Here are some bits and pieces from Eastern Orthodoxy (who revere the early church fathers more than anyone else, for those who tend to base their theology on such teaching) regarding evolution and science that you might be interested in:
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id4/ort_creation.htm
and:
The Rt. Rev. Maximos Aghiorgoussis, Th.D., Bishop of Pittsburgh writes, "Among the visible things that God created is the crown of His creation, man. In Genesis we read the story of God's creation. We cannot interpret this story to the letter; however, its message is loud and clear: God is the creator of everything that exists; there is order in God's creation, and a development (even "evolution") from lower forms to higher forms of life; God created everything good; man, created in God's image and likeness, has a very special place in God's creation, called to be God's proxy toward His creation."
An article by Rev. George Mastrantonis seems to be no longer available on the website. In the article, Rev. Mastrantonis stated, "The theory of evolution does not contradict the existence of a Supreme Intelligent Being. It does not dismiss the existence of God with a Design and Purpose for the Creation. The Judaic-Christian concept of God accepts any truth from any aspect of life without fear of losing its faith in God as a Supreme Intelligent Being" Rev. Mastrantonis does express some concern regarding any concept of evolution which excludes a creator.
and here:
In answer to a question, Fr. John Matusiak states, "Orthodoxy is not literalist in its understanding of the accounts of creation in Genesis, and I have encountered writings by Orthodox Christians which attempt to balance the creation accounts with a certain ongoing -- evolutionary, if you will -- process which, on the one hand, affirms that while humans may have evolved physically under the direction and guidance and plan of the Creator, their souls could not have evolved any more than the powers of reasoning, speaking, or the ability to act creatively could have simply evolved. In such a scenario the Creator intervened by breathing His Spirit into man and giving him life, as stated in Genesis...Orthodoxy has no problem with evolution as a scientific theory, only with evolution -- as some people may view it -- eliminating the need for God as Creator of All."
And here, although the qoute is not cited:
The Greek Orthodox Church (the oldest) does accept evolution as fact and attributes this "Six Day Creationism" that is limited mainly to the United States to mistranslation and politics. Quoting one Eastern Orthodox writer:
The reason for the persistence of the fundamentalists, which makes this not merely a privately held belief, is social. It is only in our current situation of fin de siecle (the end of the age) that it became possible to come into open conflict with scientific data. At the end of this century statements contrary to science have become fashionable. Astrologers, fortunetellers, magicians, and other occultists are free to say the most bizarre things. It seems that people are tired of scientific sobriety and responsibility and are ready to accept anything "Why not?" The purest form of voluntarism and irrationality takes the place of argumentation: "This is what I feel! This is so exciting!" This massive ecstasy by irrationality makes also Protestant literalness completely into sellable goods... Views and opinions of radical creationists can not be accepted because they use scientific data in an arbitrary and non-objective way, by which they produce fair objections from those who are professionally involved in science. There is a real danger here that a biologist, having read some arrogant creationist book, will apply the word "rubbish" to Christianity in general.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/z/evolution_debate.htm
and another:
"Over 120 years have passed since the publication of Charles Darwins Origin of the Species. While some scientists still agree with Darwins theory of the changeability of species, much discovery has been done since then to create doubt and suspicion among them. The conflict between creationism and evolution has been primarily a struggle between Roman Catholics and Protestants, on the one hand, with scientists, on the other. You will find very little writing in Orthodox Christian circles.
Primarily this is because the Eastern Fathers, generally speaking, did not take a fundamentalist viewpoint of creation. For example, Vladimir Lossky, a great Orthodox theologian of the past century, says in his famous book, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, The Church always freely makes use of philosophy and the sciences for apologetic (explanatory) purposes, but she never has any cause to defend these relative and changing truths as she defends the unchangeable truth of her doctrines.
Eastern Orthodox theology finds not real argument with evolution up to the creation of man. And even in that, there is a possibility of accepting some of what has been discovered and continues to be discovered by science. For example, Moses, the author of the Book of Genesis, is writing to illiterate people who are asking some sobering questions while they are wandering all over the Sinai desert for some forty years. He uses a picture language and frames of reference with which they can identify. Nonetheless, the language does not take away from the meaning.
