Mark Shea on Mary, Evolution, and Michaelangelo's Chisel

"Two of the most controversial topics among Catholics and Protestants are evolution and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Great quantities of ink and electrons are expended in print and on the Internet each day, arguing about these things. 'Catholics call Mary the cause of salvation!' complain our Evangelical friends. 'Not only that, their Pope caved in on evolution and thereby denied God is the Creator!' Meanwhile, secularists complain of the exact opposite thing against Catholics. Not only do we deny pure materialism and hold that God is the Creator, we also credulously believe in the Virgin Birth, when science has supposedly disproven the miraculous, according to the Richard Dawkinses and Carl Sagans of the world.

"How do Catholics manage with such frequency to be at the center of flatly contradictory accusations? In the case of Mary and evolution, I think it is paradoxically because of a common philosophical muddle shared by both secularists and many Evangelicals which lands them in opposing and contradictory difficulties with the Faith: the failure to grasp the reality of First and Secondary Causes."

In a recent commentary, writer Mark Shea reflected on First Causes, Secondary Causes, and their role in the creation of mankind and the role in our redemption.

To access Mark's complete post, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Mark Shea: Mary, Evolution, and Michaelangelo's Chisel (12 OCT 14)