Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics Online via Meetup/Zoom or In Person at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ House rules/notes… 1. Meetup is www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy Zoom Meeting Logon info is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952 2. I will send out Meeting Recaps the same night as our sessions – these are unedited versions without pictures. An edited version with pictures will be posted on our website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps before the next meeting. Taylor will notify everyone at that time. 3. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can ask in the chat box, email the Meetup group, or me at ron@hallagan.net. 4. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and Christian denominations, and we agree to be respectful at all times. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ; in fact, I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them! 5. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn/understand/apply the Bible and our Catholic faith. 6. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying with other Catholics during the week? Fellow member Jason Goldberg has started “Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality Meetup.” Sign up at: https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/. 7. “The Chosen” TV series. All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy. It can help if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen captures Jesus better than any show I have ever seen. Highly recommended. 8. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recaps afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give exposure to “Catholic Bible Study” – a good thing! Consider it your way of evangelizing! Please RSVP when you get the Meetup invite weekly. Bible Study Format: Each week of the month has a repeating topic, as noted below. Each meeting: 5 min greet, prayer, 10-15 min Catholic topic, 40-45 min main topic. Week 1: April 4 - Gospel Week: Sermon on the Mount, cont’d Week 2: April 11 – Bible Week (Gen àRev): We are in EXODUS, the 2nd book of Moses. Week 3: April 18 – Survey Topics Voted on by Members: We are currently beginning Christian Comparisons/World Religions.
Ö 1) Jesus’ Greatest Parables Ö 2) Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3) Christian Comparisons/World Religions
4) Great Women in the Bible 5) World Religions 6) Book of Revelation 7) Major Heresies and Church Councils
Week 4: Mar 21 – Member Questions:
1. You said Gen 1-3 (Creation/The Fall of Man) is at least partly allegory. How do you think things actually happened? Deepest mysteries of the universe!
2. Does the path get harder the closer we get to God?
3. The History of the Mass going back to Cain & Abel, all leading to the sublime meaning of the Eucharist.
4. Can you review origin and meaning of the 12 statements of belief in the Creed?
5. “Who am I?” It seems we all ask this question at some point in our lives. Some ask it all the time. How do you answer this?
6. Are Charity and Love synonymous? How are they different? What are the 4 highest forms of Charity?
7. a) Why did Jesus have to die? b) Why did Jesus say, “Father, why hath thou forsaken me?”
8. How many Gospels have the story of Jesus’ calming the storm? Are they the same story?
9. Why was God full of vengeance and violence in the OT? Or was that simply an interpretation by those of that time?
Catholic Catacombs Website: https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps
Next major upcoming events in the Church
Lent – Wed, Feb 22 – Thurs April 6 Triduum – Friday, Apr 7–Sun Apr 9 Easter – April 9
Opening Prayer
Dear Lord
Thank you for your promise that where two or three of us are gathered in your name
You are there! We welcome you among us tonight.
Lord, please bless our lives, our health, our work, our families, and our friends
And we also pray for your blessings to be poured out upon those less fortunate than us
and all those suffering in the world today.
And as You taught us to pray:
Our Father
Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily Bread;
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all.
Amen.
For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. – Hosea 6:6 (850 BC)
Q: What is “the knowledge of God”?
His Word, which God gave to humans from the Fall of Man and culminating in the Ascension of Christ. We can’t learn about God without studying and investigating His Word. He gives infinite depth to his Word and its message meets us wherever we are at, no matter how deep we go. God’s Word is miraculous like that.
And this is exactly what we are doing here tonight.
Member Question: Given the stated allegorical underpinnings to much of Gen 1-3, how do we think Creation happened in light of the Theory of the Big Bang, and how do we think the Fall of Mankind actually happened in light of the Theory of Evolution?
Advisory: Let me note that some of what I am sharing tonight is not necessarily church doctrine, because the Church doesn’t speculate that far. Everything I share, though, will meet all current Catholic and scientific criteria.
It appears we have three topics:
1. Creation in six days in Gen 1 vs the Big Bang
2. Mankind creation in Gen 1&2 vs humans via evolution
3. How does the Fall of Man in Gen 3 line up with the definition/identity of humans thereafter, to the present.
Creation of the Universe
People accustomed to reading the early chapters of Genesis in a literal manner may be uncomfortable with some of this. They may reasonably ask how valid or binding these different interpretations are.
