Darwin's theory of evolution & creationism are mutually exclusive.

Since this is only a three round debate, I'll take the liberty of presenting an argument in round one, and intend to waive adding additional content in round 3 so that my opponent and I each have equal number of presentations. I consider myself to hold beliefs consistent of both the creationist and evolutionist, and do not consider my positions to be contradictory. Creationism is broadly defined, as my opponent presented in his first source, as the belief that a deity created the heavens and the earth out of nothing. All creationists, from young earth creationists (YEC) to Christians who view the early chapters of the book of Genesis to be entirely a allegorical work would fall into this category. Darwin's theory of evolution, as defined by my opponent's second source, describes the process by which natural selection alters organisms over time by a result of changes in heritable physical or behavioral traits. Darwin's theory doesn't suggest what the ultimate origin of life on earth may be. Likewise, not all creationists disbelieve in natural selection. I'm fairly certain we can agree that papal leaders like the Pope should be considered creationists. In "Truth Cannot Contradict Truth," [1] the address that Pope John Paul II gave in 1996, he says "In his encyclical Humani Generis (1950), my predecessor Pius XII had already stated that there was no opposition between evolution and the doctrine of the faith about man and his vocation, on condition that one did not lose sight of several indisputable points. " Pope Francis also agrees, saying, "[God] created beings and allowed them to develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one, so that they were able to develop and to arrive and their fullness of being. He gave autonomy to the beings of the universe at the same time at which he assured them of his continuous presence, giving being to every reality. And so creation continued for centuries and centuries, millennia and millennia, until it became which we know today, precisely because God is not a demiurge or a magician, but the creator who gives being to all things. .. The Big Bang, which nowadays is posited as the origin of the world, does not contradict the divine act of creating, but rather requires it. The evolution of nature does not contrast with the notion of creation, as evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve. "[2] This opinion isn't limited to Catholicism, as the time of this posting, 13,288 signatures appear on The Clergy Letter Project [3], which affirms, "We the undersigned, Christian clergy from many different traditions, believe that the timeless truths of the Bible and the discoveries of modern science may comfortably coexist. We believe that the theory of evolution is a foundational scientific truth, one that has stood up to rigorous scrutiny and upon which much of human knowledge and achievement rests. " In similar manner to those religious leaders, Charles Darwin himself wrote, [4] "It seems to me absurd to doubt that a man may be an ardent Theist & an evolutionist. " He also included in the second edition of "On the Origin of Species," in the conclusion, "I should infer from analogy that probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed by the Creator. " Especially when taking old earth creationists (OEC) into consideration, or the broader view of Theistic Evolution, I see no logical contradiction between the origin of existence, and the likewise evolution that its inhabitants eventually experience. Even if we consider the YEC (of which I am not), who claim that God literally created everything in six 24 hour periods less than 10,000 years ago, I have an explanation that would make evolution and creation compatible. If God is so powerful that he was able to create our entire universe, every atom, every bit of energy, life, mankind, infinitely large space. .. everything. .. then certainly it is fathomable that He could have created all this 10,000 years ago and bestow upon it a rich multi-billion year history. There is no reason to believe that God would be bound by the space-time parameters that He created himself. Obviously when man assembles parts and ends up with a car, for example, he is limited by his time, imagination, materials, tools, and logical cause-and-effect relationships. An omnipotent, all-powerful God would have no such limitation, and truly, anything would be possible. I understand that viewpoint may be a difficult pill to swallow, even for myself, and for that reason, I'd also like to reference "The Contemporary Relevance of Augustine's View of Creation," [5] by Davis A. Young. It is commonly believed that it was the scientific works of Darwin, and other modern scientists, that initiated change within the church to adopt a belief system that incorporates a metaphorical or allegorical interpretation of biblical texts. Using only theological reasoning over a thousand years before Charles Darwin, Augustine made the case that in the first few chapters of Genesis, even interpreted literally, God created all things simultaneously rather than over six temporal days. He was never accused of heresy for this view, and was also canonized well before Darwin's life. Summation: 1. Creationism and evolution describe two separate and compatible concepts, the former the origination of existence, and the latter the changes that life takes over generations. 2. Prominent religious leaders approve of evolution publicly. 3. Charles Darwin himself did not see his theory to be incompatible with the idea of a Creator God. 4. An all-powerful God is not limited by the laws of nature that He created. 5. There are theological grounds for a literal interpretation of Genesis, prior to Darwin, that does not necessitate a 6 day period of creation. Conclusion: I have falsified the premise my opponent has presented, using several different methods. I await my opponent's reply. [1] . http://www.newadvent.org... [2] . http://www.catholicnewsagency.com... [3] . http://www.theclergyletterproject.org... [4] . http://www.darwinproject.ac.uk... [5] . http://www.asa3.org...