What you are really asking is what truths can we know?
The truth about man is in the Church, of course. Anything that contradicts that, that ultimately denies Church teaching, MUST be false.
Can ultimate faith be placed in human science for absolute knowledge of truth? No. Good natural science admits that its knowledge is always changing, always being modified. We are now so far from the truths of natural science of two and three thousand years ago that most of what was certain has been junked. - from the Four Elements to the terracentric understandings are now admitted to be useless. Bleeding patients for their health, certain medical knowledge of two hundred years ago is admitted bunk in our time. Our own view from our own perspective is far too truncated. If we were left, or limited, to the natural sciences we would truly have to admit, like Socrates, that we can know nothing.
Only in humility of submitting to an Authority wiser than us can we know anything at all. The Church does not pretend to speak with final authority on details of the natural world - the temporal knowledge (when it is right and true) that IS the realm of science; but we can certainly say what we are certain is not true.
And lest you think I and others are "against" science; I say that we only admit that the natural sciences must assume their proper place in the hierarchies of human knowledge; that they must be subject to true philosophy and theology, and are conducted in the light of some philosophy and theology, which in our time are nearly all gone wrong.
Hey...
I'm not sure if this was for me or for someone else, but the shoe fits, so I'll wear it anyway .
You said "The Church does not pretend to speak with final authority on details of the natural world" and I agree. I do believe in some scientific theories you appear not to believe, but I think we agree that Jesus is the Creator and that God has sovereignty over nature - is that enough alignment?
I don't think that science is the final authority... I don't think it has ANY authority over spiritual matters. But I do think it points quite strongly towards that particular scientific theory.
I'm not sure what to do or think about the ECF's interpretation of Genesis, because they did not have the body of evidence we have to put Genesis in context.
Anyway, I'm a bit conscious that I'm not here to debate against EO's, but to learn from them, and the evolution is quite a contentious topic... so if you don't mind, I might pull back from the topic for a while and just observe.
Blessings.
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