by Michael D. Guinan

The term creationism does not simply reflect the belief that the world and all that is in it has a Creator. It is used with a much more narrow and precise meaning. It describes the belief that the creation by God occurred literally as described in the Book of Genesis. The details of Genesis, moreover, are understood to be scientific statements about the beginnings of all things. The most common view would affirm that the world is thus only between 6,000 and 10,000 years old, and that plant, animal and human species were created pretty much as we know them today.

Today’s renewed debate about creationism has its roots in the 19th century with the rise of the sciences of geology and evolutionary biology (connected particularly with Charles Darwin). The traditional interpretations of Genesis were being challenged by scientific evidence, which caused these interpretations to go progressively on the defensive. The fact that scientific data were at times being used expressly to ridicule religion and religious faith only aggravated the situation. The battle was seen as one of “science against religion.”

Intelligent design

In 1989, the book Of Pandas and People appeared. In drafts of the book, it is reported, the word “creationism” was changed, almost without exception, to “intelligent design.” Subsequently, it is considered the first “intelligent design” textbook.

Intelligent design is the concept that certain features of the universe and living things are best explained by appealing to an intelligent cause, a supernatural cause.

Today, the new twist on the intelligent design movement is this: to see intelligent design as a scientific position that should be studied in science classes alongside of (and in opposition to) that of evolution. In 2005, the Dover, Pennsylvania, school district required the presentation of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution. The only textbook proposed was Of Pandas and People. This was challenged in court, and in December 2005, the judge ruled that intelligent design is indeed a “mere re-labeling of creationism and not a scientific theory.” As such, the school board policy was a violation of the U.S. Constitution. As a matter of fact, intelligent design is not so much a scientific position but more a philosophical argument. From a Catholic viewpoint, the argument is one of the relationship between science and religion, about which there has been much thought over the centuries.

It is worth noting that in all of the major court challenges to creationism, Roman Catholic scholars—biblical specialists, theologians and scientists— have been witnesses against creationism and the fundamentalist understanding of intelligent design.

In the Bible, “creation” means that in order to understand everything that exists at its deepest level, it must be seen in relationship to God. Or, in other terms, the only reason everything or anything exists is because of the overflowing goodness and love of God. Creation always implies a Creator; the two go together. In light of this, it is easy to see that “creation” is neither a scientific concept nor a properly philosophical one. It is a religious statement not only about temporal beginnings but also about every single moment of time.

When the Bible speaks of God as Creator, it draws on a variety of metaphors or analogies rooted in human experiences. When we talk about the most important things in our lives, those things that we are personally most invested in, we have to use metaphorical language; literalistic, scientific language just is not able to do it. Thus, our deepest personal experiences of love and happiness, suffering and sorrow, births and deaths are all expressed in symbolic ways. “My heart is soaring like a lark!” “My spirit is crushed!” These are not scientific statements, yet they represent deeply held truths. Our talk of the birth of the universe is similar.

Catholics believe that biblical statements such as these reflect more the culture of their times and do not represent the formal teaching of the Scriptures. In a 1981 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Pope John Paul II taught that these passages are in the Bible “not in order to provide us with a scientific treatise, but in order to state the correct relationships of man with God and with the universe.”

The New Testament adds a very important dimension to our faith in God as Creator. Christians believe that all things are created in and through Christ; he is the source of all creation. And he is also its goal; all things are for him. He is the “mystery of God, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:2-3). In a real and deep theological sense, we can say that Jesus Christ is the Logos (“Word”), the mystery, the plan and the “intelligent design” of God for all of creation.

What’s a Catholic to do?

In the light of these observations, we can draw four conclusions.

First, at Sunday Mass we recite the Creed, which begins, “We believe in God, the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.” We believe! This is a statement of faith. God, the Father, has created all things in, through and for the Son, Jesus Christ. This affirms our deepest religious belief about all creation, and it is not subject to scientific proof or disproof.

Second, religious language, though it may be the deepest and most true, is not the only way to talk about the wonders of creation. Clearly, science is another. It has its own methods and procedures, and, as science, does not and cannot deal with issues of ultimate concern. One can be both a devout and committed Christian and an evolutionary scientist.

Many evolutionary scientists are deeply Christian. There is no necessary conflict between science and religion, provided that each respects the limits of its own way of seeking understanding. This has been recognized down through the centuries, e.g., by St. Augustine (d. 430), St. Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274), Pope Leo XIII (Providentissimus Deus, 1893), Pope John Paul II (Address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, Oct. 3, 1981), and Pope Benedict XVI (Speech to seminarians, Castel Gandalfo, July 25, 2007).

Third, conflict does indeed occur when these limits are violated. Creationism is based on a wholly inadequate understanding of biblical texts. Intelligent design tries to pass off as science a philosophical position in a way that many Catholic theologians would find inadequate.

Finally, new scientific discoveries may challenge us to deepen our understanding of a biblical text or of a theological position. We believe, however, in the deepest sense, that there can be no ultimate contradiction. The Source of Truth is One, and that Source is God, the Father of Jesus Christ, in, through and for whom all things are created.

Michael D. Guinan, a Franciscan priest, is a professor of Old Testament, Semitic languages and biblical spirituality at the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California.

http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1007.asp