On 12/5/05, <b class="gmail_sendername">Chris Brault</b> <<a href="mailto:gginorio@sbcglobal.net">gginorio@sbcglobal.net</a>> wrote:<div><span class="gmail_quote"></span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Does believing in Theistic Evolution exclude one from<br>salvation? No, of course not. I once believed it<br>myself. We must support the weaker brothers (sisters,<br>too) and gently lead them into truth (perhaps Answers<br>
In Genesis could help with this topic) without<br>condemning them.<br></blockquote></div><br>The following page provides a great many links to debates, essays, etc. related to the questions being discussed here:<br><br><br>
Scientific Materialism, Intelligent Design, and<br> the Cosmological Argument<br><br> <a href="http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ15.HTM#CREATIONISM%20AND%20EVOLUTIONARY%20THEORY:%20ARTICLES">http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ15.HTM#CREATIONISM%20AND%20EVOLUTIONARY%20THEORY:%20ARTICLES
</a><br><br>(Some of the links which point to <a href="http://web.archive.org">web.archive.org</a> aren't working properly at the moment; hopefully they will be "unbroken" before too long.)<br><br><br>Two articles that look at the theory of evolution from a Catholic Christian perspective:
<br><br><br> Evolution: A Catholic Perspective<br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/EVOLUTN.TXT">http://www.ewtn.com/library/HUMANITY/EVOLUTN.TXT</a><br>
<br><br> Evolution and the Magisterium<br><br> <a href="http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0401bt.asp">http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0401bt.asp</a><br><br><br>Here is another one from a Catholic perspective that gives a big "thumbs down" to bodily evolution:
<br><br><br> Did The Human Body Evolve Naturally?<br> A Forgotten Papal Declaration <br><br> <a href="http://www.rtforum.org/lt/lt73.html">http://www.rtforum.org/lt/lt73.html</a><br><br><br><br><br>
I find this subject fascinating, but have been trying to be faithful to a recent self-imposed restriction on wading heavily into such debates, as I find I can easily spend hours per day reading, researching, and writing when I should instead attend to more pressing obligations.
<br><br>One more thing: based on some personal research (mostly == reading) that I was inspired to undertake earlier this year after accidentally bumping into a non-mainstream theory called "plasma cosmology," I am inclined to believe that most of what makes up the "standard model" of physical cosmology (
e.g. the "big bang", black holes, curved space-time, dark matter and energy, ...) is going to have to dumped in favor of a new quasi steady-state model which has no discernable universal scale in terms of time and space, and which is principally characterized by plasma physics (
i.e. electromagnetism) and gravitational physics, as opposed to gravity alone. In the present Standard Model, gravity is the only dominant long-range force, and soley responsible for the large-scale structure of the universe.
<br><br>On the one hand, such a paradigm shift will shake up the scientific community quite a bit. On the other hand, it will present many new challenges to Christian philosophers and scientists.<br><br>If you are interested, read carefully through all of the pages on the following website, which gives a great "nutshell" take on Plasma Cosmology and the Electric Universe concept:
<br><br><br> <a href="http://www.plasmacosmology.net/">http://www.plasmacosmology.net/</a><br><br><br>Note well: the author of that site is almost certainly not a Christian, as there are three or four statements to be found among an otherwise excellent presentation which demonstrate a clear bias against the concept of divine revelation and the doctrines of creation as professed by Christians. Nevertheless, I don't think there is anything inherently anti-Christian or anti-religion in general within the Plasma Cosmology and the Electric Universe ideas. In fact, I think those same ideas may ultimately find their most sensible expression according to Christian minds.
<br><br>If you like the "Plasma Cosmology .Net" site, you might also want to read the first chapter of a related recently published monograph, "The Thunderbolts of the Gods" -- the download is free:<br>
<br><br> Chapter 1: The Cosmic Thunderbolt in Myth and Science<br><br> <a href="http://www.thunderbolts.info/pdf/01.1PART%20I_Ch1.pdf">http://www.thunderbolts.info/pdf/01.1PART%20I_Ch1.pdf</a><br><br>(see also:
<a href="http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2005/arch05/00archive.htm">http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2005/arch05/00archive.htm</a>)<br><br><br>Also, you might like to read a related but more technical, "hard science" article which was published in a respected peer-reviewed journal in December 2003:
<br><br><br> Characteristics for the Occurrence of a High-Current,<br> Z-Pinch Aurora as Recorded in Antiquity<br><br> <a href="http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloads/PerattAntiquityZ.pdf">http://public.lanl.gov/alp/plasma/downloads/PerattAntiquityZ.pdf
</a><br><br><br><br><br>Don't be afraid to expand your mind, all the while staying firmly grounded in Jesus Christ and the teaching of His Church . . .<br><br>"For my part, I should not believe the gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church." -- St. Augustine of Hippo, circa
A.D. 397<br><br>In Christ,<br><br>Michael Bradley, Jr.<br><br>--<br>Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life . . ." (John 14:6)<br><br>My home on the Net ::<br> <a href="http://www.michaelsbradleyjr.net/">
http://www.michaelsbradleyjr.net/</a><br><br>IC XC NIKA<br><br>