Creationism, Evolution, and Orthodoxy

[WPM]

For example, "death" can be a change into Fall and Winter, where Vegetation decays and grows again in the Spring and Summer.

 

[rakovsky]

Well said. And yet "survival of the fittest" negates all of that. The theory of evolution dictates that we are still evolving. So who's to say that the Orthodox Christian morality we believe to be true today will still be true 100, 1,000, or 1,000,000 years from now? Yes, as Orthodox Christians we profess the Teachings and Traditions of the Church to be timelessly true. And yet evolutionary theory contradicts any notion of timeless and eternal moral truth. Within evolution, whatever is best for survival and adaptation is the only morality that matters. So once again, those who hold to a concept of "theistic evolution" are naïve and ignorant about the implications of their own theory. But we've been over this all before. 

I don't think that evolution really contradicts any notion of timeless truths or morals. Even if all morality is just relative, then one has just stated a moral dictum- that all morals are relative.

 

[Tigray]

I vote yes to this poll.Evolution theory is wrong.The majority of the people in the world don't believe in evolution.The majority of people in Latin America,Caraibean,Sub-saharan Africa(Sub-Saharan Africa has got 63% Christian majority https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/sub-saharan-africa/ ),Phillipines,in the biggest part of Asia,in Caucasus(Armenia,Georgia) and also some countries in the Balkans and in some states of USA don't believe in evolution.

 

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Well said. And yet "survival of the fittest" negates all of that. The theory of evolution dictates that we are still evolving. So who's to say that the Orthodox Christian morality we believe to be true today will still be true 100, 1,000, or 1,000,000 years from now? Yes, as Orthodox Christians we profess the Teachings and Traditions of the Church to be timelessly true. And yet evolutionary theory contradicts any notion of timeless and eternal moral truth. Within evolution, whatever is best for survival and adaptation is the only morality that matters. So once again, those who hold to a concept of "theistic evolution" are naïve and ignorant about the implications of their own theory. But we've been over this all before. 

I don't think that evolution really contradicts any notion of timeless truths or morals. Even if all morality is just relative, then one has just stated a moral dictum- that all morals are relative.

Well, you have just hit on the key point. Moral relativity is a correlative philosophy of evolutionary theory. The theistic evolutionist can preach divine, immutable, objective moral truth all day long; but their own specious, subjective scientific theory undermines and negates the objective truths they seek to preserve.

Selam

 

[edati]

I vote yes to this poll.Evolution theory is wrong.The majority of the people in the world don't believe in evolution.The majority of people in Latin America,Caraibean,Sub-saharan Africa(Sub-Saharan Africa has got 63% Christian majority https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/sub-saharan-africa/ ),Phillipines,in the biggest part of Asia,in Caucasus(Armenia,Georgia) and also some countries in the Balkans and in some states of USA don't believe in evolution.

It's not about the number of people that determines something is right or wrong.  Truth is independent of how many agrees with it or not.  Even if nobody acknowledged that a tree fell in the forest, if it fell, then it fell.  It just is.

It doesn't bother me even if there's more people who believe in evolution.  But what I find bothersome is there are Christians who regard the theory as fact, not just simply believe, in denial of the vision of Moses.

 

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

I vote yes to this poll.Evolution theory is wrong.The majority of the people in the world don't believe in evolution.The majority of people in Latin America,Caraibean,Sub-saharan Africa(Sub-Saharan Africa has got 63% Christian majority https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/sub-saharan-africa/ ),Phillipines,in the biggest part of Asia,in Caucasus(Armenia,Georgia) and also some countries in the Balkans and in some states of USA don't believe in evolution.

It's not about the number of people that determines something is right or wrong.  Truth is independent of how many agrees with it or not.  Even if nobody acknowledged that a tree fell in the forest, if it fell, then it fell.  It just is.

It doesn't bother me even if there's more people who believe in evolution.  But what I find bothersome is there are Christians who regard the theory as fact, not just simply believe, in denial of the vision of Moses.

Amen.

Science is not democracy. 1+1 = 2. Even if the entire mathematical community says otherwise, 1+1 will always equal 2.

Selam

 

[Ainnir]

I vote yes to this poll.Evolution theory is wrong.The majority of the people in the world don't believe in evolution.The majority of people in Latin America,Caraibean,Sub-saharan Africa(Sub-Saharan Africa has got 63% Christian majority https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/sub-saharan-africa/ ),Phillipines,in the biggest part of Asia,in Caucasus(Armenia,Georgia) and also some countries in the Balkans and in some states of USA don't believe in evolution.

