Theistic Evolution perspective from a Jewish person

[wrain62]

"This (acceptance of God) will never change, not even if the latest scientific notion that the genesis of all the multitude of organic forms on earth can be traced back to one single, mot primitive, primeval form of life should ever appear to be anything more than what it is today, a vague hypothesis still unsupported by fact. Even if this notion were ever to gain complete acceptance by the scientific world, Jewish thought, unlike the reasoning of the high priest of that notion, would nonetheless never summon us to revere a still extant representative of this primal form as the supposed ancestor of us all. Rather, Judaism in that case would call upon its adherents to give even greater reverence than ever before to the one, sole God Who, in His boundless creative wisdom and eternal omnipotence, needed to bring into existence no more than one single, amorphous nucleus and one single law of “adaptation and heredity” in order to bring forth, from what seemed chaos but was in fact a very definite order, the infinite variety of species we know today, each with its unique characteristics that sets it apart from all other creatures."

Adapted from Rabbi Hirsch's Essay "Educational Values of Judaism" - 1873

Comments?

[Ivellious]

So basically, he was extremely forward thinking in understanding that when science contradicts his religious paradigm, that there is almost certainly room for re-evaluation and changing our perspective of the universe, even if that means long-held religious beliefs are compromised or altered to fit our understanding of the universe.

[sandy_mcd]

Seems like any kind of theistic evolution, say Catholic, not just Jewish. He understands people well enough (unlike the Leakey interview earlier http://discussions.godandscience.org/vi ... propaganda ) to know that for some people there is room for both science and religion.