The Catholic Church says one can choose to have a literal and/or symbolic interpretation of some elements in Gen 1-11, but only after weighing what the Church has to say on them. The Magisterium has not said that the texts in question don’t contain historical elements. Some do, some don’t, and our insights and learning about God’s creation continues. But the truth of what the Scriptures teach is undeniable and regarding this we do not have a choice. For instance, the Catechism states that Genesis 3 (the fall of man) “affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man” (CCC 390). This part of the truth is not allegory.
What it means is that our first “modern” parents were given a spiritual nature whereupon humans gained a higher awareness, knowledge of good & evil, and free will, and they used this free will to choose themselves over God, which caused our break from God (“the fall”).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) further states:
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 us.
As we have stated previously, the Catholic Church does not have a problem with science, such as with the theories of Evolution and the Big Bang. In fact, the Vatican has its own science academy and observatory, the president (Fr. Georges Lemaitre) developed the Big Bang Theory and causing him to win the distinguished Francqui Award in 1934. He was nominated by none other than Albert Einstein because he applied Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to Cosmology. Fr. Lemaitre is now called the “Father of the Big Bang.”
As I have mentioned earlier, the Church recognized that the Creation story contained figurative elements long before “science” was science. The comments below on Genesis 1 are from Origen, one of the early Church Fathers, in 225 AD:
“I do not suppose that anyone doubts that these things figuratively indicate certain mysteries, the history having taken place in appearance and not literally.” (The Fundamental Doctrines 4:1:16 – A.D. 225)
We should be clear that the purpose of science is to investigate the physical universe – that’s its definition. Accordingly, science is outside of its area expertise if it attempts to pontificate on spiritual matters. Spirituality does not have physical matter and thus it cannot be physically measured using measuring devices or processes, such as telescopes, microscopes, scales, timing devices, or atom smashers. Strictly speaking, asking a scientist to weigh in on the whys of existence, on morality (right and wrong), or on other spiritual matters, is like asking your plumber repairman to teach anatomy. Still, we know that humans can’t help themselves, but when science tries to teach or prove that science is all there is, or that science is all you need to know, then it is no longer science but “scientism,” which is the excessive “belief” in the power of scientific knowledge; in other words, a science-based religion.
Scientism
It is important to understand the logical fallacy that is the centerpiece of scientism, which rejects metaphysical and religious truth claims because they cannot be proven by science. The main premise of scientism is that only science can be a source of truth about the world around us. However, this main premise—which is itself a truth claim—cannot be proven by science. By its own standard, scientism is invalid. It is a self-refuting logical fallacy. One reason scientism prospers today is because most people are not trained in logic, unlike their classically educated medieval ancestors.
Let’s get acquainted some catholic assumptions from the Catechism:
- God alone created the universe, freely, directly and without any help (CCC317)
- No “creature” has the infinite power necessary to create in the proper sense of the word – to give something its existence or being – out of nothing (CCC318)
- Methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things the of faith derive from the same God-Creator (CCC159).
Although we have already discussed the allegorical underpinnings of the Creation Story in Gen 1, we should go through it quickly anyway to refresh our memories and explain a couple of things.
Genesis One: Day Creation Activity
1 Light /darkness
2 Sky, arrangement of water (above and below)
3 Dry land and vegetation
4 Sun, moon, and stars
5 Birds in the sky and fish in the waters
6 Animals of every kind, human beings
Q: What’s the oddest thing we can say about this order of creation? Christians are often challenged on this.
Light was created on the first day, but the sun and moon were not created until the 4th day.
Q: What is going on? What might be the explanation for this?
1. Does this light come from God, or from burning matter like the stars? The OT and NT are full of references about the need for the kind of light that comes from God, calling humans to walk in His light and not in darkness. This first day of creation might be referred to as the spiritual realm. This would also include when the angels were created.
2. All the other pagan traditions have light originating from the sun, moon, or stars. That makes the Hebrew creation account completely unique – rather than being copied from the pagans – because in Hebrew cosmology the light comes before the sun. Moreover, it would mean in the 4th Day the Hebrew God was actually hanging the pagan gods – the sun, moon, and stars – in the sky as though they were simply tree ornaments. This would serve as a reminder to the people of God that these were NOT to be worshipped.
