Origins of the universe Flashcards
1
Q
Religious explanation
A
- rely on revelation in the form of scripture
- Genesis is the first book in the bible and tells us how the world began
- can be understood either literally or symbolically
2
Q
Genesis 1
A
- tells us how God created everything in the universe in 6 days and rested on the 7th
- humans were created in Gods image and given dominion
- happened around 6,000-10,000 years ago
- gives purpose to our lives (God created us specially)
3
Q
Literal interpretation of the religious explanation
A
- Genesis 1 is historically accurate
- the universe and everything in it was created as is explained in the story
- the Big Bang is not mentioned, therefore didn’t happen and isn’t true
- we shouldn’t question Gods power- he is all powerful and intelligent
4
Q
Symbolic interpretation of the religious explanation
A
- Genesis 1 is not to be viewed as a scientific or historical account
- it is a story used to show Gods power and his love of humans
- we should accept new scientific discoveries like the Big Bang (could be Gods way
of working)
5
Q
Issues with the Genesis story
A
- order of events is confusing, night and day created before sun and moon
- inconsistencies between Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, both give completely
different accounts of what happened - lack of evidence compared to scientific explanations
6
Q
Cosmological argument
A
- attempts to use the universe as proof of Gods existence as the creator of
everything - created by the Catholic philosopher, Thomas Aquinas
- everything that exists has been caused by something else but eventually there
must be a starting point (a first cause) - this uncaused cause is God, as only he is powerful enough to fulfill the criteria
7
Q
Strengths of the cosmological argument
A
- scientists have been unable to explain what happened before the Big Bang, this
could be God - the argument is logical (there has to be a start point)
8
Q
Weaknesses of the cosmological argument
A
- the argument contradicts itself, it claims everything has a cause and then says that
God doesn’t. Surely the universe could just have no cause and no God would be
needed - why is this first cause a christian God, surely it could be anything
9
Q
Scientific explanation
A
- the Big Bang theory explains what happened at the very beginning of the universe
10
Q
The big bang theory
A
- our universe began as an extremely small, infinitely hot, infinitely dense
singularity - our universe sprang into existence from this singularity about 13.7 billion years ago
- at this point space, time and matter were created
- after its initial appearance, the universe expanded and cooled to the size and
temperature of our current universe - supported by Redshift evidence
11
Q
Redshift (big bang theory)
A
- supports the big bang theory
- light from other galaxies is red shifted
- this shows us that other galaxies are moving away from us
- the most likely explanation for this is that the whole universe is expanding
- this supports the theory that the universe could have begun at a single point
12
Q
Strengths of the big bang theory
A
- supported by evidence that has been independently checked by scientists for 75 years
- scientists have been open to change in the past and have tweaked the theory when new evidence has become available
13
Q
Weaknesses of the big bang theory
A
- evidence cannot fully confirm the theory
- hard to understand, we must believe what the scientists tell us
- unanswered questions (why did it happen?)
14
Q
How does the big bang challenge Christian beliefs
A
- according to the big bang the world is a lot older and bigger than Christianity thought
- in the big bang theory the Earth is not at the centre of the universe (we were not
created specially) - the big bang does not require a supernatural (God) to have created it
15
Q
The three main groups with differing view on whether religion or science is right
A
- liberal Christians (science and religion can work together)
- scientific materialists (science is right, religion is wrong)
- traditionalist Christians (religion is right, science is wrong)
16
Q
Science and religion working together (Liberal Christians)
A
- the NOMA principle (science explains HOW the universe came to be and religion
explains the WHY) - God and his creation is outside the scope of science so could be the cause of the big bang
- Christians can accept the big bang easily if they don’t understand the bible to be literally true (big bang could be Gods way of working)
17
Q
Science is right and religion is wrong (scientific materialists)
A
- we can’t take the genesis story seriously as it is not scientifically valid (written a long time ago)
- the big bang started due to the laws of physics (no need for a God)
- although there is evidence missing from the big bang theory, it still has more
evidence than religious ideas and more is likely to become available - science does give us purpose in life (it allows us to grow, develop and create
things that benefit humanity)
18
Q
Religion is right and science is wrong (traditionalist Christians)
A
- the evidence for the big bang might be wrong-science has been wrong in the past (flat earth)
- the bible is the inspired work of God therefore its account of creation is correct
- science takes away all purpose from our lives, what is the point if we are here by
accident?
