Religion vs Science

Question 1

What is a creationists/literalist? (2)

Answer 1

• A christian who interprets the bible literally

- Accepts every word of the Genesis Creation story as true

Question 2

What is a non literalist?(3)

Answer 2

• Christian who interprets the bible as a story
• Believes it contains important truths but is not factual
• no real conflict between science and religion

Question 3

What is intelligent design?

Answer 3

-universe is explained by the existence of an intelligent designer, this would be God

Question 4

Why might a person choose to be both scientific and religious?

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Briefly explain where a Christian would say the Universe and mankind has originated from.

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

What did Albert Einstein say with regards to science and religion?

Answer 6

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”

Question 7

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?

Answer 7

Richard Dawkins

“There’s no such thing as a Christian child, only a child of Christian parents”

Question 8

What is the theory of evolution?

Answer 8

The theory that all species have evolved from simple life forms (bacterium) that existed around 3 billion years ago, by natural selection.

Question 9

BIBLE

“The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not …….” - Galileo

Answer 9

“The Bible shows the way to go to heaven, not the way the heavens go” - Galileo

Question 10

What similarities are there between the story of creation and the Big Bang theory?

Answer 10

There are similarities in the chronology

Planets and atmosphere
Sea creatures and simple life forms
Birds
Mammals
Humankind

Question 11

What is creationism?

Answer 11

Creationism is the belief that the Universe and Life originate “from specific acts of divine creation” as outlined in the Bible (Genesis).

Question 12

What did Martin Luther King say with regards to religion and science?

Answer 12

“Science investigates, religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge, which is power. Religion gives man wisdom, which is control”

Question 13

How might some Christians argue that the tale of Genesis leaves room for the theory of evolution?

Answer 13

They say that God created animals in kinds but they have developed in order to survive in various environments since.

Question 14

What is the Cosmological argument and which two philosophers are more famous for popularising it?

Answer 14

The cosmological argument claims that because all things in nature depend on something else for their existence, the whole cosmos must depend on a being that exists independently. Plato and Thomas Aquinas are famous for supporting this view.

Question 15

What is the commonly criticized flaw in the cosmological argument?

Answer 15

If all things in the Universe are dependent, it goes no way to explaining how God himself came into being.

Question 16

List some reasons why a person might argue we should care about our environment (5)

Answer 16

-For future generations - so they can enjoy a bountiful earth.
Because environmental issues cause suffering eg. climate change, extreme weatehr ⇒ natural disasters
-We are intellectual beings with a capacity to look after our environment
-The Earth is unique and should be preserved
-Environmental impacts can often not be reversed (eg. climate change)
-The Earth is precious because it is God’s creation.

Question 17

CO2 levels in the atmosphere are higher than they have been for …….. years.

Answer 17

CO2 ​levels in the atmosphere are higher than they have been for 600,000 years.

Question 18

List some arguments for the existence of God

Answer 18

-Cosmological argument

Question 19

What are the impacts of the greenhouse affect as outlined by the organisation Greenpeace?

Answer 19

Melting ice caps and glaciers, rising sea levels and chaotic weather. More flooding, more drought, more disease, famine and war, creating hundreds of millions of refugees.

Question 20

Outline some examples of human exploitation of animals(6)

Answer 20

• Clothes - fur
• Sport - horse/greyhound racing
• Animal testing
• Home furnishing - leather/fur
• In captivity - zoos/circuses
• In agriculture (particularly in less economically developed countries)

Question 21

Define vivisection

Answer 21

The testing of medical treatments on animals

Question 22

Name two organisations that oppose vivisection

Answer 22

The National Anti-Vivisection society

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Question 23

BIBLE

What is dominion? Give the Bible teaching attached to it

Answer 23

The belief that humans are superior to animals and can use them for our own benefit “Have dominion over every living thing” - Genesis 1:28

Question 24

What is the concept of stewardship?

Answer 24

A Christian view that we have a duty of care towards our environment and all other living things

Question 25

CHURCHES

What are the two opinions the Church of England have expressed about vivisection?

Answer 25

We must exercise “responsible stewardship of the natural world” and “human beings have more value than animals”.

Question 26

CHURCHES

Which church said that “we do not own the world and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will”?

Answer 26

Society of Friends (Quakers)