With the exception of verses 11, 12 and 13 of chapter one, the Genesis version follows basically along the theory of evolution.
Creation of Man
There are two references to the creation of man in Genesis. The first one is the simple statement made in verse 26 of chapter one:
Then God said, Let us make man in Our own image, after Our likeness and is restated in verse 27: So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The second reference is in chapter two, verse 7:
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
In Orthodox theology, the two words image and likeness are not used interchangeably as they are for Roman Catholics and Protestants. For Orthodox Christians, image denotes the powers and faculties with which every human being is endowed by God from the first moment of his existence. Likeness is the assimilation, the growth process to God through virtue and grace. We call this growth process theosis. For Western theology, man was created perfect in the absolute sense and therefore, when he fell, he fell completely away from God. For Orthodox theology, man was created perfect in the potential sense.
Thus, for example, Ireneus, a Church Father of the Second century, in speaking about creation of Adam and Eve says, They were a child not yet having their understanding perfected.
Father John Romanides, a contemporary Orthodox theologian says Adam and Eve were two children born who were protected by nature and the animal world through the Holy Spirit.
Did we evolve from the water? The infant does live a period of development in his mothers womb which is a liquid world. It is only outside the mothers womb that the lungs breathe as they were designed to breathe and function.
Did we evolve from animals? Ancient men did not look like us. In fact, they might shudder to see the form and the appearance we, their descendents, have taken!
Even Modern Science agrees that at some point man took on something that made him different from the animal world he became a rational being (think, discern, evaluate, decide and act).
Should Modern Science be able to prove without the shadow of a doubt that man evolved from amoeba, reptiles, animal life into what he is today, Orthodox theology would be able to make the transitional acceptance far more readily than Western theology for all the reasons stated above.
Plantlife dies! Animal life dies! Man dies, too! But he goes on living! We cannot ask Where we came from? without asking Where are we going?
http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/dogmatics/nicozisin_creationism.htm
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id4/ort_creation.htm
and:
The Rt. Rev. Maximos Aghiorgoussis, Th.D., Bishop of Pittsburgh writes, "Among the visible things that God created is the crown of His creation, man. In Genesis we read the story of God's creation. We cannot interpret this story to the letter; however, its message is loud and clear: God is the creator of everything that exists; there is order in God's creation, and a development (even "evolution") from lower forms to higher forms of life; God created everything good; man, created in God's image and likeness, has a very special place in God's creation, called to be God's proxy toward His creation."
An article by Rev. George Mastrantonis seems to be no longer available on the website. In the article, Rev. Mastrantonis stated, "The theory of evolution does not contradict the existence of a Supreme Intelligent Being. It does not dismiss the existence of God with a Design and Purpose for the Creation. The Judaic-Christian concept of God accepts any truth from any aspect of life without fear of losing its faith in God as a Supreme Intelligent Being" Rev. Mastrantonis does express some concern regarding any concept of evolution which excludes a creator.
and here:
In answer to a question, Fr. John Matusiak states, "Orthodoxy is not literalist in its understanding of the accounts of creation in Genesis, and I have encountered writings by Orthodox Christians which attempt to balance the creation accounts with a certain ongoing -- evolutionary, if you will -- process which, on the one hand, affirms that while humans may have evolved physically under the direction and guidance and plan of the Creator, their souls could not have evolved any more than the powers of reasoning, speaking, or the ability to act creatively could have simply evolved. In such a scenario the Creator intervened by breathing His Spirit into man and giving him life, as stated in Genesis...Orthodoxy has no problem with evolution as a scientific theory, only with evolution -- as some people may view it -- eliminating the need for God as Creator of All."
