Universe Flashcards
The Origin of the Universe in Christianity
God created the Universe in 7 days ‘ex nihil’ (from nothing)
‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.’ - Genesis 1:1
‘And God said “Let there be light”, and there was light.’ - Genesis 1:3
(this can be taken literally or liberally)
The Origin of the Universe in Hinduism
The Universe was created ‘ex deo’ (from God) by Brahman
‘As from a fire aflame thousands of sparks came forth, even so from the Creator an infinity of beings have life and to him return again.’ - Upanishads
The origin of the Universe in empiricism
The universe originated 14 billion years ago from an infinitely dense point of energy. (The Big Bang theory.)
Evidence for this includes cosmic micro background radiation (radiation left over from the Big Bang) and red shift (evidence that the Universe is expanding, showing that it must have started from a singular point)
The Place of Human Beings in Christianity
‘God created mankind in his image,’ (imago dei) - Genesis 1:27
‘You do not belong to the world’ - John 15:19
Shows how humans are special unlike other creatures
The Place of Human Beings in Hinduism
The whole universe was created ‘ex deo’ (from God) and so everything is as special and everything is equal
Our atman (souls) aren’t specifically Human as every creature is reincarnated into other creatures.
The Place of Human Beings in Physicalism
We are made of perishable matter just like everything else and so we are not special
The Purpose of the Universe in Christianity
God created the Universe to exercise his omnibenevolence
States in Genesis that God’s creations are ‘good’
God created the Universe to exercise his omnipotence
‘Bring my sons […] whom I created for my glory’ - Isaiah
43:6-7
Purpose of the Universe in Nihilism
Only a creator could assign a purpose to the universe and there is no creator so the Universe has no purpose.
Purpose of the Universe according to Bertrand Russel
The existence of the universe is a brute fact. It cannot and need not be explained.
Do humans have a responsibility for the planet and the environment in Christianity?
Some Christians believe in Stewardship which states that it is our duty to care for the world as we are nature’s stewards.
‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’ - Genesis 2
Other Christians believe in Dominion which states that humans are superior to other creatures and we were placed on Earth to rule over the planet, not care for it. We can use the planet as we wish.
‘Fill the Earth and subdue it’ - Genesis 1
Do humans have a responsibility for the planet and the environment in Hinduism?
Yes. The whole Universe is created ‘ex deo’ (from the God Brahman) meaning that the world is holy and so we should take care of it.
Do humans have a responsibility for the planet in Utilitarianism?
Yes. We should care for the planet to ensure the maximum happiness for the greatest number of creatures. If we don’t care for the planet many animals and future humans will suffer greatly.
How can we help the environment?
Choose the most sustainable way of transportation - drive less and walk/cycle/take public transport more
Eat less meat
Recycling
Switch off lights when not in the room to save electricity
Don’t waste food
Christian beliefs on animal cruelty
Some Christians believe it is okay because we have dominion over all creatures and so we can treat them as we wish.
Other Christians believe in situation ethics which states that we should act in the most loving way and animal cruelty does not display agape
What is substance dualism?
The belief that the mind/soul and body are distinct substances. The mind/soul is non physical and immortal whereas the body is physical and mortal.
Rene Descartes proposed the divisibility argument which stated that bodies could be chopped up but thoughts can not which shows that thoughts and the mind are distinctly separate from our bodies.
