The National Catholic Reporter (October 27, 2014) under a piece on "Theistic Evolution" had the following:

"Pope Francis: 'Evolution... is not inconsistent with the notion of creation'

"Pope Francis on Monday waded into the controversial debate over the origins of human life, saying the big bang theory did not contradict the role of a divine creator but even required it.

"The pope was addressing the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, which gathered at the Vatican to discuss 'Evolving Concepts of Nature.'

"'When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everythng. But that is not so,' Francis said."

This prompted the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper to run the headline: "Pope Francis: Evolution and Creation both right." The New Scientist declared "Vatican backs Darwin, dumps Creationism."

Britain's Daily Telegraph has said:

"The Vatican claims Darwin's theory of evolution is compatible with Christianity: The Vatican has admitted that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution should not have been dismissed and claimed it is compatible with the Christian view of Creation.

Fox News had this:

"Vatican Official Defends Evolution Against 'Useless' Creationism."

The Washington Post reported "Pope Francis says evolution is real and God is no wizard."

The Christian Post quoted the President of the Creation Museum who said that "Pope Francis has compromised Biblical Authority by endorsing Evolution, Big Bang."

A website (oneNewsnow.com) reported, "Pope backs evolution, Vatican calls creation 'blasphemous'"

"Taking Pope Francis' endorsement of evolution to another level, Brother Guy Consolmagno called the literal young-earth creation account given in Genesis as something bordering on blasphemy. "It's almost blasphemous theology," Consolmagno remarked in an October statement. "It is certainly not the tradition of Catholicism and never has been, and it misunderstands what the Bible is and it misunderstands what science is."

"As the Vatican Observatory's astronomer and planetary scientist, Consolmagno says that those who take a literal interpretation of the Bible and ascribe to a young-earth theory are ignoring or running against "scientific evidence" dismissing their origins account as 'bad theology.'"

But TIME magazine has been critical of media coverage on this issue, saying:

"The 'pope Francis supports evolution' story is just the latest example of the press getting the Catholic Church completely wrong... Almost every outlet has got the story wrong, proving once again that the mainstream media has nearly no understanding of the Church."

"Anyone who knows anything about Catholic history knows that a statement like this is nothing new. Pope Pius XII wrote an encyclical 'Humani Generis' in 1950 affirming that there was no conflict between evolution and Catholic faith. Pope John Paul II reaffirmed that, stressing that evolution was more than a hypothesis, in 1996. Pope Benedict XVI hosted a conference on the nuances of creation and evolution in 2006."

The Atlantic magazine followed the same approach, saying: "The Pope's views on Evolution haven't Really Evolved."

But all this media discussion on the Pope's views and those of the Vatican avoids the real issue. The question is not about what the Pope thinks or what he believes, that is purposely presented in the cloudy terms of a "mystery." The real question is: What does the Bible teach, and is that the Truth? Who is infallible here? the pope and his Vatican magisterium, or the word of the Living God as He has revealed it in the holy Scriptures.

Can we even expect the Catholic Church to endorse the Bible - on anything? Other issues discussed recently have been: "There is no Hell Fire; Adam and Eve not Real" Homosexual behaviour, and so on.

The clear statement of Genesis 2:7 is:

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."

and Genesis 1:27

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

And Jesus' comment was:

"But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female" (Mark 10:6).

And the apostle Paul also says:

"For Adam was first formed, then Eve" (1 Timothy 2:13).

In order to consider these matters further, and in order that we might decide whether to stand with the pope, or whether we stand with the Lord, we are currently preparing the January issue of the Bible Magazine. Make sure of your copy now: www.biblemagazine.com

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