The Universe, Creation and the Place of Human Beings Flashcards
1
Q
What is the Christian belief about the creation of the universe and life?
A
- God is the deliberate creator of everything
- Everything has a God-given purpose
- Life and species are fixed
- Genesis 1 - Hierarchal, ordered creation, creation in order to support life, created in 6 days, God created it through speech, he sees that it is good (so creation has intrinsic value)
- Genesis 2 - Earth exists, but is formless, God adds form by creating humans out of dust, then plants and animals, creation is also in order to support life
2
Q
What is the scientific (non-religious) belief about creation of the universe and what is some evidence for these beliefs?
A
- The universe came about accidentally and via natural processes
- The Big Bang, which was an explosion that took place 14 billion years ago created the universe and it has been ever-expanding from that point
- Evidenced by red-shift, which explains that the wavelength from galaxies far away appears different as a result of the universes’s constant expansion
- Also by background radiation which is present from the big bang
- There is another theory called steady state theory which suggests the universe is eternal and perhaps expanding but maintaining a constant density though this is countered by the above evidence
3
Q
What is the scientific belief about the creation of life and what is some evidence for these beliefs?
A
- Evolution and commonality - Charles Darwin
- Evidenced by fossils being found for exinct species unable to adapt to their environment
- Many lifeforms have traits which are impractical and suggest evolution caused them to exist
- Through the study of genetics we have proof traits are inherited from our parents
Commonality is the theory that all lifeforms are developing through the same processes
4
Q
What are the reasons for believing religious theories about creation?
A
- The Bible and God are always correct (biblical inerrancy) due to God’s omniscience, so if they conflict with scientitic theories, science is wrong
- The biblical creation stories helps to explain why we are here and our purpose through beliefs of dominion, stewardship and imago dei
- Some Christian readers may not take the story literally, and therefore can see how the story of creation roughly lines up with science
- Many might think that the evidence (e.g. fossils of extinct animals) may have been put there to test our faith
5
Q
What are some reasons against believing religious theories about creation?
A
- There are scientific theories which fundamentally conflict with religious theories, and these theories (the theories of the Big Bang and evolution) have empirical evidence
- Science is all we need to understand the universe (scientism) - if science doesn’t have an answer it doesn’t exist - and there are some things the Bible cannot explain like fossils
- There are conflicting stories within the Bible (Genesis 1 and Genesis 2)
6
Q
What are the Christian beliefs about what our purpose is?
A
- Ultimate purpose is to get to heaven through faith and loving God and your neighbour as yourself
- Dominion - Humans are superior to all animals and should rule over them. We are also the pinnacle of life and what God created the universe for - Genesis 1: ‘Rule over every living creature that moves on the ground’
- Stewardship - Humans must tend the remains of Eden and should therefore look after the environment - Genesis 2: ‘God took the man and put him in Eden to take care of it’. This is because it belongs to and was created by God.
- Reproduction - ‘Go forth and multiply’
- Proselytising - ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations’
Some may argue that dominion means we are the leaders of this planet so therefore have a responsibility to look after the earth
7
Q
What do Christians believe about the purpose of women?
A
- To be subservient and helpers of men: ‘It is not good that man should be alone, I will make a helper for him’ - Genesis 2
- Also because in Genesis 3 (the fall) part of women’s punishment was to be obedient to their husbands
- Adam’s punishment was to work the land, whereas Eve’s was to have pains in childbirth, meaning her main purpose is reproduction
- St. Augustine believes women were made simply because they were best suited for the task of procreation whereas men were best suited for other tasks - ‘Women will be saved through child bearing’
- However many believe that women should be more equal to men: ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Jesus Christ’ (Galatians 3:28)
- This is corrobated by Jesus in the story of Mary and Martha telling Martha to stop doing housework and listen to him instead
8
Q
What is the Christian belief about humanity’s uniqueness?
A
- Imago dei - We were created in God’s image: ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness’ - Genesis 1
- Therefore we are the pinnacle of creation and unique so should be able to rule over the earth (this is what grants us dominion), but need to respect one another as we are all in his image
- It is believed that the rest of life was created specifically for us: ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant… they will be yours for food’
- In Genesis 2, Adam naming all plants and animals suggests humans are supreme and unique
- Events such as Jesus washing his disciples feet shows that he believes he is equal to humans
9
Q
What are the beliefs about the commonality of all beings?
A
- We were all made through the same process of evolution
- Liberal Christians who believe in evolution will share this view
- Christians may otherwise believe that all beings were made by God which is the same process
10
Q
What are reasons for animal rights?
A
- Commonality - Humans and animals were created and are still changing through the same means, therefore we were not made superior to them
- Animals are more sentient than once assumed and can feel pleasure and pain as well as experience complex emotions
- Stewardship means we should look after the earth - this includes the animals within it as they too are God’s creation
- The Bible teaches that while we can use animals for our benefit, we should not make them suffer beyond that ‘Eat the fruit but do not destroy the trees. The trees are not your enemy’
- 2006 animal welfare act
- Jesus being portrayed as a sheep suggests the innocence of many animals
11
Q
What are the reasons against animal rights?
