Well this is the current Vatican position:

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=18503
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/06/us-pope-bigbang-idUSTRE7052OC20110106

Oh, wait, I forgot, those are the wrong kind of Christians... only Shinyblurry types know what's right and what's not!

In all seriousness, I just don't get why idiots have to close their eyes to the evidence that the world wasn't created 6000 years ago. FFS, just do what the Catholic church is doing and basically point out that the ultimate question of what caused it all to start is one that will likely always be a mystery. That I can respect.

@ponceleon

The pope did recently reject human evolution though... I guess science really doesn't deal kindly with the whole anthropocentric human-worshipping that is at the basis of monotheism, which created god in man's image.

Ah well, fuck those catholic motherfuckers then!

it's enough to make an atheist say AMEN!

Religion is just like any other tool. If used by the right people it can be a greatly beneficial thing, but in the wrong hands it can be incredibly harmful.

I know this is really picky but he's not a catholic priest. Leicester Catherdral is a Church of England cathedral. The church of England tends to be a bit more forward thinking and accepting of science with the Church of England actually apologising to Charlse Darwin recently. No news on whether he accepted tho

Ahhh the old C of E!

Tags for this video have been changed from 'the big questions, priest, evangelical, imam' to 'the big questions, priest, evangelical, imam, church of england, anglican' - edited by xxovercastxx

I'm glad he was able to keep talking to finish his point.

Oh, he is so fired.

>> ^meggymoo:

I know this is really picky but he's not a catholic priest. Leicester Catherdral is a Church of England cathedral. The church of England tends to be a bit more forward thinking and accepting of science with the Church of England actually apologising to Charlse Darwin recently. No news on whether he accepted tho


Great post except 1 thing, that's not picky, it's just right. Spotter's badge for noticing that one!

>> ^lucky760:

Oh, he is so fired.


Actually no. If they don't fire for pedophilia, I can't see why they'd fire for an open mind.

Change made, thanks for the heads up!

>> ^meggymoo:

I know this is really picky but he's not a catholic priest. Leicester Catherdral is a Church of England cathedral. The church of England tends to be a bit more forward thinking and accepting of science with the Church of England actually apologising to Charlse Darwin recently. No news on whether he accepted tho

But pedophilia isn't a danger to belief... an open mind is.

_{*not sure whether to tick sarcasm box or not*}

>> ^Payback:

>> ^lucky760:
Oh, he is so fired.

Actually no. If they don't fire for pedophilia, I can't see why they'd fire for an open mind.

>> ^hpqp:

@ponceleon
The pope did recently reject human evolution though... I guess science really doesn't deal kindly with the whole anthropocentric human-worshipping that is at the basis of monotheism, which created god in man's image.


To clarify, he rejected random evolution. That is, that it could have occured naturally and without guidance. (See Dawkins writings on why evolution should never be considered "random" to begin with, but that's another issue entirely.) So, based on what I'm reading in that link, he's not saying we don't have a shared ancestry with other primates, just that IF we do, it's not a random occurance.

So catholics are still allowed to believe that evolution has occured, even for humans, they just have to accept that God is the driving force behind it.

>> ^Contagion21:

>> ^hpqp:
@ponceleon
The pope did recently reject human evolution though... I guess science really doesn't deal kindly with the whole anthropocentric human-worshipping that is at the basis of monotheism, which created god in man's image.

To clarify, he rejected random evolution. That is, that it could have occured naturally and without guidance. (See Dawkins writings on why evolution should never be considered "random" to begin with, but that's another issue entirely.) So, based on what I'm reading in that link, he's not saying we don't have a shared ancestry with other primates, just that IF we do, it's not a random occurance.
So catholics are still allowed to believe that evolution has occured, even for humans, they just have to accept that God is the driving force behind it.


Thanks for pointing this out and also thanks for actually reading the article, unlike (I suspect) the other 7 people who upvoted the original comment.

@Contagion21 and @SDGundamX

Indeed, I stand corrected.

The Vatican's stance on evolution is an excellent example of its hypocrisy and doublethink/doublespeak. Without the myth of creation/fall, the notion of original sin is impossible, rendering Jesus' sacrifice (i.e. redemption) unnecessary. That's pretty much the whole creed crumbling right there. So while it officially embraces evolution, it still teaches the mutually exclusive doctrine of Adam/Eve/the Fall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_evolution#Polygenism

All they gotta say is that god created evolution and everyone will be a LOT happier.

Religion has always changed it's story when there has been enough public/political pressure...why should it stop now?

Church of England is religion lite. My family still goes to church most Sundays, hell I used to sing in the choir but none of us are religious. They, like most others, go for the sense of community rather than any fear of God. This priest's opinions are pretty typical, most are liberal and progressive. They believe in God, but seem to have more or less buried the bible in pinches of salt. I wonder when they will realise that they need neither holy scripture OR a divine being in order to have a Church.

Honestly, we have gay priests, female priests...how long before an atheist priest?

Damn, I might actually go to church if that guy was leading it.

It's a step in the right direction, but I don't know how a priest can say the words "teaching young people things we know are not true is tantamount to an abuse of young people" without a trace of irony.

>> ^hpqp:

@Contagion21 and @SDGundamX
Indeed, I stand corrected.
The Vatican's stance on evolution is an excellent example of its hypocrisy and doublethink/doublespeak. Without the myth of creation/fall, the notion of original sin is impossible, rendering Jesus' sacrifice (i.e. redemption) unnecessary. That's pretty much the whole creed crumbling right there. So while it officially embraces evolution, it still teaches the mutually exclusive doctrine of Adam/Eve/the Fall.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_and_evolution#Polygenism



I found these to be interesting reads.

Adam, Eve, and Evolution (Official Catholic Church stance)

What is a Mitochondrial Adam and Eve