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I think Pope Pius XII put it well:

"For these reasons the Teaching Authority of the Church does not forbid that, in conformity with the present state of human sciences and sacred theology, research and discussions, on the part of men experienced in both fields, take place with regard to the doctrine of evolution, in as far as it inquires into the origin of the human body as coming from pre-existent and living matter - for the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. However, this must be done in such a way that the reasons for both opinions, that is, those favorable and those unfavorable to evolution, be weighed and judged with the necessary seriousness, moderation and measure, and provided that all are prepared to submit to the judgment of the Church, to whom Christ has given the mission of interpreting authentically the Sacred Scriptures and of defending the dogmas of faith. Some however, rashly transgress this liberty of discussion, when they act as if the origin of the human body from pre-existing and living matter were already completely certain and proved by the facts which have been discovered up to now and by reasoning on those facts, and as if there were nothing in the sources of divine revelation which demands the greatest moderation and caution in this question."

(This is from the 1950 encyclical 'Humani Generis', but it's still relevant, I think.)

I believe in God and that God created the Earth and made humans in His image. The timeline of when all that happened isn't a critical piece of the story to me.

Setting aside the religious aspect, I don't think evolutionary theory by natural selection (at least as I was taught it in my highly secular school) is a satisfactory explanation for what we observe in nature. It has significant gaps that require at least as much of a leap of faith as the idea that Christ died for our salvation.

Absolutely, I believe in evolution, and I'm a Christian-- I'm a practicing, believing Roman Catholic. The Church has said that the beliefs are not at all at odds with each other, which is how I felt long before the Pope/Vatican said so.

"If man were merely a random product of evolution in some place on the margins of the universe, then his life would make no sense or might even be a chance of nature," he said. "But no, reason is there at the beginning: creative, divine reason."

Roman Catholicism has said that evolutionary theory are not necessarily at odds. A Christian can, for example, accept the theory of evolution to help explain developments, but is taught to believe that God, not random chance, is the origin of the world. The Vatican has previously warned against creationism, or the overly literal interpretation of the Biblical account of creation."

I interpret that to mean that yes, evolution and the Big Bang and all that happened, but that God was the spark behind it all. I mean, something had to set everything in motion. That, to me, is probably the biggest reason I believe in God to begin with.

(Quote is from this article: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=41159 )

@FutureMrsMcK: I don't know for sure because I haven't asked (though maybe now I will!) but I have a feeling what my dad believes is also along those same lines

@MrsScallop: I have a problem with the use of the word "believe" too.

@MerryC: Oh man, I love that quote. Love Carl Sagan.

@MerryC: YES. yes. yes. Thank you for that beautiful quote. It is wonderful that both yourself as a Christian and someone like me (an atheist) can find the same sentiment to be very meaningful.

I find deep, inspiring beauty in the processes of life/nature/the universe. When I think about the fact that we (as I believe it) have randomly come to be from the most basic of elements I am more humbled and in awe than if I think about us being designed and placed here intentionally.

I am not religious and believe in evolution, dinosaurs, and that the world is somewhere in the neighborhood of billions of years old.

I do not believe the Old Testament when it says the world is 7 days old, just as I don't believe it when it says we can sell our daughters into slavery (exodus), that eating shellfish is an abomination (leviticus), or that it's ok to own slaves (leviticus) and to beat them for misbehavior as long as you don't damage their eyes or teeth.

I believe that God created the earth. I also believe that species have had to evolve, so I believe in evolution too.

@MrsSCB: It's not about the structural aspects like being able to "hold" their neck, rather the way they're heart is made to pump blood through their body & how that force would have caused fatal outcomes the first time it put it's head below the heart...... I'm not proficiently versed on what would "signal" something to evolve, but I would think there would be a lack of relayed information to the dna if they died immediately due to the problem. lol

That is just one example though... the doc has 3 parts so there are a number of them!

@MerryC: Love Carl Sagan - thank you for a beautiful quote.

As an athiest I am definitely on board with evolution.

@yoursilverlining: Didn't know that! Neat!.. I wonder about the others..

on a sidenote: I've also heard that Darwin retracted his stance in his old age, and in his original theory set up certain requirements that would've needed to prove themselves in a said amount of time to have validated his proposition... It's been a long time since I've really touched on it though so I don't really know the details.

@yoursilverlining: Okay.. I just went and looked up Darwin's explanation of how we got giraffes! From the part I read I saw it explain how the species wouldn't have starved (neck grew to reach the tree leaves), but it didn't touch in about it bending to drink water. And what about not finding any intermediate forming link?.. seems like only a partial explanation/backing with alot of assumption (that the heart valves would've formed simultaneously to lower b/p upon lowering the head). I do think it's pretty neat he hit on them though!

Nope. I'm a Christian and while I totally agree that God could have used evolution in His creation of the world, I believe that He spoke everything into being in 6 days and rested on the seventh. And that it happened within the last 10,000 years or so. And I totally believe in dinosaurs, lol.

@yoursilverlining: Just what I was going to say! Evolution doesn't happen in one generation -- it's not as if there were short-necked giraffes that suddenly gave birth to ones with long necks. Any mechanisms necessary to keep them alive with a long neck (blood vessel structure, etc.) would have developed as gradually as the neck developed.

@runsyellowlites: "And what about not finding any intermediate forming link?"

I'm not sure what you mean by this....do you mean the lack of fossil evidence of giraffes mid-evolution (different sized hearts, etc.)?

I agree with the gallup poll that the more educated you are the less likely you are to believein creationism. However, the only proof I need was given to me a few years ago when I saw the Jesus Pony. Please image search in google if you have not been enlightened by this revelation of historical fact.

Trolling aside, generational changes occur frequently in both large and small creatures and that cant be denied.

Nope. I believe God created heaven/earth!

I believe that God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it. I'm more prone to believe that it happened in 6 24 hour periods, that the earth isn't very old, and that dinosaurs did exist. I also think evolution fits into that in some forms.

@MerryC: That is beautiful (both the quote and your own words)!

Of course I "believe" it. The weight of the evidence is irrefutable!

It's only a "theory" because scientists are so careful with what they consider proof. I once wrote a paper about the compatibility of god and evolution and how intelligent design could really just be all about god setting up the laws of physics and putting the big bang into motion.

It's rocket science, in a way!

@Mrs. Jacks: Doesn't the argument of Intelligent Design (totally aside from religious belief) refute Evolution?... Not in the sense of adaptation within a species, but all coming from one original species?