Saint Thomas Aquinas and Darwin

Daarwin’s theory of evolution can be explained in a simplistic way as if we imagine we have a box of crayons. Some crayons are really bright and pretty, and some are a bit dull. Now, if we wanted to draw a picture, we might pick the bright crayons more often, right?

Darwin’s idea is a bit like that! He thought that animals and plants change over a long time to be better at living in their homes, just like we pick the best crayons to make a nice picture.

If a bunny can hop really fast, it can run away from a fox. So, more fast bunnies will have baby bunnies. Over time, there will be lots of fast bunnies! That’s how creatures change and grow better, just like our crayons help us make better drawings!

Adaptation and survival is what makes evolution, now, this idea of something tht makes it able to survive comes from Saint Thomas Aquina’s theory of the soul.

Saint Thomas Aquinas believed that the soul is a special gift from God. According to him, when a baby is conceived, God creates a soul for that baby. This process happens at the moment of conception, meaning when the tiny baby starts to grow in its mother’s womb.

Aquinas explained that the soul is what gives life to the body. It is not just a part of the body but is what makes a person truly alive and unique. He thought that this soul is immortal, meaning it lives on forever, even after the body dies. So, during pregnancy, while the baby is growing, God is also giving that baby a soul, making it a complete human being, ready for life in the world.

Before God’s intervention, Sain Thomas Aquinnas believed that the body growing inside the mother’s womb was an vegetative soul. Meaning that it is possible that we all share the same common ancestor.

The crayons were there since the beginning, we prefere the brighter ones because they have become more attractive, that doesn’t mean ii is better, it simply more valued. We are not better or worse, we need to have character, evolution is a biological adaptation that makes us survive, to be better, it depends on us.

We may not come from the animals, that come from the plants, but we can be sure of the environmental conscience that humanity has iin the world, we need to take care of it, not destroying it. In a way, we are all connected.