And here, although the qoute is not cited:
The Greek Orthodox Church (the oldest) does accept evolution as fact and attributes this "Six Day Creationism" that is limited mainly to the United States to mistranslation and politics. Quoting one Eastern Orthodox writer:
The reason for the persistence of the fundamentalists, which makes this not merely a privately held belief, is social. It is only in our current situation of fin de siecle (the end of the age) that it became possible to come into open conflict with scientific data. At the end of this century statements contrary to science have become fashionable. Astrologers, fortunetellers, magicians, and other occultists are free to say the most bizarre things. It seems that people are tired of scientific sobriety and responsibility and are ready to accept anything "Why not?" The purest form of voluntarism and irrationality takes the place of argumentation: "This is what I feel! This is so exciting!" This massive ecstasy by irrationality makes also Protestant literalness completely into sellable goods... Views and opinions of radical creationists can not be accepted because they use scientific data in an arbitrary and non-objective way, by which they produce fair objections from those who are professionally involved in science. There is a real danger here that a biologist, having read some arrogant creationist book, will apply the word "rubbish" to Christianity in general.
http://www.sullivan-county.com/z/evolution_debate.htm
and another:
"Over 120 years have passed since the publication of Charles Darwins Origin of the Species. While some scientists still agree with Darwins theory of the changeability of species, much discovery has been done since then to create doubt and suspicion among them. The conflict between creationism and evolution has been primarily a struggle between Roman Catholics and Protestants, on the one hand, with scientists, on the other. You will find very little writing in Orthodox Christian circles.
Primarily this is because the Eastern Fathers, generally speaking, did not take a fundamentalist viewpoint of creation. For example, Vladimir Lossky, a great Orthodox theologian of the past century, says in his famous book, The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church, The Church always freely makes use of philosophy and the sciences for apologetic (explanatory) purposes, but she never has any cause to defend these relative and changing truths as she defends the unchangeable truth of her doctrines.
Eastern Orthodox theology finds not real argument with evolution up to the creation of man. And even in that, there is a possibility of accepting some of what has been discovered and continues to be discovered by science. For example, Moses, the author of the Book of Genesis, is writing to illiterate people who are asking some sobering questions while they are wandering all over the Sinai desert for some forty years. He uses a picture language and frames of reference with which they can identify. Nonetheless, the language does not take away from the meaning.
With the exception of verses 11, 12 and 13 of chapter one, the Genesis version follows basically along the theory of evolution.
Creation of Man
There are two references to the creation of man in Genesis. The first one is the simple statement made in verse 26 of chapter one:
Then God said, Let us make man in Our own image, after Our likeness and is restated in verse 27: So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
The second reference is in chapter two, verse 7:
Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
In Orthodox theology, the two words image and likeness are not used interchangeably as they are for Roman Catholics and Protestants. For Orthodox Christians, image denotes the powers and faculties with which every human being is endowed by God from the first moment of his existence. Likeness is the assimilation, the growth process to God through virtue and grace. We call this growth process theosis. For Western theology, man was created perfect in the absolute sense and therefore, when he fell, he fell completely away from God. For Orthodox theology, man was created perfect in the potential sense.
Thus, for example, Ireneus, a Church Father of the Second century, in speaking about creation of Adam and Eve says, They were a child not yet having their understanding perfected.
Father John Romanides, a contemporary Orthodox theologian says Adam and Eve were two children born who were protected by nature and the animal world through the Holy Spirit.
Did we evolve from the water? The infant does live a period of development in his mothers womb which is a liquid world. It is only outside the mothers womb that the lungs breathe as they were designed to breathe and function.
Did we evolve from animals? Ancient men did not look like us. In fact, they might shudder to see the form and the appearance we, their descendents, have taken!
Even Modern Science agrees that at some point man took on something that made him different from the animal world he became a rational being (think, discern, evaluate, decide and act).
Should Modern Science be able to prove without the shadow of a doubt that man evolved from amoeba, reptiles, animal life into what he is today, Orthodox theology would be able to make the transitional acceptance far more readily than Western theology for all the reasons stated above.
Plantlife dies! Animal life dies! Man dies, too! But he goes on living! We cannot ask Where we came from? without asking Where are we going?
http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/dogmatics/nicozisin_creationism.htm
