds could not possibly have grasped the truths we now take for granted today. Their scientists (or "magi" on this day after the Feast of the Epiphany) could not have had the technical aptitude to understand the difference between a star, a planet or some other heavenly body (and apparently we still can't today) so the origins would have to have been explained in such a way as they could make sense of it.

My personal belief is that of intelligent design, in which evolution may have played a part in the scientific sense, but that God guided the process of cosmic jelly to human being. To deny plausible scientific evidence that certain creatures evolved from other creatures is akin to claiming that the universe is not heliocentric despite concrete proof of modern science.

I was surprised to learn that it was initially the Protestants, not the Catholics, who were opposed to the belief that the sun was the center of our galaxy. Both groups however based their ignorance on sacred Scripture, citing that to believe in other than a geocentric universe was to deny the literal interpretation of the Bible, most notably that the "earth is firm in its foundation and can not be moved" (Psalms 93:1, Psalms 96:10, 1 Chronicles 16:30). The Church did denounce Galileo of heresy for promoting Copernicus' findings, and did not admit to her error officially until 1757 due to findings by Isaac Newton.

I, for one, can appreciate the Church's stance on taking time to accept new information quickly. The same Church that took almost 200 years to recognize the sun as center of our galaxy, also applies that same slow, methodical approach to her recognition of saints and her acceptance of apparitions, which I (admittedly) am skeptical of. As a wise ent, Treebeard, once said in the Lord of the Rings, "It takes a long time to say anything ..., and we never say anything unless it is worth taking a long time to say."

I'd rather take a long time to ensure something is correct before I accept it than to readily accept every claim I hear as truth only to find out later that I had been deceived. Thank God for a slow and thorough universal Church that does not give in so easily to the changes of a liberal society!