Pope Francis, speaking at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, openly declared that God is not “a magician with a magic wand.” He went on to state that “the theories of evolution and the Big Bang don’t contradict church doctrine.” Now before anyone declares him a heretic, we have to think about the basic fact that belief systems have more to do with finding an answer of “why,” than they do with how.
As Buddhist leader (Dalai Lama) Tenzin Gyatso stated in the 14th century: “If science proves some belief of Buddhism wrong, then Buddhism will have to change. In my view, science and Buddhism share a search for the truth and for understanding reality. By learning from science about aspects of reality where its understanding may be more advanced, I believe that Buddhism enriches its own worldview.”
To most of us this was clear, we have already written that creationism, as a philosophical standpoint as to the meaning of life, doesn’t necessarily conflict with beliefs in a higher power or meaning of life, and it is a reassuring sign to see the leader of the Catholic church agree.
In fact, this isn’t out of the blue for the Catholic church either. Pope Humani generis stated that the church had to be open to weighing evidence, not relying on dogmatic interpretations as the answer to all questions. With all available molecular genetic and paleontological evidence, it would be irrational to deny the theory of evolution and its implications for us and the world. For Pope Francis to admit this makes him a sane leader, and may give us hope that the Church can become more open to internalizing teachings in biology, physics, sociology, and psychology.
Why should an answer about the why try to take precedence over evidenced teachings of what? The answer is that such a stance is based on dogma, and not on any type of rational analysis. Pope Francis seems to come to his own conclusions, and we can hope that he will further come to encourage an acceptance of science. We can also hope that those who continue to hide behind religion as an excuse to not bother to understand evolution, and the consequences of major environmental problems.
We can all agree that the universe is infinitely more complex than human perception and technology can allow us to understand. There will always be more questions than we have answers, and people shouldn’t be upset that they don’t have all the answers. We certainly know enough to understand we are all connected and share common interests on this planet, that we share different shades of the same reality.