The Catholic Church is responding to pressures of worldliness, and the present pope is gladly taking the lead. Since its official inception upon the creation of the papal system, Catholicism has been the departure from the truth prophesied by Paul (cf. 2 Thes. 2:1-12), and it continues to go farther and farther away from “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). It seems very clear that the Roman hierarchy has completely abandoned any confidence in the plenary inspiration of the Bible.
God’s word declares in no uncertain terms: “In the beginning, God created (i.e. made something from nothing, A.K.) the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Heb. 11:3). “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host….For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm” (Psa. 33:6, 9). Jesus said, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (Matt. 19:4) leaving no place for the Darwinian theory of evolution.
Yet, in a speech given at a Pontifical Academy of Sciences ceremony in October, Pope Francis declared his full-fledged support of evolution as the scientifically correct explanation of the origin of man and the universe. “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation,” he argued. His greatest difference with the truth of God’s word, however, was in his statement that “Christians” who believe in the Genesis account of creation are those who believe in a kind of magic act conducted by a master magician. The pope claims that God is limited in what He can do. “God is not a divine being or a magician, but the Creator who brought everything to life,” Francis said.
Unbelievers are excited. Jeff Roberts of www.collective-evolution.com commented, “We are seeing the merging of once conflicted ideologies in science and religion, we are seeing the recognition of equality in sexuality, we are witnessing a time where old belief systems are being abolished to make way for new ways of thinking. This new era we are entering into is proving to be transformative in many ways, it is exciting to think about what new experiences are in store for humanity as we continue to move forward” (Nov. 3, 2014).
“Science” by definition is “systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation” (www.dictionary.com). It is growing. What will observers learn if they continue an honest search? Scientists have learned that the earth is not flat and that it is not the center of the universe. If they continue to examine the evidence with an open mind, perhaps they will learn that “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made.” The beginning of life is not observable. That alone takes the matter out of the scientific realm. The fact is that modern science cannot tell us how the universe came into existence. It merely assumes things not in evidence. A basic assumption of “science” falsely so-called is that everything began with a “big bang.”
The Bible is already full-grown or complete and has been for almost two thousand years. It is “breathed out by God” and enough to equip man “for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). No pressure can change it. Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17), and “by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God…” (Heb. 11:2).
–Andy