Brother Guy Consolmagno, planetary scientist and astronomer at the Vatican Observatory, recently said he thinks Young Earth Creation theories, which obviously contradict science, are “almost blasphemous” in nature. He also said that the Bible should not be propagated as a scientific textbook.
“It's almost blasphemous theology," Consolmagno told Australian media on October 15, “It's certainly not the tradition of Catholicism and never has been and it misunderstands what the Bible is and it misunderstands what science is.”
Consolmagno said a literal interpretation of the Bible could in fact suggest the Earth is very young but there exists scientific evidence that clearly contradicts that notion and has gone on to prove how such ideas are nothing but “bad theology.”
The Earth’s age is a contentious subject among many Christians, with most creationists like Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis insisting that the Bible’s claims about the Earth being a lot younger than what scientific findings have to say about it being billions of years old are true.
A survey, which was commissioned by BioLogos, an evangelical group, in 2013, found that 19 percent of 743 respondents, all of whom were Protestant pastors, believe the Earth is less than 10,000 years old. An additional 35 percent said that they think God created Earth in its present form, with seven days each week and 24 hours each day.
While arguing that the Bible should not be propagated as a scientific textbook, Consolmagno said any science text that is more than three years old is likely to be at least partially outdated.
“Science goes out of date – it's supposed to. … Now, if you're turning the Bible into a science book, then you're saying you should throw it out after three years and you don't want to do that. … The very concept of a science book didn't exist when the Bible was written — that's the misunderstanding of theology, of the Bible,” he said.
The Roman Catholic Church has been rather well receiving of some contemporary scientific findings in recent times and Consolmagno believes faith and science should be able to reconcile without any trouble whatsoever.
“I grew up with the nuns in my school teaching me science. … Science is a way of getting close to creation, to really getting intimate with creation, and it's a way of getting intimate with the creator. It's an act of worship,” he asserted.
Photo Credits: Alessia Giuliani
