Apologetics
One Truth
Augustine in the 4th century advanced a doctrine that is known as the "Unity of Truth". This doctrine asserts that Scriptures and the natural world both have God as their author, so that these two sources of knowledge cannot contradict each other. There is not one truth for theology and another truth for the natural world. They are complementary ways in which God reveals Himself to mankind.
Augustine emphasized that both the book of Scripture and the book of nature both require careful interpretation. Biblical passages have layered meaning; some should be taken literally, and some should be taken metaphorically or symbolically. Scientific knowledge also must be interpreted with sound thinking. We can draw conclusions and understanding from our scientific observations and measurements, but the underlying or primary cause may be hidden from direct observation.
The unity of truth is fundamental. It is just as relevant today as it was in the 4th century, even though scientific knowledge has advanced tremendously since the time of Augustine.
Scientific understanding of the creation event, for example, has changed drastically over the centuries. In spite of the fears of some Christian groups that have prompted them to engage in verbal warfare with scientists, the 20th century has seen the Big Bang mechanism become the widely accepted scientific explanation for the creation of the universe, a finding that has no possible interpretation other than the existence of a supernatural being outside the universe, thus providing compelling support for the Biblical assertion that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Today's outspoken and belligerent atheists can no longer use creation as their platform of attack on Christianity, since that argument collapsed under the recognition of the truth of the Big Bang. They have now turned to evolution as their chosen weapon.
This topic too has spawned intense battles ever since Darwin's publication in 1859, and continues today. Atheists have been able to keep the public from appreciating the limits and problems with their ideas, and some Christian groups have overreacted in defense.
Darwin's proposed mechanism of natural selection for the appearance of new species was discredited by 1900. That gave way to "neo-Darwin" modifications that retained the famous name if not his ideas. Other adaptations have been introduced to try to accommodate problems that have inevitably arisen, so that the evolutionary process now espoused by outspoken atheists is quite different from Darwin's propositions.
Still, certain facts related to the chronological appearance of different life forms on earth, coupled with clear genetic links and relationships among different species, lends credibility to a process in which more advanced species descended from less advanced species. Pope John Paul II, in his 1998 encyclical Fides et Ratio, called evolution more than a theory, and stressed the combination of "Faith and Reason" as the way to truth, in accord with Augustine's "unity of truth".
The observation that more advanced species emerged from less advanced species is what can be defined as "evolution", as rationally deduced from the chronological appearance of species and their genetic linkages. However, evolution is actually the SECONDARY cause by which new life forms appear. The PRIMARY cause is the underlying means by which the changes occur to produce one species from another. The primary cause is not known and CANNOT be established scientifically. Atheists claim that changes that produce new species are derived from chance; that is, enough random variations occur so that eventually one positive variation occurs and is retained. Christians believe that changes that produce one species from another come entirely from God's power and ability to introduce into the universe which He has created any change which His chooses. Knowledge of the primary cause of evolution, between chance vs. the hand of God, is one that cannot be determined scientifically, and will always be a matter of individual faith. To the atheist, faith in blind chance; to the Christian, faith in God.
Brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid of scientific advances. Like Augustine, we hold to the unity of truth, because God is indeed the author of all truth. Let us understand enough of the issues to further buttress our faith, to reject outright the strident voice of the atheists, and to be prepared to enlighten any who question God's providential role in creation, evolution, or any other thing that occurs or has occurred in this universe of ours.
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