Religion VS Science Flashcards
What is religious teaching based upon?
Second-hand accounts in holy books, often heavily edited through time by (religious) authorities.
What is the scientific method based upon?
Factual observations and data that are collected by a huge number of experiments to testify to hypotheses. The conclusions of these experiments only become accepted as ‘truth’ once all possibilities have been explored and the conclusion is seemingly definite.
Why might a person choose to be both scientific and religious?
Science provides factual evidence and narrative to the world around us and how it functions. However, it does not answer moral questions, whereas religion does.
Briefly explain where a Christian would say the Universe and mankind has originated from.
The Universe was created by God, with the Earth at it’s centre and mankind were created in God’s own image to act as stewards of the Earth.
Briefly explain where a Scientist might say the Universe had originated from and how humans came into being.
The Universe is the product of the ‘Big Bang’ - it is believes that 12 billion years ago there was no space, time or matter. A ball of intense energy, no larger than a single atom expanded to encompass everything in our Universe. They would say that modern day humans are the result of thousands of years of evolution, and we are ancestors of apes.
What did Albert Einstein say with regards to science and religion?
“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”
How did the National Academy of Science address increasing conflict between scientific and religious communities?
“Science and religion are based on different aspects of human experience…Attempts to pit science and religion against each other create controversy where none needs to exist”
What is the Copernican theory/heliocentrism?
The concept of the sun being at the centre of our solar system.
What different types of evidence are scientific and religious theory based upon?
Scientific: Empirical Religious: Spiritual/Eye-witness accounts
Who was Galileo Galilei? Give a brief account of his life
Galileo was born in 1564 in Pisa, he attended University there and formed a number of important scientific theories (eg. the pendulum theory, basis for law of acceleration). In 1609 he built his own telescope and made many astronomical discoveries, he supported the Copernican theory. The Catholic Church silenced him from teaching heliocentrism, and was found guilty of heresy when summoned to trial in 1632. He spent the rest of his life under house arrest.
What is ‘revealed knowledge’?
Revealed knowledge is when truth/knowledge is revealed only to certain people, such as prophets. This is the basis of most religious teaching.
God ⇒ Prophet (eg. Isaiah) ⇒ The Bible ⇒ Millions of people
Who launched a bus campaign with the slogan ‘There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’? What did he say with regards to religious children?
Richard Dawkins
“There’s no such thing as a Christian child, only a child of Christian parents”
What is the theory of evolution?
The theory that all species have evolved from simple life forms (bacterium) that existed around 3 billion years ago, by natural selection.
Why do some religious institutions dispute the theory of evolution?
- It contradicts the teachings about the beginnings of humanity being Adam & Eve.
- It suggests we are of the same ancestry of animals and are not God’s special creation.
What was The Butler Act?
The Butler Act banned the teaching of evolution in all public schools or ‘any theory that denies the story of Divine creation’ and claims that man came from ‘lower beings’. It was introduced in Tennessee in 1925.
What happened in the Scopes Trial of July 10th - July 15th 1925?
John Scopes, a biology teacher was accused of teaching evolution. He pleased for ‘freedom of education’ and said that evolution is not a reason for anyone to lose faith in God.
William Jennings Bryan (from the World Institution of Fundamental Christians) believed that evolution encouraged godlessness. He said that ‘there is no more reason to believe that man descneded from some inferior animal than there is to believe a stately mansion descended from a small cottage’
“The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not …….” - Galileo
“The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go” - Galileo
Who discovered ‘red shift’ and what is it?
Edwin Hubble
When an object moves away from an observer, its light is affected by the Doppler effect. Astronomers have found that the further from us a star is, the more its light is red-shifted. This tells us that distant galaxies are moving away from us, and that the further away a galaxy is, the faster it’s moving away.
Describe what the Big Bang theory tells us about the creation of the Universe
13.7billion years ago, all space and time was condensed. It burst into existence, expanding rapidly in darkness and silence because light and sound did not yet exist. Cosmos began to cool and establish matter and anti-matter, when these components exist they cancel each other out. At the birth of the Universe, there was more matter than anti matter which survived to form balls of gas (stars) and planets.
Outline what happened during each day in the Story of Creation
- God commanded ‘let there be light‘…he separated light from darkness.
- “Let there be a dome to divide the water and to keep it in two separate places… he names the dome sky”
- “Let the dry land appear”
- “Let there be lights to separate day from the night…for signs and seasons…the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars” (sun and moon)
- “waters bring forth swarms of living creatures…let birds fly above the Earth”
- “bring forth creatures of every kind“…“God created humankind in his image”
- God rested
What similarities are there between the story of creation and the Big Bang theory?
There are similarities in the chronology
- Planets and atmosphere
- Sea creatures and simple life forms
- Birds
- Mammals
- Humankind
What is creationism?
Creationism is the belief that the Universe and Life originate “from specific acts of divine creation” as outlined in the Bible (Genesis).
How old is the Earth based on stories in the Bible?
6,000 years old
What did Martin Luther King say with regards to religion and science?
“Science investigates, religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power. Religion gives man wisdom, which is control”