Tigray, a near exact copy of this post was already made in this thread.  Posting it here after that is verging on spamming the forum.  You're new, so I will not give any points.  Please be mindful of how and where you post, and do not post copies on other threads.
Thanks.  --Annir

 

[Jude1:3]

Check this out :

 

[Jude1:3]

Creation, Early Man, and Evolution | According to Modern Holy Fathers

Introduction

0:38 Fr. Seraphim Rose, Hieromonk of Platina, California (+1982) – Basic presuppositions for knowledge of creation and early man.

4:33 St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, Bishop of the Caucasus and Stavropol (+1867) – The state of creation before the Fall of Adam.

6:55 St. Hilarion (Troitsky), Hieromartyr and Archbishop of Verey (+1929) – The Church’s view leads to humility, the secular view leads to pride.

10:38 St. Nikolai (Velimirovic), Bishop of Zica (+1956) – “Death is Unnatural”

13:32 St. Justin (Popovic) of Celije (+1979) – How man and the rest of creation are inseparable. When man fell, all of creation fell.

15:22 St. Ambrose of Optina (+1891) – “Don’t believe at face value all kinds of nonsense…” 15:46 St. John of Kronstadt (+1908) – True knowledge and the over-educated.

16:49 St. Vladimir, Hieromartyr and Metropolitan of Kiev and Gallich (+1918) – Do not listen to teachings of unbelief for they “promise you nothing but despair and an inconsolable life.”

18:44 St. Theophan the Recluse, Bishop of Tambov (+1894) – Evolution is anathema, along with other secular Western philosophies, and only a pure nous can accurately contemplate divine reality.

29:19 St. Barsanuphius of Optina (+1913) – The moral ramifications of evolutionist philosophy.

30:05 St. Nectarios, Metropolitan of Pentapolis and Wonderworker of Aegina (+1920) – “Without the acceptance of revealed truth, man will remain an insoluble problem.”

31:42 Fr. Seraphim Rose (+1982) – Knowledge of creation and early man can only be obtained by divine illumination. (Editor’s Note: This essentially repeats his teaching from the beginning, but it is kept here since it is so key to our understanding.)

34:26 St. Luke the Surgeon, Archbishop of Simferopol (+1961) – Evolutionary theory is not only contradictory to the Scripture, but to nature itself. 35:54 St. Sophrony (Sakharov) the Athonite (+1993) – The absurdity of evolutionary theory.

36:57 St. Paisios of Mount Athos (+1994) – Monkeys are far from humans; evolutionary theory is blasphemy. 41:31 St. Justin (Popovic) of Celije (+1979) – His letter to a theology student asking about evolution in which he focuses on the impact of evolution on the Orthodoxy doctrine of salvation.

46:35 Fr. Seraphim Rose (+1982) – Brief overview of the keys to the Patristic understanding.

52:44 Hymns from Vigil of the Sunday of Forgiveness, The Casting Out of Adam from Paradise

54:33 Hymn from the Feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross

 

[rakovsky]

One theory goes that God uses tools like Evolution. A Protestant whom I corresponded with online wrote:

This is, I think, why it all has the appearance of what others like to call--- evolution. It all exists in so natural a manner. As I grow older--- 60 now--- I'm seeing more and more that God operates using all the laws of nature, to achieve what is so often called- miraculous.

He told a joke:

Spoiler: Jesus, Moses, and an old man who play golf

Jesus swings, hits the ball over the water feature, and the ball stops in the middle. He walks out across the water, and hits the ball and sinks it, for a par 2.

Moses hits the ball, and it sinks in the middle of the lake. He walks out, splits the water, walks across the lake on the dried out floor, and also hits the ball for a par 2.

The old man wildly smacks the ball, and it bounces off the maintenance hut out into the street, which then bounces off a passing truck, hits a tree inside the course, and then bounces off another tree, and lands on a water lily on the lake. A frog happens by, grabs the ball, and then an eagle swoops down, grabs the frog, with the ball in its grasp, who then freaks out, spits the ball out, and it drops into the hole, for a hole in one.

Moses turns to Jesus, and says-- I really don't like playing with your dad. He always gets a hole in one.

 

[Ainnir]

He writes as if the laws of nature are above God. The term is theistic evolution, and it’s miraculius because it’s a work of God, not because people can’t explain it, even though we often can’t.