A
- Beliefs about dominion and Imago Dei show that we are superior and should therefore be able to utilise animals however we wish: ‘All the animals, birds and fish will live in fear of you. They are all placed under your power.’
- They help us avoid suffering (food sources, scientific testing etc.) and can be used to our advantage
- From an aetheist perspective, humans have no other purpose other than to survive and reproduce and neither do animals, therefore if they help us survive, we should utilise them
12
Q
What is the main Christian belief about soul and body?
A
- Dualism
- This is the belief that we have a body and a soul and that they are seperate: ‘may whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless’
This belief stems from Augustine
13
Q
What are Christian beliefs about the physical body?
A
- Some Christians, like Augustine, believe the body is driven by impulsive and instincual drives which disrupts the rationality of the soul
- Because we are ‘fallen’ (after The Fall), we have a predilection to sin and our bodies may become rebellious, this is called concupiscence
- The body should be looked after: ‘your body is a temple of the holy spirit’. Also, we were created by God so should respect his creation
The first two views are St. Augustines views
14
Q
What is the Christian definition of a soul?
A
The spiritual or non-material part of a person
The words ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ are used interchangeably
15
Q
What are Christian beliefs about the soul/spirit?
A
- It exists, but is seperate from the body
- Many, like Augustine, believed it was rational and formed our better judgement which the body sometimes rebelled against
- The soul is not physical, and is not affected by physical processes of aging or time so is immortal for this reason
- The soul is what goes to heaven or hell and is therefore immortal
16
Q
What are some reasons to believe in a soul?
A
- Near death experiences suggests consciousness does not come from the brain
- Bible says humans have souls ‘may your whole spirit and body and soul be kept blameless’
- In Genesis 2, ‘God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’ suggests a body and a soul
- Seems implausible that physical matter could give rise to consciousness
- We have a moral concious which wants to do things such as find the meaning of life and be artistic which a simply impulsively driven body would not do
17
Q
What are some reasons to not believe in a soul?
A
- Physicalism - only physical things exist as these are the only things we can empirically observe therefore there is no soul
- There is zero empirical evidence for souls existing, all attempts to prove it go on gut feeling rather than fact
- The explanation for things such as moral conscience and religious experiences can be found in psychology and neurology by studying physical matter in the brain - Richard Dawkins
- The theory of Occams Razor suggests physical theories should always triumph over the supernatural
- We can observe with non-conflicting science that things are caused one after the other by physical things only in the material world, suggesting nothing metaphysical exists
- People who do not believe in an ultimate reality or in the afterlife have no reason to believe in a soul
18
Q
What are non-religious views on sin, ignorance (of God) and selfishness?
A
- Sin and ignorance of God does not exist
- Since a ‘sin’ is an action against God and God does not exist, a sin is impossible and it is impossible to of ignorant of something non-existing
- They believe that immoral actions and selfishness are caused by either biological desires and the fight for survival or hard determinism, and are unacceptable only because they reduce the quality of life of those alive
19
Q
What are Christian beliefs about the root of human sin?
A
- The Fall (Genesis 3), where Adam and Eve were tempted by a serpent to consume the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge, disobeying God and putting themselves first - as a result man and woman both received punishment for it, giving humans original sin
- Some believe that the Fall gave us mortality and hardship, and in our struggle against this we sometimes sin by turning away from God for our own benefit
- Others believe that the Fall corrupted our better judgement and we are so often blinded by sin that we turn away from God
The same applies to ignorance and selfishness
20
Q
What is a quote about what happened in The Fall?
A
‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate’
21
Q
What are some Christian beliefs about the cause of human sin?
Not where sin originally came from, but things which humans may be blinded by when making decisions (as a result of their predilection to sin from original sin)
A
- In the story of David and Bathsheba, David was blinded by lust and wanted to cover up his impregnation of Uriah’s wife, but when he failed to do this, he sent Uriah out to die (blinded by regret) - ‘But the thing David had done displeased the Lord’
- In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain attacked Abel because he was jealous about how Abel’s offerings pleased God more
- Abel killed him out of retaliation
22
Q
What are the Christians views on why selfishness and greed are wrong?
A
- The Golden Rule proscribes selfishness, therefore meaning it is a sin which God will judge you for (said judgement is demonstrated in the parable of the sheep and goats)
- Parable of the good samaritan - A Samaritan helps a Jew who was beaten up on the side of the road and Jesus says ‘Go and do likewise’
23
Q
Why are the Christian views on why ignorance is wrong?
A
- Ignorance of morality is often forgiven (as forgiveness is essential), evidenced by Jesus on the cross saying ‘father forgive them for they know not what they do’
- That being said, it is a Christians duty to edify their conscience and read the Bible to avoid ignorance
- Many believe the Fall skewed our better judgement so we are born ignorant and must learn - therefore it is not necessarily our fault
24
Q
What is a quote on why sin should not occur?
A
‘be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’
However, this is only an ideal and it is expected that all humans will have sin
