Philippine E-Journals

FROM IDEOLOGICAL FUNDAMENTALISM TO CRITICAL OPENNESS: AN URGENT CHALLENGE FOR RELIGION AND SCIENCE

Marek SÅ‚omka

 

Abstract:

On October 22, 1996, John Paul II addressed his profound message to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on the theory of evolution. The Pope wrote that “it is remarkable that this theory has had a progressively greater influence on the spirit of researchers, following a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines. The convergence in the results of these independent studies constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.” Nevertheless, many believers disagree with the abovementioned claim, especially with regard to biological evolution. Some of them present a way of thinking that was proposed by the authors of “The Fundamentals” over 100 years ago. That is why I argue that there is still a strong need for scientific education among Christians to avoid mistakes known from the past and build a new open and creative dialogue between religion and science. It was promoted by John Paul II in his official letter to the director of the Vatican Observatory dated June 1, 1988.