Intelligent Design - Is It True?

In reference to Steve Hemler's article on Intelligent Design (Intelligent Design - Is It True?), Shani Serrao writes:

I am sorry to inform you that your article on intelligent design was sorely misguiding in that it implied that evolution is simply not a plausible theory. The arguments are either taken out of context and/or not all aspects of the arguments are taken into context.

Just to let you know, Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II believed in evolution and stated that in no way was is against the creation story in Genesis. In the encyclical Humani generis, it states: "The Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, insofar as it inquiries into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter."

In fact, in Genesis, it says that God created the world in 6 "days"....who is to say that they were 24-hour days....remember that all the books were written by men who interpreted it a certain way. If you study the evolutionary chart, it follows the creation scheme of Genesis.

There are so many arguments supporting God and evolution together......there is no reason that there has to barrier between those two topics; God is the ultimate biologist, he could have guided evolution to go the way he wanted.....hence the creation of Adam and Eve (and the DNA of the mitochondria in women can be traced back to a single woman in Africa or "Eve").

I think it is time that you and other Christians stopped being so ignorant and actually learned what each point of view dictates. I hope you take this into consideration and correct your mistake.

Steve Hemler responds:

Many thanks for reading my article on Intelligent Design and for taking the time to reply. I also encourage you to read my previous article on Genesis and you will see how we totally agree on that. Also, you are right of course that living organisms have changed over time and that God could clearly have guided that process.

However, as you know, many of the most vocal proponents of evolution are strongly committed to a naturalistic philosophy that leaves no room for God's action in the development of living organisms, including human beings. For example, Oxford Biologist Richard Dawkins has gone so far as to say evolution makes it possible to be "an intellectually fulfilled atheist." Unfortunately, this naturalistic view of evolution is what is taught in schools even though it has been repeatedly rejected by the Vatican and others. I'm sure you will agree that naturalistic philosophy should not be allowed to mascarade as objective science. I'll discuss more about this in my next article entitled, "Is Evolution True?"

I encourage you to take the time to learn more about the theory of Intelligent Design. A good place to start is www.discovery.org. Many, many PhD scientists are now questioning much about what is claimed regarding the THEORY of evolution. I am sure you will agree that natural selection as the only mechanism that could possibly explain all the complexity of life is just a theory and not a proven fact.

Intelligent Design is merely pointing out some things in nature that cannot be readily explained by the Darwinian mechanism of natural selection. I am confident that you will find much of what has been written in the Intelligent Design literature to be a real "eye opener"! I especially encourage you to buy the DVD entitled, Unlocking the Mystery of Life.

Again, thanks for your comments.

New Age: Zero Cal

In reference to our section on New Age, Harold writes:

I enjoyed your site. Many years ago, I too fell into "New Age" Christianity as one of the well-known "Jesus Freaks." I found that it was a confused, incoherent movement that basically wanted Jesus to be a nice guy that wasn't all that preachy. Sort of a grandfather figure. I had a copy of the Aquarian Gospel, and even read stuff by Prophet. They all smoked pot, lived in sin, drank, gambled, and all the rest. They had a version of Jesus that they could accept. But when confronted with the Bible, they fell away from the faith quickly. The idea that Jesus would actually JUDGE people, and even condemn some of them, was just not their cup of tea. The idea that Jesus had AUTHORITY over them was just too much. The entire New Age is Jesus Light. Not very filling, and no calories! Now I find myself a committed Pentacostal, and l have never looked back!

A Message From God?

Orlando, Florida, was hit by Hurricane Charley on this day in 2004. Its 140-mph winds uprooted trees, tore down power poles, and damaged or destroyed thousands of homes and businesses. The storm also killed 32 people. One of the few things left standing in Orlando was a billboard. The current advertisement had been ripped off by the winds, revealing the message beneath that had been covered up:

Heeding Our Lady's Warnings

Mary Cascio writes:

In college during the late 1970's, I went to a pro-life rally in Springfield, Illinois, nearly 2000 miles away from home. When I was there I was given a paper back book on Our Lady of the Rosary. In this book was the story of the apparition of Our Lady of La Salette, which was the subject of Fr. Saunder's recent article. I was very impressed because all that I was reading about "people going to meat markets like dogs on Fridays" and "3/4 of France shall loose Faith, and the other fourth will practice it with tepidity," was coming true, including the prophecy that "the next pope shall not be a Roman."

After reading Our Lady's words I have been very conscious about doing unnecessary work on Sundays. I can never recall having missed Mass on Sunday, despite working for many years as a full time nurse, and some years this included 12 hour shifts on weekends. My husband has been working hard the last 4 years trying to build our home by himself, and I insisted when he started that he was not going to be working on Sundays, if he want Gods blessing on our home. You have touched on a few of Our Lady's warnings, but from what I read there were many more. Women are the ones to set the tone for faith and morals, but regretably I've seen an entire breakdown in strong women helping to keep their families on the straight and narrow path.

Books for Lectors

Rosa Mendes writes:

With reference to the Lectors at Mass by Sr. Manners it is mentioned that there are books and training for Lectors available. Could you please help me by telling me where this training is obtained? Also may I know the names of the book/books and where I can find them?

