1.1 The Universe and the Place of Human Beings Flashcards
What do compatibilists say about about the origins of the universe?
God was the first cause
What is the teleological argument?
The complex functionality of the world is so intricate that it could have only been created by a God
What is the cosmological argument?
God is the first cause
What does Genesis 1 explain?
- God is the creator
- God existed before nothing
- God blessed creation
- God made the world good ‘and he saw it was good’
- Good created the heavens and the Earth in 6 days
- God rested on the 7th day
Humans in relation to God
- ‘God made mankind in his image’ - Genesis 1:27
- Humans share characteristics with God (for Christians this explains their relationship with God)
- So humans should try to be like God - caring, loving
2 Christian beliefs about taking care of the world
- Stewardship
- Dominion
Stewardship
- Christians should look after the world and all life on it, that God has created
- God created humans for the role of stewards
Quote for Stewardship
Genesis 2:15
‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’
Dominion
Humans have the power to use the world and its resources as they like, but humanity should not exploit its resources
Quote for Dominion
Genesis 1:26
‘let them have dominion over the fish in the sea and the birds of the heavens’
Trinity
The Father
The Son
The Holy Spirit
as one
Ways of interpreting the Bible
Literalists
Conservative
Liberal
Literalist Christians
The Bible is literal
e.g. God created the world in 6 days
Conservative Christians
The Bible is inspired by God and interpreted in many ways
Liberal Christians
The Bible stories are metaphors/symbolic descriptions
The message it conveys is more important
Scientific Beliefs about Creation
Big Bang
Evolution
Big Bang
- All the matter in the universe started at a single point.
- It then expanded rapidly
- This is proved through red shift and cosmic background radiation that proves that the unvierse is still expanding
Evolution
Life forms that exist today are due to natural selection -> individuals most best adapted to the environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. ‘survival of the fittest’
Why Evolution challenges Christian beliefs?
The world was created in 6 days, not millions of years
God is the designer and the first cause.
What are Christians who accept the big bang and evolution called?
Compatibilists
Christian beliefs on animals
Humans are different to animals
Humans are special
How do Christians take care of the environment?
Recycling
Using renewable energy
Reducing their carbon footprint
Hindu beliefs about the environment
Reincarnation
Brahman is in every being = God
Good karma/bad karma
