catholic, christian + non-religious views about the origin of the universe

Question 1

what do christians refer to the act of god?

Answer 1

bringing the universe into being as Creation

Question 2

why did nothing existed before god created it?

Answer 2

Only God creates, because he is omnipotent or all powerful

Question 3

what is the creation ex nihilo?

Answer 3

This idea of creating out of nothing

Question 4

where is the belief of the creation ex nihilo found?

Answer 4

bible and the writing of st augustine

Question 5

what is the source of authority from st augustine’s confession?

Answer 5

“You, O Lord… made something in the Beginning. and you created this thing out of nothing.”

Question 6

when was the story of creation written?

Answer 6

thousands of years before modern science existed

Question 7

why do christians understand the story in different ways?

Answer 7

depends on whether they interpret the Bible text literally or non-literally

Question 8

why do some christians take a fundamentalist approach?

Answer 8

They believe that the account of creation as it appears in the Bible is an accurate account of what happened (creationism)

Question 9

why do fundamentalists believe in creationism?

Answer 9

that the creation of the world and everything in it took place in six calendar days, exactly as the book of Genesis says. This stems from the view that the Bible is the direct word of God, which is never mistaken.

Question 10

what do catholics believe about the creation story?

Answer 10

creation story is not meant to be taken literally

Question 11

what do catholics try to harmonise?

Answer 11

the scientific and biblical accounts, claiming that each ‘day of the creation story is actually billions of years

Question 12

why do catholics read the creation story in a symbolic way?

Answer 12

believing that they reveal some important things about the nature of the world and humanity. Although the two accounts of creation in Genesis have different details, they share the same truths

Question 13

what do jews believe that god is?

Answer 13

creator
source of all life

Question 14

what do jews celebrate each week?

Answer 14

Sabbath, recalling that God made the world in six days and rested on the seventh

Question 15

what do jews share the two stories of? why?

Answer 15

creation with Christians
as they are in Genesis which is the first book of the Torah, the Jewish written law

Question 16

why do orthodox jews believe these stories are true accounts?

Answer 16

were revealed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai.

Question 17

what do reform jews believe about these stories?

Answer 17

that the creation accounts are stories which shouldn’t be taken as historical facts. They are open to interpretation

Question 18

what would orthodox jews have difficulties of?

Answer 18

accepting modern scientific ideas

Question 19

what would orthodox jews reject?

Answer 19

evolution
big bang

Question 20

what may others believe that god started the universe through?

Answer 20

big bang
and has guided the creation of life through Evolution. They still have faith in God as a sustainer and provider

Question 21

what is cosmology?

Answer 21

The branch of science which studies the origins of the universe

Question 22

what was cause by big bang?

Answer 22

The current scientific thinking about the creation of the world

Question 23

what does the big bang claim?

Answer 23

that all matter was originally concentrated into a tiny point which, as a result of a massive explosion in space 13.7 billion years ago, expanded into the universe and is still expanding today.

Question 24

what did big bang led the formation of?

Answer 24

stars and planets

Question 25

what did stephen hawking led to doubt after the big bang theory?

Answer 25

doubt the existence of God completely, saying that we can explain how the world without the need for a creator God

Question 26

what can powerful telescopes detect?

Answer 26

evidence of background radiation which is thought to be left over from the initial expansion at the start of the universe

Question 27

why do catholics accept the big bang theory?

Answer 27

supports their belief that God created the universe out of nothing

Question 28

what are christians considering even though they accept scientific explanations?

Answer 28

understand Genesis symbolically, not as a scientific explanation of the beginning of the world, but as a theological statement about the world’s relationship to God

Question 29

who put forward the big bang theory?

Answer 29

Catholic priest, Father Georges Lemaitre

Question 30

what does science explain?

Answer 30

how the Universe came about

Question 31

what does genesis explains?

Answer 31

why the universe began

Question 32

what is in conflict over the origin of the universe?

Answer 32

science & religon

Question 33

why do fundamentalists reject the big bang theory?

Answer 33

they are very critical of scientific ideas because they appear to contradict the truth that God has formed all life through his own power

Question 34

what do fundamentalists believe even if the scientific view is correct?

Answer 34

Even if the scientific view is correct in saying that the universe began with a Big Bang, have they really solved the question of ‘where does the universe come from?. It is reasonable to ask what caused the Big Bang. Christians would argue that this is God.

Question 35

who proposed the theory of evolution?

Answer 35

charles darwin

Question 36

what is the evolution?

Answer 36

life came about

Question 37

what is the natural selection?

Answer 37

that organisms gradually change and develop into new species by a process

Question 38

what helped animals to survive?

Answer 38

certain characteristics

Question 39

what leads to new species developing?

Answer 39

as they breed and pass these on

Question 40

how is the theory of evolution supported?

Answer 40

fossil records which reveal that a large number of species have died out.

Question 41

what does DNA research show?

Answer 41

there are many similarities between species.

Question 42

who is richard dawkins?

Answer 42

modern supporter of this view
atheist

Question 43

what does richard dawkins believe about evolution?

Answer 43

does away with the need for God and the belief that humans have souls.

Question 44

what does dawkins argue that each living organism’s body is?

Answer 44

just a survival machine for its genes and does not serve any other purpose.

Question 45

what does dawkins argue that humans are?

Answer 45

just a genetic mutation and are just advanced animals

Question 46

why do christians not accept the theory of evolution?

Answer 46

they see it as an attack on their faith, especially if they read the Bible literally

Question 47

why do catholics not interpret the bible literally?

Answer 47

Genesis needs to be understood symbolically

Question 48

how did pope john paul II restated the view of pope pius XII?

Answer 48

that there is no conflict between evolution and the teaching of the Christian faith.
What is important to Catholics is not whether God chose to create through the process of evolution over many millions of years but that in Genesis, God created with purpose and so everything that exists is part of His loving plan.
This is what is important for Catholics to understand; not how it happened but why it happened.

Question 49

what is the source of authority from pope john paul II?

Answer 49

“There is no conflict between evolution and the doctrine of the faith regarding man and his vocation… the doctrine of “evolution” is as a serious hypothesis, worthy of investigation and serious study.”