Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Adam and Eve and All That

I'm a practicing Catholic, so I believe that Adam and Eve really existed.

Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve

Albrecht Dürer's Adam and Eve (1507), Oil on panel, currently at Museo del Prado, Madrid; via The Yorck Project and Wikipedia, used w/o permissionThat doesn't mean I think that they looked like the nice Deutsch paar painted by Herr Dürer, a half-millennia back.

Apart from our habit of wearing more clothing, Dürer's Adam and Eve look like quite a few of my neighbors. That's no surprise, since quite a few of my neighbors' ancestors came from Germany. And Ireland. And, lately, all over the world. And that's another topic.

I'm not upset that Albrecht Dürer 'saw' his Adam and Eve as looking like nice, normal folks: of the sort who lived in his part of the world. I'd be surprised if Herr Dürer didn't paint folks he hadn't seen as resembling folks he had. (May 2, 2012)

Adam, Eve, and Me

If I try to imagine what Adam and Eve look like, I'm likely to imagine them looking somewhat me: melanin-deficient skin, pale eyes, and all. My ancestors, before they came to North America, spent a long, long time in northwestern Europe: and it shows.

I'm pretty sure that Adam and Eve didn't look much like me: and would be surprised if they did. That doesn't bother me. Change happens, and folks haven't always looked the way we do now.

Family Photos and the Big Picture

I'm descended, in part, from the Clan Campbell. The wry mouth (Caimbeul) that gave us our name shows up in some old family photos: but hasn't shown up lately.

Recently, folks have been discovering just how much things have changed since critters started growing on Earth: and how long that's been going on. The last I heard, critters have been leaving fossils to mark their passage for about 3,500,000,000 years, Earth got sorted out from the rest of the Solar system around 4,000,000,000 years back, and the universe is roughly 13,730,000,000 years old.

That's quite a few powers of ten greater than the age that Bishop Ussher insisted on.

If I had designed the universe, I might not have made it quite so big. Or old. But, like I've said before, God's God, I'm not. If current knowledge of God's creation is even close to being accurate: we live in an awesomely huge place.

I'm okay with that.



I've posted before, about the Catholic Church, science, and being willing to accept God's creation:

Faith and Reason

  • The universe is beautiful
    • And may be studied
    (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 341)
  • Honest research can't contradict faith
    • Because God made the universe
    (Catechism, 159)
  • God created/is creating - everything
    (Catechism, 279, 301, 302-305)
  • It's faith and reason
    (Catechism, 50, 156-159)
I'll get back to Adam and Eve tomorrow.

Related posts:

2 comments:

Brigid said...

I have a feeling something is missing: "like nice Deutsch paar painted by Herr Dürer a half-millennia back."

The Friendly Neighborhood Proofreader

Brian H. Gill said...

Brigid,

A comma, maybe? Thanks!

Like it? Pin it, Plus it, - - -

Pinterest: My Stuff, and More

Advertisement

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light CandleFind a Retailer
Spiral Light Candle Store

Popular Posts

Label Cloud

1277 abortion ADD ADHD-Inattentive Adoration Chapel Advent Afghanistan Africa America Amoris Laetitia angels animals annulment Annunciation anti-catholicism Antichrist apocalyptic ideas apparitions archaeology architecture Arianism art Asperger syndrome assumptions asteroid astronomy Australia authority balance and moderation baptism being Catholic beliefs bias Bible Bible and Catechism bioethics biology blogs brain Brazil business Canada capital punishment Caritas in Veritate Catechism Catholic Church Catholic counter-culture Catholicism change happens charisms charity Chile China Christianity Christmas citizenship climate change climatology cloning comets common good common sense Communion community compassion confirmation conscience conversion Corpus Christi cosmology creation credibility crime crucifix Crucifixion Cuba culture dance dark night of the soul death depression designer babies despair detachment devotion discipline disease diversity divination Divine Mercy divorce Docetism domestic church dualism duty Easter economics education elections emotions England entertainment environmental issues Epiphany Establishment Clause ethics ethnicity Eucharist eugenics Europe evangelizing evolution exobiology exoplanets exorcism extremophiles faith faith and works family Father's Day Faust Faustus fear of the Lord fiction Final Judgment First Amendment forgiveness Fortnight For Freedom free will freedom fun genetics genocide geoengineering geology getting a grip global Gnosticism God God's will good judgment government gratitude great commission guest post guilt Haiti Halloween happiness hate health Heaven Hell HHS hierarchy history holidays Holy Family Holy See Holy Spirit holy water home schooling hope humility humor hypocrisy idolatry image of God images Immaculate Conception immigrants in the news Incarnation Independence Day India information technology Internet Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Japan Jesus John Paul II joy just war justice Kansas Kenya Knights of Columbus knowledge Korea language Last Judgment last things law learning Lent Lenten Chaplet life issues love magi magic Magisterium Manichaeism marriage martyrs Mary Mass materialism media medicine meditation Memorial Day mercy meteor meteorology Mexico Minnesota miracles Missouri moderation modesty Monophysitism Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mother's Day movies music Muslims myth natural law neighbor Nestorianism New Year's Eve New Zealand news Nietzsche obedience Oceania organization original sin paleontology parish Parousia penance penitence Pentecost Philippines physical disability physics pilgrimage politics Pope Pope in Germany 2011 population growth positive law poverty prayer predestination presumption pride priests prophets prostitution Providence Purgatory purpose quantum entanglement quotes reason redemption reflections relics religion religious freedom repentance Resurrection robots Roman Missal Third Edition rosaries rules sacramentals Sacraments Saints salvation schools science secondary causes SETI sex shrines sin slavery social justice solar planets soul South Sudan space aliens space exploration Spain spirituality stem cell research stereotypes stewardship stories storm Sudan suicide Sunday obligation superstition symbols technology temptation terraforming the establishment the human condition tolerance Tradition traffic Transfiguration Transubstantiation travel Trinity trust truth uncertainty United Kingdom universal destination of goods vacation Vatican Vatican II veneration vengeance Veterans Day videos virtue vlog vocations voting war warp drive theory wealth weather wisdom within reason work worship writing

Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.