Spencer Phillips
11/21/08
Faith & Atheism
Mr. Martocchio
Faith and Evolution.
The existence of God has long been one of the most fervent and inveterate debates in all of human history. The existence of God is so controversial because of the lack of empirical proof or disproof. The majority of the world’s population has faith in a god of some sort, while the minority of nonbelievers fervently argues against an existence of a supernatural being. Through the following essay I will elucidate as to how one of the common criticisms of faith; evolution, is flawed and how faith is still the most beneficial and reasonable stance on the issue.
The theory of evolution has long been an intense and bitter conflicting issue among theists and atheists. It is so controversial because it appears to imply that human beings evolved from animals and that God is seen as unnecessary and not the creator of the human race. However this idea that only one of these views can be correct is a fallacy on the part of both sides of the issue. This is due to the fact that religion is based on faith (i.e. the absence of reason and/or empirical facts) while science is based on empirical and observable facts.
This being the case it is asinine to assert that one can have authority or the ability to nullify the other. They are in different realms of thought, as stated by Pope John Paul II, “There is no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of the faith … The sciences of observation describe and measure the many manifestations of life, the passage into the spiritual realm is not something that can be observed in this way.” In this statement, the pope explains that there can be no conflict between science and religion because science deals with what can be irrefutably proven and observed, mainly physical aspect of life. However, religion on the other hand deals with the spiritual aspects of life that cannot be empirically explained. That being said, it is important...