HSI replies:

There are several good books available for lectors such as Workbook for Lectors and Gospel Readers by Martin Connell; Read the Way You Talk: A Guide for Lectors by Jack Hartges; and Lector's Guide to Biblical Pronunciations by Joseph M. Staudacher. Training programs are available - or should be available - at most large parishes, though there is one by Michael Sparough called Lector Training Program: This is the Word of the Lord that you can do on your own. It comes with audio cassettes.

Christian Unity

Ralph Coelho writes:

The article by Aneel Aranha - Christian Unity: Let's Make It Happen - was interesting, though perhaps it could have been a little more broad based to cover the desire that many of us have to make the world a better place for ourselves, our children and those in need.

Leaders will always fall short and the seats on the right hand and the left hand of God may be of greater importance to some than their work! On the other hand each one of us is commissioned to do God's work by baptism and might be able to discharge such duty better than most leaders. Can we not attempt to do something for people directly? Can we discharge the commission to evangelise them?

Aneel Aranha responds:

You are right in saying that each one of us is commissioned by God to make disciples of men and one of Holy Spirit Interactive's most popular programs is the Discipleship Program, which empowers "ordinary" people to do exactly what you suggest. I hope that you will get a chance to attend it, when it comes to a parish near you. In the meantime, we will try to put down key concepts as presented in the program, in an article or two, to show how simple people like us can make a huge difference to the world.

A Bit of a Stretch

In reference to at article titled "The Bible and the Water Cycle" in our youth section Scientific Facts in the Bible, Neil Morris writes:

Your statement that the Bible describes the water cycle accurately would seem to be a bit of a stretch. Consider Isaiah 55:10 (WEB): For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn't return there, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, and gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater Obviously the Hebrews believed the water returned to the start of the river by some other means, probably from under the earth.

Lectors Write

In response to an article in this week's article by Sister Manners on the subject of Lectors, ABJ from Conyers, GA has this to say:

I'm a lector at our church and I know what you mean about the differences in delivery for each individual persons. I myself take this privelege very seriously and each week study the readings, whether or not I'm on the schedule to read just to be ready. I also get feedback from my family. I always ask them how I read. Was I too fast, too slow, too monotonous, so I can correct it for next time? Lastly, I pray to the Holy Spirit to guide me so that I can deliver the Word so people can understand.

Wonderful Use of the Net

Sue Lehmann of Iowa City, Iowa writes:

Dear Friends at HSI, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your wonderful website. I have received the HSI weekly newsletter for about a year, and I have never once read anything that didn't reflect the fullness of Christ's love and truth. Thank you for your faithfulness. I find that I regularly forward an article to a friend or family member. What a beautiful way to redeem the Internet, and the lives of so many.

Talking to Teenage Girls about Sex

In response to an article in our Youth Section: Growing Pains, Pearl writes:

I love this wonderful website and enjoy reading all the contents. I have a question, however. What is the best way to talk to your teenage daughter about sex? I have read the articles by Dr. Leela Francisco on the subject and they were wonderful, but how do we convey this message to girls.

Dr. Leela replies:

The best time to start talking about this subject is to wait for the opportune moment, which usually manifests itself depending on the nature of your child. Those who are quiet and mild tend to take longer to express sexual interest. Those who are more aggressive and active tend to be more expressive about sex earlier.

IF you think its time to bring up the subject, then look for the opportunity for the subject to come up - in a movie or in a conversation or in a real life situation eg: unwed mother. I think a teenager needs to know exactly what your values and perspectives are regarding sexual activity - the values that the parents has. They also need to understand why these values are important.

Further, they need to understand what role sexuality plays in a marriage - that there are other aspect to marriage that have hardly anything to do with having sex that are equally important. This is serious sex - and not the "fun" and "pleasure" that the world offers and makes a priority. Loving the other person is an essential component of sexuality, rather than selfishly seeking personal pleasure using someone else which will leave one more emotionally isolated and immature.

With that crucial benchmark - your teenager is still going to want to make up her own mind about how she deals with her sexuality - unfortunately - at least in the short term. :) But, the good news is, that in the long term, she will prefer to choose and imbibe the values you taught her.

The rest may simply be a good anatomy and physiology lesson (using appropriate terms to explain the various aspects) and there are books available to explain the actual sexual act - if one wants to go that far.

The Journey Back Home

Greg writes:

My name is Greg and I have recently found my faith again. I want to learn more about the church and why we believe what we believe. I have started reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church and I'm trying to do a study on it so when challenged with a question I can give an answer. My problem is that I have no idea how to study the text I'm reading. Is there someone out there that can help me and give me some direction?

Aneel Aranha responds:

You are in the same position I was when I rediscovered my own faith four years ago, and I am almost envious of you because what lies ahead of you is pure adventure. Don't worry about looking for people to guide you. God will keep putting people in your way as and when you need them, and they will help you out from time to time. But understand that the most part of the journey is better travelled alone. It's not hard; on the contrary it's easier than you might imagine - and it's fun!

There is a lot on HSI that will help you along the way. Read my own articles on the site, especially the School of the Holy Spirit. With regard to your specific query, there are two books that you might find helpful. One is called the Companion to the Catechism of the Catholic Church; the other Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The latter is essentially an abbreviated version of the CCC and makes for a much easier read.