"Pope Francis has been head of the Catholic Church for less than two years, but in that time he has managed to overshadow his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, with his progressive statements on issues ranging from gay marriage to capitalism. On Monday, he did it again, saying evolutionary theory does not contradict biblical teaching—at an unveiling of a bust of Benedict.
Pope Francis told an audience from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in Vatican City on Monday that theories of evolution and the Big Bang are not inconsistent with creationism and biblical teaching. “The evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of Creation, because evolution
“When we read in Genesis the account of Creation, we risk imagining that God was a magician, with such a magic wand as to be able to do everything,” he said. “However, it was not like that. He created beings and left them to develop according to the internal laws that He gave each one, so that they would develop, and reach their fullness.”
The creation of the universe, Francis said, was not a singular event, but rather “went forward for centuries and centuries, millennia and millennia until it became what we know today.”
While the church may be out of step with society on some issues, evolution is not one of them. In 1950, the church haltingly dipped its toe into the water when Pope Pius XII, in an letter to bishops titled Humani Generis, wrote, “[The] Church does not forbid...research and discussions...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…” It was fine for Catholics to think about and debate about evolution, as long as they kept the soul out of it, the document implied. The soul, Pius said, was injected into human beings by God, and could not arise from natural processes." Newsweek
Ken Ham Responds:
"About the account of creation in Genesis, the pope stated, “When 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 . . . God is not a divine being or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life . . . Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.” Additionally, Pope Francis said that “God is not afraid of new things.”
Now, of course God is not a “magician.” Nothing in Scripture ever hints that He is—especially not in the creation account. Scripture portrays God as the all-powerful Creator who is capable of making anything, whether that’s creating the universe out of nothing, parting the Red Sea, saving people from a fiery furnace, walking on water, or raising the dead! God even says the following:
Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me? Jeremiah 32:27Because God created nature and natural laws, He alone has power over them.
A statement made by the pope earlier this month at a conference about homosexuality and divorce further shows how this leader views God and His Word: “God is not afraid of new things.” What the pope and many other religious leaders are saying is that God—and His Word—is open to change as society’s opinions change. But is this what God’s Word teaches? Absolutely not. In His Word, God says, “I am the Lord, I do not change” Malachi 3:6" AIG
