Can a Christian believe in evolution and do Christians believe neanderthals were human?

[jinglebelly]

Just curious

I'm a Christian and I believe in evolution, as much as anyone does. I'm not a scientist and I don't even pretend to argue scientifically, so I can't really answer the bit about Neanderthals. No idea!

Plenty of Christians accept evolution, mostly with a 'guided by God' caveat. The RC church accepts it.

Yes and yes.
Weird fundamentalists are the only ones who believe the Earth is 3000 years old and humans and dinosaurs co-existed.

Yes and Yes. Creationists represent a minority of Christians.

(Disclaimer: I am atheist)

Yes and therefore yes.
Why do you ask?

I am just interested in Christianity but I found it hard to understand how intelligent people could believe the world was only a few thousand years old.
Thanks for your replies

I was brought up as a Christian, although I do not practice now. My grandfather was devout, and he believed in evolution, as zikes said, guided by God.

He also believed that Neanderthals were also human, and children of God, created by God, as ultimately all living things were created by God.

(I recall having a conversation with him after a history lesson at school )

He also told me that the only religion that should be banned was the worship of money. That was a bit heavy for a 10 year old, and I didn't understand it for a long, long time.

yes, a lady at my work is very religious, involved inher church. she's told me in the past that she believes in evolution and that it sits alongside her belief (the idea that god couldn't be responsible for the beauty of evolution i think actually offended her, that's the sense i got) - she did say she was embarassed by some of the more well known christians who declare the ideas fundamentally opposed.

personally i'm not religious so i don't care either way, but she's the most devout person i've known recently and she didn't have a problem with evolution

I'm a Christian and I know lots of other Christians and I don't know anyone who doesn't believe in evolution. RCs and CofEs 'officially' believe in evolution but as you can't believe what you don't believe then obviously its down to the indvidual.

I think Neanderthals probably were human but I couldn't prove or disprove it as its not something you can measure on a fragment of bone.

The earth is 6015 years old .

the roman catholic church believes in evolution.

but what do you mean by 'neanderthals were human'? nobody believes that surely?

homo sapiens (us) and homo neanderthalis both evolved from a common anscestor, lived side by side for a while and then neatherthalis died out.

Yes and... no? I don't know about the neaderthal question really.

Yet another thing I need to read about. Damn.

As a Christian and a scientist, I believe in evolution.

Neanderthals were (along with others) early ancestors of homo sapiens (humans).

sorry, xposts, i see from other posts that the question is not about whether neanderthals are the same speicies as us (homo sapiens sapiens) but whether they 'count' in the eyes of god as being 'in his image' and having souls etc.

sorry, i missed that, it's an interesting question....

Most Christians don't (think the world is 6000 years old), some do and some of those have developed a whole "science" out of theri beliefs. I have friends who do the whole creationist thing, I think they are deluded, they probably think I am and am somewhat heretical. They are good people, and fortunately heretics don't get burnt at the stake in the UK.

As to Neanderthals, I really don't know; its definitely in the category of ask God when we get to heaven, as there is no way I can ever know. Did Neanderthals have consciousness as we know it? What is consciousness? What is it that makes us human? Questions of philosophy, that the Bible doesn't answer, and science can't either (the wrong type of questions for Science).

I'm a British Christian and do believe in evolution. I think it's a cultural thing because the Christians I meet from the USA, Australia, Africa and Latin America are horrified that a so called Christian doesn't take the Bible literally and believe in the 6000 year old earth.

From my experience the right wing Creationist Christians who argue for a young earth also see things like same sex marriage, stem cell research and abortion as major issues of doctrine, whereas left wingevolution supporting Christians would place more emphasis on social justice and speaking up for the poor.

I don't really understand it, but I had a conversation with our priest where he said that the creation story in the bible (god created the earth in six days and on the seventh he rested) fits in with scientific thinking. Not six days, but six distinct periods of creation. So you can believe the bible (ish) without taking it literally.

I think the majority of Christians believe in evolution.

I have no idea about the Neanderthal bit. Will have to collar priest and ask him!!

imo what you need to believe to call yourself a Christian

apostle's creed

Doesn't mention evolution in there.

Also, earlier Judaism took the stories of creation, flood etc as interesting stories that contained important truths. All the bits of the Bible that I've read are about being a Christian about believing in Jesus, not Diplodocus.

I think Creationism is a classic case of missing the point.

(hope linky works - to Wikepedia Apostle's Creed)

Mummmy time I think you find most Christians DO believe in eveolution. It is only the hardcore fundamentalists that believe in creationism. I think most of them live in the states where they are a very vocal minority.

I am Christian(though a very slack one atm) and a scientist and I don't see any conflict with my belief in God and my understanding from scientific evidence of how the universe was created.

Yes and yes. Creationists are a bonkers off-shoot of Christianity, IMO. Have been a bit to be asked by friends if, as a Christian, I am a Creationist. V irksome.

There is a very extensive tradition of non-literal Biblical exegesis/interpretation.

Yes and Yes in my case

Christians, in my view, follow the teachings of Christ. So I'm fine with evolution, and fine with a lack of prejudice. Like christ was. And like many fundamentalist "Christians" are not...

I think Neanderthals probably were human but I couldn't prove or disprove it as its not something you can measure on a fragment of bone.

but the scientists busy sequencing their genomes may be able to before long.

Whether God exists is a matter of belief. Whether evolution happened or the status of Neanderthals (one way or t'other) really shouldn't be. Most Christians (in Europe anyway) have the sense to know this.

I was brough up Christian, went to Catholic school. Our science curriculum was based on evolution. Never even heard of the concept of creationism until I went to live in US.