Theme B: Religion and Life Flashcards
What are the hindu origins of life
- Atman is eternal and defines you
- Cycle of samsara
- Purusha surrendered his divine existence so that humans could begin and other life
- or that no one knows ‘hymn of creation’
What are the Christian origins of life
- god breathed the breath of life into clay to create humans
- made imago dei
- only have 1 life and have a soul
What are scientific ideas about the origins of the life
- All living things share a single common ancestor which we evolved from
- Natural selection selected desirable traits for their habitats so other species developed
- The creatures with the best adaptations survived (Survival of the fittest)
Define evolution
any inheritable traits in a population across generation
What are religious (mainly christian) responses to evolution
1) Young earth creationism
2) Atheistic evolution
3) Episodic creationism
4) Theistic evolution
What is young earth creationism
bible is inerrant and world was created 4000 years ago by calculating Bible family trees
What is atheistic evolution
as evolution happens without God there is no God
What is episodic creationism
belief evolution is valid up to a point but it becomes too complex so God came in.
(weak to God of the Gaps argument)
What is theistic evolution
evolution is the process by which God created
What do Hindus believe about evolution
- They can accept some parts of evolution as they match with the sequence of Avatars
- Hindus can then accept higher and lower forms of life for the atman where the end goal is spiritual evolution to be with Brahman
What does evolution say about humans purpose?
say humans purpose is to survive and procreate. Conflict with religious purposes
Define voluntary euthanasia (assisted suicide)
someone asks someone to end their own life (assisted suicide)
Define involuntary euthanasia
where other people decide to bring someone’s life to an end as they cannot make their decision independently
Define active euthanasia
when action is taken to bring someone’s life to an end
Define passive Euthanasia
when a decision is taken to stop treatment, resulting in death
What is illegal under English Law
both assisted suicide and euthanasia are illegal under English Law
What are the pros for assisted suicide
- prevent suffering for those of incurable disease
- do not want an undignified death
What are the cons for assisted suicide
- Weakens society respects for sanctity of life
- uncontrolled mass killing of vulnerable (slippery slope)
- Treatment may develop before they die
What are the Christian arguments against Euthanasia
quote from corinthians and pslam
- against sanctity of life and only God can choose to take a life
‘all day ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be’ - Psalm 139:16
‘you yourselves are God’s temple… God’s spirit lives inside you’ 1: Corinthians
What are Christian arguments for Euthanasia
- Some say it is the most loving thing to do and we have been given free will
- CofE and Catholic Church support that passive euthanasia may be necessary to prolong suffering
Hindu arguments for euthansia
-irrelevance of physical body
‘just as a person casts off worn-out clothes so also the atman casts off worn out bodies’
-Hindus choose to go into a vegetive state when older to reach spirituality by not eating
Hindu arguments against euthanasia
- Goes against Ahimsa
- disrupting time of samsara gives a person bad karmic consequence
- alternative is spiritual and physical care in hospice
What do scientists believe about eh origin of the Universe
14 billion years ago all matter and energy was at a singularity and expanded rapidly forming stars, galaxies and planets. This expansion was the beginning of time (Big Bang theory)
What evidence supports the Big Bang theory
Redshift of light from distant galaxies and existence of cosmic background radiation in all directions
What do scientists believe about the formation of the Earth
Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago from dust and gas left after sun forming; earth cooled gardually allowing life to form
What do Christians believe about the origins of the universe
God made evrything in 6 days
the first day - light was created
the second day - the sky was created
the third day - dry land, seas, plants and trees were created
the fourth day - the Sun, Moon and stars were created
the fifth day - creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly were created
the sixth day - animals that live on the land and finally humans, made in the image of God were created
What do Hindus believe about the origins of the Universe
- universe as one of many bubbles in space; creation is a continuous process no single act
- most popular is Vishnu lies on a snake then lord brahma comes out of his navel on a white lotus flower and then he created everything