“A little error in the beginning becomes a great error in the end.” — St. Thomas Aquinas.

“He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.’” –Lk.16:31.

“See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.”—Col.2:8-10.

“Science,” especially since the time of Francis Bacon, has become one of the most philosophically loaded word-concepts in any language. It is perilous to follow the fads and ever- morphing theories of speculative science—as opposed to the hard sciences like mathematics, chemistry, biology, and physics—because it is ever in flux.

The cosmos did not create itself. Darwinian evolutionary theory leads nowhere. Sacred Scripture tells of “the beginning” of all things (Gen. 1-3: Jn.1:1-3; Col. 2:8-12, Heb. 1:1-2, etc.) If Adam is dismissed a priori, per evolutionary philosophy, the Cross collapses with him—according to both the Lord Jesus and St. Paul’s teachings (Rom 5:12–21) as well as most Church Fathers. The historicity of Adam as a person who existed in time and space is no small matter.

Our Lord also taught the historicity of Noah and the Flood to his disciples. Strictly speaking, neither Jesus’ teachings nor the imaginative evolutionary narrative of the cosmos can be“proved.” Proof would not satisfy Christ’s call to faith at the limits of human knowledge. Yet there is enough evidence to show that we would be foolish to opt for those who, in vanity, are “ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7), while refusing the revelation of God our Creator.

“He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.’” (Lk. 16:31).

“As therefore you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so live in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. See to it that no one makes a prey of you by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have come to fullness of life in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” — Colossians 2:6–10

We are called to choose whom we will believe before we pass from this life. Our eternal destiny will be determined in part by this choice. One thing is certain: we will deploy faith, however we choose.

“Let God be true and every man a liar.” — Romans 3:4

The phrase “evening and morning were the first day” refers to the biblical account of creation in Genesis, where God created light and darkness, naming them “day” and “night.” This indicates that a day, in this context, begins in the evening and ends in the morning, X7.

Short of what little God has been pleased to reveal, the origin and ends of the universe will ever remain a mystery—beyond the ability of any persons to know exhaustively or to “measure.”

Evolutionary philosophy will always consider the Virgin Birth to be an oxymoron, and the resurrection and Eucharist utter nonsense—“foolishness to the Greeks (gentiles) and a stumbling block to Jews” (1 Corinthians 1:18f).

Schaeffer, Turpin, Stark, Harrison

The late Evangelical philosopher Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer writes in his book Genesis in Space and Time:

“Genesis is a book of origins—the origin of the universe, the origin of life, and the origin of man. It places man in his cosmic setting, shows his particular uniqueness, explains his wonder and his flaw, and begins to trace the flow of human history through space and time.”

“Many today view Genesis as a collection of myths—perhaps useful for understanding the Hebrew mind, but not a record of what really happened. Schaeffer challenges that view and shows how the first eleven chapters of Genesis stand as a solid, space-time basis for answering the tough questions posed by modern man.”

Theistic thinker Simon Turpin writes in “Adam: First and Last”:

“Although many in the secular West would see Christianity as anti-science, in fact science grew out of a Christian worldview. The scientific revolution that began in the 16th century came about in the West because of the Christian belief in creation’s uniformity and predictability.

“This stood in contrast to animistic chaos, capricious polytheism, Islamic determinism, and pantheistic spiritualization of nature. For example, the Chinese—under Confucian and Taoist influence—pursued “enlightenment” over scientific “explanations.” Their failure to develop science stemmed from religious belief: they did not believe in a divine rational being who ordains nature. The Greeks, though enthusiastic learners, maintained a distance between speculative philosophy and observation.

Modern science was pioneered by Christians who described themselves as “thinking God’s thoughts after Him” (Johannes Kepler).

In For the Glory of God, social sciences professor Rodney Stark notes:

“The origin of science came about because of Christian theology: Christianity depicted God as a rational, responsive, dependable, and omnipotent being and the universe as his personal creation—thus having a rational, lawful, stable structure, awaiting human comprehension.”

To sum up: the rise of science was not an extension of classical learning. It was the natural outgrowth of Christian doctrine:

“Nature exists because it was created by God. To love and honor God, one must fully appreciate the wonders of his handiwork. Moreover, because God is perfect, his handiwork functions in accord with immutable principles. By the full use of our God-given powers of reason and observation, we ought to be able to discover these principles.”

Not only did science emerge from a Christian worldview, but scholars also recognize that modern science came from a literal (not literalistic) understanding of the Bible. Peter Harrison, professor of science and religion at Oxford University, explains:

“Had it not been for the rise of the literal interpretation of the Bible and the subsequent appropriation of biblical narratives by early modern scientists, modern science may not have arisen at all. In sum, the Bible and its literal interpretation have played a vital role in the development of Western science.”

This is striking, given that many today see a literal interpretation of Genesis 1–3 as incompatible with science.

Christian theology deviates from both Sacred Scripture and Tradition to the extent that it follows evolutionary philosophy. Beyond faith and morals—which evolutionary philosophy often vitiates—the magisterium is simply not competent to judge.

Some recent popes, inclined to plead “no contest” in fruitless debates with modern science, were thankfully more philosophically grounded in the biblical witness and Catholic Tradition than most evolutionists and modernist “Christians” today.

Footnotes & References (1) See Rom 5:12–21 () Rodney Stark – Wikipedia (*) Peter Harrison – Wikipedia

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• More than 60% of U.S. abortions in 2023 were done by pill