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Originally Posted by arwenevenstar
 Eh? Last time I checked, the bible seemed to believe in the world beginning with Adam and Eve. As far as I am aware, the Christian faith follows that thinking.
I can see that for 3 - 6 it wouldn't encroach on the teachings of montessori, but 6 - 9, I think there are descrepancies that any strict Christian organisation may not agree with. |
I'll begin with the Catholic Church since it's probably the largest. The Catholic Church's official position is basically that evolution and Catholicism are not in conflict with each other, though it refuses to say either way whether or not a Catholic should believe in evolution or creationism. (Nor should it really dictate that doctrine). Darwin's work was published about 10 or 15 years before Papal Infallibility was established under Pope Pius IX. (I can't think of exact dates here). Even under Papal Infallibility, which has actually only been used a few times - Immaculate Conception and Assumption of Mary (2 things that distinguish doctrinally between Protestants and Catholics), there is no indication of any statement regarding evolution, even though it was likely to be a hot topic around that time.
The Catholic Church didn't really say much of anything until the 1950s, about 100 years later, under Pope Pius XII. He wrote an encyclical (just a fancy name for a Pope Letter) that stated:
"the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter—for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faithful. Some however rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question"
So, in other words, souls are immediately created by God. The idea of evolution is something that should be studied and it does not go against the teachings of the Church.
The idea of one person (Adam) being our ancestor is addressed by Pope Pius XII. He rejects other ideas because it "does not appear to be true," which means more investigation is needed and, at that time, the official stance is that there was at least one original man through which original sin has been passed down.
John Paul II, one of my favorite Popes, said in 1996:
"Today, more than a half-century after the appearance of that encyclical (of Pius XII), some new findings lead us toward the recognition of evolution as more than a hypothesis. In fact it is remarkable that this theory has had progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies -- which was neither planned nor sought -- constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory."
The Catholic Church's official stance on faith and science states:
"...methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God. The humble and persevering investigator of the secrets of nature is being led, as it were, by the hand of God in spite of himself, for it is God, the conserver of all things, who made them what they are." (Catechism of the Catholic Faith item #159)
In 1998, Molleen Matsumura did a study and found that, "of Americans in the 12 largest Christian denominations, 89.6% belong to churches that support evolution education." I don't think that's a fair statistic necessarily and wonder how she really researched that, but I do think it represents the truth that most Christian denominations, at least the major ones, support evolution education.
I know the official stance of the United Methodist Church is virtually the same as the Catholic Church. I'm sure it's very similar in Episcopal, Presbyterian, Orthodox, and many other churches. I'm not sure exactly where they stand and what their documents say, so I don't want to say EXACTLY what their stance is regarding evolution/creationism, but know they support evolution education and that evolution is not counter to their teachings.
Matt, who also loves to study Theology.
So, I'm comfortable with it, and especially around Easter when they talk about rebirth and whatnot, it ties in very easily with my own pagan leanings and I don't think it'll confuse my DD at all.
