65 Years of Priestly Life. The history of a Journey 24 2. Some Problems with Evolution a. The Mechanism of Evolution Unclear In the past it was thought that natural selection alone was sufficient to make evolution happen. However, later developments and the problems arising from them, clearly showed that natural selection alone could not account for the evolutionary development of material realities. Even staunch evolutionists like Jerry Coyne concede this much when he clarifies: -”Evolution is not a process involving chance alone, but a combination of random mutations and deterministic natural selection.” A number of other problems also have been raised by scholars and critics. b. Lack of Sufficient Time for the Evolutionary Process Another difficulty raised by scholars is about the length of time available to the evolutionary process to carry out its work. It is generally accepted that the earth was formed some 4.5 billion years ago, and life could have started some 3.5 billion years ago. There is serious question whether this time was sufficient enough to produce the myriads of items in the universe. Critics point out that a modern computer, programmed to arrive at the 26-letter alphabet by a random, chance process, could get correctly only 14 letters after a whopping 35 trillion attempts. If so, how to account for the formation of a simple single cell through conventional evolutionary process? c. Certain Internal Contradictions Critics have pointed out a number of internal contradictions in the evolutionary mechanism, particularly with regard to the origin of new organs. For instance, the evolutionary explanation for a wingless being becoming a winged one gets into formidable difficulties. For one thing, the process has to start with a small wing. It is clear that a small wing in this context becomes a disadvantage and hence has negative survival value. If so, how can a non-winged being transform into a winged one? True, critics of the Theory of Evolution have raised many such issues. However, it seems to me that, despite all these difficulties, the general idea of Evolution is a viable scientific theory that has come to stay. As it happened in the case of the heliocentric theory in the 16th century, problems will be there in the beginning; but they will be solved eventually as the theory develops. In the meantime, the diehard proponents of Evolution need to become more realistic and moderate in their claims. F. Theory of Evolution and the Catholic Church It may be noted that when it comes to the Church’s position on Evolution, the focus has been not so much on evolution of the physical world as evolution of humans. 1. The Church Documents The Official Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994, revised in 1997), no. 283 says: “The question about the origins of the world and of man has been the object of many scientific studies which have splendidly enriched our knowledge of the age and dimensions of the cosmos, the development of life-forms and the appearance of man. These discoveries invite us to even greater admiration for the greatness of the Creator, prompting us to give him thanks for all his works and for the understanding and wisdom he gives to scholars and researchers....” Again, the International Theological Commission referred to above has the following to say about Evolution: “While there is little consensus among scientists about how the origin of this first microscopic life is to be explained, there is general agreement among them that the first organism dwelt on this planet about 3.5-4 It may be noted that when it comes to the Church’s position on Evolution, the focus has been not so much on evolution of the physical world as evolution of humans.
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