Compatibility of the Torah with scientific evolution

A very well written and nicely explained presentation of how the Torah should not be assumed to be contradictory to the notion of scientific evolution. This contains many of the points I've raised, such as examining the logic of the order of created objects (such as the sun) as presented in Genesis.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1225199607511&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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Oct 30, 2008 11:35 Updated Oct 30, 2008 11:39
Ask the Rabbi: Intelligent design?

By SHLOMO BRODY

The writer, editor of TraditionOnline.org, teaches at Yeshivat Hakotel and is pursuing a doctorate in Jewish philosophy at the Hebrew University.

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I have spoken about the compatibility of Judaism and the theory of evolution in many forums, and am constantly amazed by the widespread fear and ignorance of this issue. Among many others, I've met haredi rabbinic students who never heard of fossils, Evangelical Christians at Ivy League universities searching for help from others and modern Orthodox Jews seeking but incapable of showing the compatibility of science with Torah.

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Yet as Rabbi Natan Slikfin (zootorah.com) has painstakingly documented (despite vitriolic attacks against him), many leading Orthodox figures have affirmed the compatibility of Torah and evolution, including Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch, Rabbi Abraham I. Kook and Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik. While various arguments, some more developed than others, were taken by different figures, two major schools of thought have emerged to show the compatibility of Torah and evolution.

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To my mind, modern Orthodox Jews, like me, have wisely not supported the "intelligent design" movement. We believe that Torah represents both true doctrines and a passion for truth, and see no reason, as believers, to attack universally-held scientific theories that do not contradict traditional interpretations of the Torah. We have no need for bans and no desire to guise our theology in pseudo-scientific theories, and will continue to use the full range of traditional sources to understand God's Torah and His universe.