Beauty

[Brother Adam]

I'm posting this here because I"m not really looking for a debate, so much as points of view. I'm reading "The Evidential Power of Beauty" by Thomas Dubay (Ignatius Press) that is very much in the same school of thought as von Balthasar. He says over and over again how beauty, nature itself, and science all lead away from a macro-evolution understanding of creation, that it is impossible (and quotes many credible physicists, geologists, biologists, and the sort), yet embraces the 'big bang theory' and evolution in itself.

So my question is, how do you reconcile a rejection of macro-evolution and yet embrace the evolution of species? His thoughts seem to be the prevailing concept of origins among Catholic scholars, yet the more I read the more contradictory it seems in itself.

[phatcatholic]

honestly, i don't know very much about this topic, so i would need a definition of terms:
--macro-evolution
--creation
--big-bang theory
--evolution

i think i know what most of these mean already, but it would be helpful to have your definition of them, so that when we discuss this topic, we are all on the same page.

pax christi,
phatcatholic

[qfnol31]

I think it was Augustine who explained it by God involved in each procreation, where He does will to get involved.

He doesn't like to involve Himself unwelcome (see Incarnation) but works with our yes.

We say yes when we procreate (He inserts the soul).

I guess I'd assume it's the same for animals.

[Brother Adam]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Jan 6 2006, 01:04 AM']honestly, i don't know very much about this topic, so i would need a definition of terms:
--macro-evolution
--creation
--big-bang theory
--evolution

i think i know what most of these mean already, but it would be helpful to have your definition of them, so that when we discuss this topic, we are all on the same page.

pax christi,
phatcatholic
[right][snapback]847679[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]

I don't have any definition for these words. I understand them the same way the scientific community does.

[p0lar_bear]

I haven't read that work, so I'm guessing here, but...

From the sounds of it, he may be talking about kind of an "intelligent design" system. The nature of beauty, science, etc. make it impossible, in his view, to believe that the world exists by pure chance; it is obvious that God exists. However, you can believe in evolution, even evolution of the species, without denying God's hand in it all.

I think he may be looking at macro-evolution as a theory of evolution as [i]cause[/i]. But you can look at the big-bang and the evolution of the species as simply the [i]means[/i] by which God effected his creation.