THE TABLET, NOVEMBER 5, 2005

THE MYSTERY OF CREATION

For the last several weeks, as you come over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn, a large billboard message above Tillary Street asks: "Has evolution made a monkey out of you?" It is an advertisement for a History Channel program that explores the theory of evolution. The point being made is that at some time in history an ape became a man. More interesting is the picture on the billboard. It is a caricature of Michelangelo's famous portrayal of creation in the Sistine Chapel, where the hand of God touches the hand of man. On this billboard, however, it is the hand of a man touching the hand of an ape.

This more-than-a-century-old controversy regarding humanity's evolution from a lower genus of primate will not be settled anytime soon by those who have no faith. Further, the theory of evolution is opposed by the teaching of creationism that affirms that God is the direct Creator of the human race. This controversy between evolution and creationism is being fought throughout our country, especially in the "Bible Belt," where it seems that religion has more influence over what is taught in public schools than elsewhere.

More recently, the theory of intelligent design has tried to bridge the gap between evolution and creationism. It notes that the complexity of human life could not have arisen as the result of random development but was possible only because a purposeful and intelligent designer was guiding the process. Many people of various faiths believe that this "guide" is God.

In July of this year, Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, wrote an op-ed piece for the New York Times claiming that Christians cannot believe that life's origins are found in Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection because it states that random events have led to the evolution of man. Some have interpreted his op-ed article to be an endorsement of the theory of intelligent design. The cardinal's purpose, however, was to clarify a statement of Pope John Paul II, of happy memory, which has been taken out of context. The Holy Father in an address said that evolution is not a mere theory. The fact is that non-Darwinian theories of evolution have given some evidence that lower forms of life have evolved and changed over time; however, no demonstration of the theory of evolution has ever concluded that a human being evolved from another primate.

Modern paleontology has discovered that various human forms can be found in all parts of the world. For example, Neanderthal man is considered by most scientists not to be "homo sapiens." It is hard to prove, however, whether these hominids, or human-like ancestors of modern man, possessed a consciousness similar to ours. The science of paleontology tries to piece together clues regarding the origins of humanity. Yet the scientific method has yet to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt the origins of humans.

As Catholic Christians each Sunday we recite the Creed. In the first lines we affirm our belief in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. Yes, we do believe in creation. Our belief is not something that we can explain in detail. The Book of Genesis has given us the words of revelation regarding God's mystery of creation, which prepares us to understand the mystery of redemption. The "Catechism of the Catholic Church" reminds us that we believe that God created the world according to His wisdom. It is not the product of any necessity whatsoever or of blind fate or chance. We believe that it proceeds from God's free will. In other words, God freely wanted to make His creatures share in His being, wisdom and goodness: "For you have created all things and by your will they have existed and were created," as we read in the Book of Revelation 4:11.

Since the debate on evolution and other theories on the origin of man will not be ended soon, it is good that we understand where we as Catholics weigh in on this debate. When all is said and done, we believe in God as the creator of heaven and earth, although it is a mystery that we cannot explain.

As with this and all mysteries of faith, we are called to put out into the deep where proofs are not available. We must use modern science to explain what it can and recognize that it does not have a complete explanation for many things, especially the origins of humanity.