Religion and life Flashcards
what is an atheist view about the origin of the universe?
the Big Bang Theory
What is the Big Bang?
- it happened 13.8 billion years ago
- a very small point that was really hot and dense expanded like a balloon being blown up
- space and time were created, then matter which evolved into galaxies and meteors and eventually human existence
what is the evidence for the Big Bang?
- the universe is still expanding (red shift)
- cosmic microwave background radiation still exists from when the Big Bang happened
what is empirical evidence?
evidence available to our five senses eg. you can see it or feel it
what does Genesis 1 say about creation?
Day 1 - light and dark
Day 2 - sky and water
Day 3 - dry land and plants
Day 4 - sun, moon and stars
Day 5 - sea and flying creatures
Day 6 - land animals and human beings
Day 7 - God rested and made the last day of the week holy
God said everything was good
What does this show about God’s nature?
God is omnibenevolent and a judge
What is Genesis 2 about?
- God rested on the seventh day
- God created man out of dust and gave him life
- God created the Garden of Eden and told Adam he could take anything from it except fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
- God gave Adam all the creatures he dad created
- God created a woman, Eve, from Adam’s rib to help him
what do liberal theists believe about Christian creation story?
- if the stories were literal, there is no need for 2 stories
- Genesis 1 sounds poetic so it may be an aid to worship
- Lost in translation - Hebrew day is closer to being and era
- understand the accounts through a a scientific lens
what do creationists and literal theists believe about creation?
- even if the accounts are illogical they are are still literal
- genealogies go back 4000-6000 years, in contrast to scientific 4.5 billion years
- Humanity is created by God not evolved
what is creationism?
the fundamentalist view that the world and life were literally created in 6 days 10000 years ago
what is Richard Dawkins view?
- atheist
- religion doesn’t have anything to teach us
- science has filled all the gaps so there is no need for religion
- religion doesn’t make sense because of Darwin’s theory of evolution
Charles Darwin: “if it could be demonstrated that any complex organism existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive modifications, my theory would absolutely break down”
- Darwin is defending his theory
- if any part of his theory was different, it would break down completely
“Your Lord is God, who created the heavens and earth in six days, then established Himself on the throne; He makes the night cover the day in swift pursuit; He created the sun, moon and stars to be subservient to his command. All creation and all command belong to him” - Qur’an 7:54
- Allah created heaven and earth in six days
- he created night and day and the sun moon and stars
- everything he created is under his command - omnipotent
what reference to the Big Bang is there in the Qur’an?
“the heavens and earth were joined together as one unit before we clove them asunder” - Qur’an 21:30
how did Allah create Adam?
he sent angel to collect 7 handfuls of soil of different colours. Allah used these to create Adam and breathed life and power into him.
how did Allah create Eve?
from Adam’s soul
what did Allah make everything out of?
water - “made from water every living thing” (Qur’an 21:30)
why do most Muslims believe creation happened over 6 long periods of time?
the Arabic word for day in the Qur’an ‘yaum’ corresponds more to a longer period of time like 1000s of years
Do Muslims accept scientific theories?
they don’t oppose them because creation in the Qur’an follows a similar route to the scientific way. They see scientific theories as as scientific truth and a way that Allah created the world, but it doesn’t have the same power as the Qur’an.
What does traditional Christianity say about the Bible account of creation?
it is a theological account, not scientific, we shouldn’t take it at face value
why did The Origin Of Species cause trouble?
some people had broken away from traditional Christianity and went to believing the Bible was a literal account of creation so there could be no evolution
what views do Christians have on taking care of the planet?
- stewardship
- dominion
what is stewardship?
the idea that believers have the duty to look after the the environment on behalf of God until it needs to be returned.
what is dominion?
dominance or power over something; having charge of something or ruling over it
Key Bible quote on stewardship
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” - 1 Peter 4:10
Key Bible quote on dominion
“rule over the fish in the sea and the birds” - Genesis 1:28
what are Muslim beliefs about caring for the planet?
Khaifah (no idea of dominion here)
what is Khalifah?
someone who looks after something for someone else. the world is on loan from Allah
Key Qur’an quote on being a Khalifah
“It is he who has made you successors on earth” - Qur’an
what do Muslims believe about using the environment?
- you can use the world all that you need but you mustn’t waste it
- “Do not seek from it more than you need” - Hadith
- “Eat and drink, but do not be extravagant” - Qur’an 7:31