origins of the universe (key beliefs)

Question 1

What are catholic beliefs about the origins of the universe?

Answer 1

• Catholic Christians believe God is an omnipotent and transcendent creator.
• Their beliefs are based on the teachings of St Augustine (ex nihilo) and the book of Genesis. - - They believe that the creation story is not meant to be taken literally.
• The theory of evolution can be accepted as part of God’s plan for the universe.

Question 2

What are some Fundamentalist christian beliefs about the origins of the universe?

Answer 2

• They believe that the account of creation as it appears in the Bible is an accurate account of what happened – this belief is known as creationism.
• They believe that the creation of the world and everything in it took place in six calendar days, exactly as the book of Genesis says.

Question 3

What are some jewish beliefs about the origins of the universe?

Answer 3

• God is the creator and source of all life. This teaching comes from the book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Torah (Jewish written law).
• They celebrate the creation of the world weekly by observing the Sabbath and they celebrate creation through the festival of Rosh Hashanah.

Question 4

What are some non-religious views about the origins of the universe?

Answer 4

The current scientific thinking about the creation of the world is that it was caused by the Big Bang. This thinking is associated with Professor Stephen Hawking. In addition, according to science, life came about as a result of a process known
as Evolution by charles darwin.