We will look at some of these theories and the Catholic position on them. The controversy surrounding evolution touches on our most central beliefs about ourselves and the world. Evolutionary theories have been used to answer questions about the origins of the universe, life, and man. These may be referred to as cosmic evolution, biological evolution, and human evolution. One's opinion concerning one of these areas does not dictate what one believes concerning others.
People usually take three basic positions on the origins of the cosmos, life, and man.
These three positions are special creation , theistic evolution , and atheistic evolution . Special creationism holds that something did not develop, but was suddenly and directly created by God. Theistic evolution holds that a thing did develop from a previous state or form, but that this process of development was under the impetus and guidance of God. Because the questions of how the universe, life, and man arose are separate questions, one can take a different position on each of them. Some say that all three were products of special creation.