3. The creation of the sun, moon, and stars three days after light is suggestive – and this would also have been obvious to the ancients – that something else was at work in the ordering principle of events. What that would be is not difficult to see if you line them up differently. For example, we line them up as shown below, we can see that there are two groups of activity: the work of distinction/division, and the work of adornment. The work in the first row set the stage for the works just below them in the second row (e.g., light in day 1 gives way to the adornment of the sun, moon, and stars in day 4).
The point of the Creation story was not to provide a scientific explanation of the cosmos but to explain that God created the universe, and that He brought order to it where there was none. In fact, the story’s order given to primitive man shows a kind of poetic order.
Q: Have you ever wondered why God created the universe, earth, and humankind? He certainly didn't need to.
In one sense, it appears that God created for the pure joy of creating. It's impossible to read the creation account in Genesis 1 without imagining the thrill God must have had describing creation to early humans – His bringing the earth into being, flinging the stars into the sky, and turning the oceans loose.
There is a value in being able to see the joy that God wants to share with us. We have all felt a twinge of excitement when we have understood something new, created something new, or accomplished something we didn’t think possible. We understand tiny glimpses of unspeakable joy.
But tonight we are at the exciting task of trying understand the mechanics of what God did, so let’s set all this unspeakable joy aside and dig into it.
I hope you see from what we’ve discussed so far that the Big Bang Theory as the beginning of the universe does not conflict in any way with Genesis 1. It actually supports God’s creation of the universe because it is premised on everything being created out of nothing at one single point about 14 billion years ago.
“The story of the dust of the earth and the breath of God, which we just heard, does not in fact explain how human persons come to be but rather what they are. And, vice versa, the theory of evolution seeks to understand and describe biological developments, but it can’t do more than that. To that extent we are faced here with two complementary realities.” (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, In the Beginning: A Catholic Understanding of the Story of Creation and the Fall [Eerdmans, 1995], 50)
Also, God is not the “watchmaker” who winds up the universe and then leaves it to operate on its own. God is rather the artist who creates and continues to create, and because His medium is love He continues to participate in His own creation.
God created the universe and keeps it in existence by his Word/Logos, the Son "upholding the universe by his word of power" (Heb 1:3), and by his life-giving Spirit. CCC320
Life
Darwinian Evolution. There are several obstacles to the Theory of Evolution – such as macroevolution, irreducible complexity, and the origin of life – which are reasons why it is still called a “theory,” regardless of how many high school textbooks mistakenly call it factual. That being said, it is the best scientific explanation we have at this time. Nor does the Church have any issue with evolutionary theory being part of God’s design.
Of these three obstacles, the biggest is the origin of life – life starting from entropic, lifeless matter. Nothing in our experience, our observations, experimentations, anthropology, or all of science can explain how life developed from no life. You will hear lots of very intelligent-sounding babble, but that’s all it is. It reminds me of “spontaneous generation.” (Spontaneous generation was a scientific theory in the 18th century that held that living creatures could arise from nonliving matter and that such processes “were commonplace and regular.” They theorized this (and treated it like fact) because they saw maggots appear out of dead flesh and frogs from mud. They later learned that maggots came from fly larvae and the frogs came from tadpoles hiding in the mud. Spontaneous generation sounds rather intelligent at first, doesn’t it?)
In an entropic universe, where everything is moving towards disorder (2nd Law of Thermodynamics), life is illogical because its initial inception and subsequent evolutionary process operate contrary to entropy (i.e., the species grows more orderly and complex as it evolves). And yet this inception of life and it’s evolutionary process were necessary in order to get to us human beings, so that God could tell Moses the story in Genesis 1!
The point of this is that it seems that if God were to intervene in creation after the Big Bang, the creation of life would be the first big candidate.
Q: What about spiritual life? Would that be the second intervention?
No, recall Day 1 in Genesis. We discussed “Let there be light” as being the creation of the spiritual realm, along with the angels.
However, for humans specifically, we have to go to Day 6, when God breathed His life/spirit into humans making us in His image and likeness. This is referring to a spiritual likeness, not physical.
Now let’s reconsider the Creation Story in Genesis 1. You might say we have four distinct milestones, so to speak, that deal with tonight’s topic:
1. Creation begins with God’s mind/goodness/spirit manifested in the first creative act, “Let there be light” – the spiritual realm, along with creation of the angels.
2. Creation of the material universe (without life).
3. Creation of life with all its subsequent levels of complexity, including humans.
4. Giving humans a spiritual nature.
Q: The Big Bang is estimated to have happened 13.6 billion years ago. Why would God wait around for that long to develop life and us?
