CREATION

• Fundamentalist


  They believe that the words of the Bible are the true Words of God
• Conservative


  They believe that the Bible was written by humans who were inspired by God. They still follow its teachings but don't necessarily take every word as being the voice of God
• Liberal


  They regard the Bible as words that have been written about God. They interpret passages differently to fit modern society
• Natural Law is moral principles and values that are considered to be inherent to all humans
• Should Catholics expect every person to live according to Natural Law?

  • Yes - we would all fulfil the primary precepts (worship God, order society, reproduce, learn and defend the innocent)
  • Yes - there are different ways to fulfil the primary precepts, e.g. learn in different environments
  • No - what if a mother will die in childbirth; do you preserve the life of the mother or the life of the baby?
  • No - everyone has different opinions of how to order society
• Renewable energy resources


  • Solar
  • Wind
  • Hydroelectric
• Stewardship


  A duty to look after the environment
• How CAFOD help


  • Provide solar powered schools, water pumps and health clinics
  • Provide wood-saving stoves
• Why should Catholics practise stewardship?

  • "...the land belongs to me; and you are only strangers and guests of mine." Leviticus 25:23
  • "Ever since God created the world [God's] everlasting power and deity-however invisible-have been there for the mind to see in the things [God] has made." Romans 1:20
  • "I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you." Genesis 9:9-10
• Michelangelo's Creation of Adam is before Original Sin; the stained glass window is after Original Sin
• Differences between Michelangelo's Creation of Adam and the stained glass window

  • Stained glass window has animals, Michelangelo's painting does not
  • God is depicted with a beard in both, symbolising wisdom
  • God has an entourage behind Him in both, symbolising His importance
• How science and religion can be seen to be in harmony

  • God could have started the Big Bang
  • The Big Bang produced a flash of light, corresponding with Genesis accounts of "let there be light"
  • Science explains how we are here, religion explains why we are here
• Symbolism in Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

  • God is clothed and Adam isn't
  • God is above Adam
  • God has people behind him
  • There is a heart or a brain behind God
  • God and Adam have the same faces
  • God's hand reaching out to Adam's reflect the longing for a close relationship between God and man
• How the symbolism in Michelangelo's Creation of Adam helps us understand humanity

  • Adam and Eve have not disobeyed God yet, so Adam is not embarrassed about being naked
  • God being above Adam indicates He is more important than humans
  • God and Adam have the same faces because we are made in God's image
• Story of Adam and Eve

  1. God places Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden

  2. God encourages them to procreate and enjoy the created world

  3. God forbids them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil

  4. Eve eats the forbidden fruit after being convinced by a snake

  5. God discovers their disobedience and banishes them from the garden
• What the story of Adam and Eve teaches us about Free Will

  • Humans are very easily tempted
  • We have freedom to make our own choices but with that comes great responsibility
  • We will be punished if we disobey God and misuse our free will
• God is creator: only God should be worshipped; all of creation is special and should be looked after; we are all loved by God and equal in his eyes.
• God in Genesis 1

  • God is creator
  • God is omnipotent: the power to create from nothing; exactly as he wanted it to be; we can trust that God has the power to answer prayers and perform miracles
  • God is transcendent: God is completely outside time and space so he's completely beyond our understanding
• God in Genesis 2

  • God is anthropomorphised - he resembles a human
  • He is physically present creating with his hands like a craftsman; he interacts with human beings; he displays human emotions
  • This could be a good thing as it makes God more accessible - it makes it easier for us to understand him
• Genesis 1 states that humans are "made in the image and likeness of God." Genesis 2 says God breathed life into Adam
• The Creation of Adam (painted by Michelangelo c.1511-12) shows important Christian beliefs: God is the creator, God is above the earth and not part of it; God is the giver of life Adam is lifeless, God reaches out to bring him alive; God is mysterious and beyond description → God is clothed but Adam is naked; Humans are made in the image of God Adam and God look alike; Creation is beautiful and good → Adam is an ideal version of a man.
• WHAT DID MICHELANGELO GET WRONG-Genesis 2 says God breathed life into Adam- he didn't touch him God and Adam should be shown to be same size like they're equal; God should not be shown as a white old man; Adam's creation is the focus of the painting which makes women less than men.
• Another painting: Elizabeth Wang's From the Heart of God. Depicts God as triune and without gender, age or race; shows the creation of the whole universe not just Adam.
• Genesis 1:3


  Then God said let there be light and there was light.
• Genesis, 1:27.


  So God created human kind in his image. In the image of God, he created them male and female he created them.
• Genesis, 1: 31.


  God everything he made and it was good.
• Genesis, 2:7.


  Then the Lord formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils, the breath of life.
• Genesis 2:15


  The Lord took man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
• You cat 280


  Every person from the first moment of his life in the womb has an inviolable dignity.
• Genesis 3:16


  ".....yet you will be subject to him