Religion and Science

Question 1

The Big Bang Theory

Answer 1

• The most popular of the scientific theories put forward by cosmologists to explain how the universe came into being. Based on the observation that other galaxies are apparently moving away from us at great speed – the universe appears to be expanding. By putting this process into reverse – thy concluded there must have been a time when matter was very tightly packed together is an unimaginably hot small zone of ‘infinite density’ – a singularity.
• Before the Big Bang there was nothing – no space, no time. Roughly 10+ million years ago – matter was thrown outward by a massive inflation of energy and heat – a Big Bang!
• Space and time were caused at the same instant as the Big Bang – there was no ‘before’ to speak of. Some conclude that the Big Bang just happened causelessly, while others are drawn to the conclusion that there must have been some kind of cause.
• Backed up by strong empirical evidence – for example the Hubble telescope helps us observe the speed at which galaxies are moving away from us.

Question 2

Debate between Big Bang and Creationism

Answer 2

Creationism – a belief in God’s responsibility for the creation of the universe

• There are a range of different creationist stances that respond to the alternative explanation of the Big Bang to different extents, from accepting the Big Bang as the how of creation with a religious explanation of the why to a rejection of the Big Bang in favour of a literal reading of the Genesis account.

Question 3

Darwinism

Answer 3

Observed variation in species

• Competition within and between species for resources.
• The winners of this ‘survival of the fittest’ will be those whose characteristics are best suited to their environment.
• This better chance of survival increases their odds of reproduction.
• As this process repeats over an extended period of time – evolution through natural selection.
• Over time, evolution can result in species which are particularly suited to a particular environment – and even completely new species.

Question 4

Intelligent Design and Irreducible Complexity

Answer 4

• Intelligent Design is the name given to the view that the existence of the universe and the features of different things within the universe are best explained if it is accepted that there is an intelligent being who designed it all.
• Michael Behe argued that some aspects of nature are ‘irreducibly complex’ – if you took away any of its parts it would not work at all - several different functions need to be present simultaneously for thereto be any result at all
• Blood Clotting
• The Eye Bacterial
• Flagella
• Behe concludes that modern biochemistry has lifted the ‘lid’ of ‘Darwin’s Black Box’ – the observations scientists are now able to make are best explained if it is accepted that an intelligent God is in control of the evolutionary process.

Question 5

Religious Responses to Challenges Posed by scientific views

Answer 5

Key question – does science adequately explain the nature and purpose of the existence of the universe and if it does so without need for God.

• “There is no spirit-driven life force, no throbbing, heaving, pullulating, protoplasmic, mystic jelly. Life is just bytes and bytes of digital information.” Dawkins.
• “One of the greatest disservices that Dawkins has done to the natural sciences is to portray them as relentlessly and inexorably atheistic…They are nothing of the sort.” McGrath.