God is outside of time, so there was no “waiting” for Him. Why did it take 14 billion years? Well, what if we aren’t the only ones being saved in the universe? However, assuming we are the only ones, perhaps it took this long because that’s the natural process God created to reach the point where life could be sustained. But again, it wasn’t a wait for God, and it wasn’t a wait for us because we didn’t exist for most of that. But as we learn in the book of Job, we aren’t going to get all our questions answered here. However, we are assured we will get them answered in the next life. God is teaching us that patience and faith are part of Godliness.
Q: When did all these things occur?
1. Creation of spiritual realm and angels before, or at the same time as, the Big Bang 14 billion years ago.
2. Creation of the material universe without life started with the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago.
3. Creation of life (the first cells) approximately 3.5 billion years (the earth is 4.5 billion years old).
The first Homo sapiens sapiens about 200,000 years ago.
4. Human spiritual nature. God didn’t provide us with a calendar, so all we have is Genesis 1-3. However, if consider when human technology took off with advanced tools, agriculture, communal trade, and cities – and line that up with what Genesis does tell us, it would date to roughly 10-12,000 years ago.
If we look at the historical growth of human technology, we see a dramatic rise in progress that begins about 10,000 years ago. The Paleolithic Age (“Stone Age”) ranges from about 600,000 BC to around 10,000 BC. During this 600,000 years, humans used stones, bone, and wood for tools, spears, etc. This period represents 99% of human history.
Mesolithic Age (“Middle Stone Age”) began about 12,000 years ago and suddenly these stone/wood tools developed quickly along with domesticating plants, which then caused humans to begin to stay in one place. Some refer to this period as the Agricultural Revolution, which led to baskets, pottery, agriculture, agricultural tools, communities forming, which then led to cities. What this means is that nearly all our technological advances occurred between 11,000 BC to our present time. In other words, 99% of human advances occurred in the last 1% of human history.
99% of human history 1%
Now, let’s re-read this…
CCC 390: “The account of the fall in Genesis 3 uses figurative language, but affirms a primeval event, a deed that took place at the beginning of the history of man. Revelation gives us the certainty of faith that the whole of human history is marked by the original fault freely committed by our first parents.”
So, we are allowed to read Genesis 1-3 (Creation and the Fall of Man) figuratively except for the fact that God did create the universe, modern man began with actual first parents who had been given a spiritual nature, and “the fall” did actually occur by humanity’s own choice (themselves over God). This part-real/part-allegory understanding of Genesis is not a new development. The Church is on record as speaking in this way about Genesis since the third century (Origen) and by Augustine in the 5th century.
Now let’s compare this information to events and locations we read about in early Genesis.
Location: We read in Gen 2 that Eden contained the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which would put it in Mesopotamia, the breadbasket of early civilization. So we have a location.
Time: After the fall, we read in Gen 4 that Adam & Eve’s first son, Cain, gets married and was the founder of great cities. So we want to verify when the first cities came on the human scene. It turns out that was also around 10,000 BC.
Next in Genesis, we read that evil begins to spread quickly, which is no surprise since Cain was already a murderer. It’s uncanny (but perhaps not surprising) that the only thing that spread faster than technology was man’s evil.
We can also see humans were already in existence (Cain's wife). In chapter 6, it says the sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of men were and took as many as they could as wives. One theory is that these sons of men were the descendants of Adam & Eve who had spiritual natures, which as we know came along with a much higher mental awareness, knowledge of good and evil, and free will. There would be little doubt that these humans would easily dominate all others. Just look at the sudden technological advances at that time.
So it appears that 10-12,000 years ago was probably the time frame that our first parents with spiritual natures would have lived.
Q: What about the Garden of Eden?
We know now that the Genesis description that God made man from the earth is about what we were, not a biological description. He took to humans who were taken from the earth, and placed them in a large, protected area called Eden. After the fall, our first parents were sent out of Eden, and it says two angels with fiery swords were posted at its entrance so humans could not enter again. Was this figurative? Perhaps not. Indeed, their protection ended, or was lifted, and Eden no longer existed as Eden.
Closing Prayer
Heaven Father, help me tonight and tomorrow to be patient,
Not to envy, or boast, nor be proud,
Never to dishonor others, nor to be self-seeking
Nor easily angered, and to keep no record of wrongs.
Help me to rejoice in the truth, to always protect, trust, hope,
and never ever give up, but to always persevere. 1Cor13
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed are thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
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