re paper 1

• Key Concepts

  • Creation ex nihilo
  • Evolution
  • Imago Dei
  • Inspiration
  • Omnipotence
  • Revelation
  • Stewardship
  • Transcendence
• Creation ex nihilo


  The belief that God created the universe out of nothing
• Evolution


  The process of gradual change and development, including natural selection
• Imago Dei


  The belief that humans are created in the image and likeness of God
• Inspiration


  The belief that God guides and inspires individuals to act
• Omnipotence


  The belief that God is all-powerful
• Revelation

  The way God reveals himself
• Stewardship


  The belief that humans are stewards of creation and must look after the world for God
• Transcendence


  The belief that God exists above and beyond creation, unlike anything else that exists
• Nothing existed before God created it
• Only God creates because he's omnipotent (all-powerful)
• Creation ex nihilo


  Creation out of nothing
• St Thomas Aquinas: '"you created this thing out of nothing"'
• St Augustine's Confessions: '"you created heaven and earth but you did not begin to make them of your own substance"'
• Aristotle's view contrasts with creation ex nihilo
• Overview of Genesis 1

  1. Created light

  2. Separated light from dark

  3. Created sky

  4. Created dry land and seas

  5. Created sun, moon and stars

  6. Created animals

  7. Created humans

  8. Rested on the 7th day
• Overview of Genesis 2

  1. God created man (Adam)

  2. God provided Adam with everything in the Garden of Eden

  3. God created Eve from Adam's rib

  4. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were banned from the Garden
• How the Genesis accounts represent God


  • Creator
  • Omnipotent
  • Benevolent
  • Transcendent
• How the Genesis accounts represent humans

  • Humans are free
  • Human life is sacred
  • Humans have innate dignity
  • Humans are stewards of creation
• Michelangelo's Creation of Adam

  • Highlights that humans are the pinnacle of God's creation
  • Reflects that God is the eternal, all-powerful father
  • Adam resembles God, like a son
• Tree of Life Apse Mosaic

  • Cross and tree symbolise Christianity will grow and spread
  • Hand of God reaching out to Jesus, taking him to heaven
  • Doves symbolise peace and the Holy Spirit
  • Lamb of God symbolises Jesus' sacrifice that saved humanity
• How the mosaic expresses Jesus as the New Adam

  Jesus is the new Adam who restores humanity's relationship with God
• Structure of the Bible

  Has 4 main sections in the Old Testament: Pentateuch, Former Prophets, Latter Prophets, Writings
• Inspiration


  Bible writers were guided by the Holy Spirit
• Literary form of Genesis 1

  Historical narrative
• Literary form of Genesis 2

  Poetic narrative form, less structured
• New Testament sections


  • Gospels
  • Acts
  • Epistles
• Rules for inclusion in the New Testament

  • Had to be accepted by all Christians
  • Had to go back to the apostles
  • Had to have an early date
• Catholic view of Genesis creation accounts

  God made the world and wants it to be cared for
• Fundamentalist/Creationist view of Genesis creation accounts


  Need to look after the world, but for different reasons - humans are superior to other animals, creation happened in 6 calendar days
• Origins of the universe - different views

  • Roman Catholic: God created the world ex nihilo
  • Fundamentalist Christians: Creation happened in 6 days as per the Bible
  • Judaism: God is the creator and source of all life
  • Humanism/Atheism: Argued against the idea of the universe having a beginning
• Big Bang theory


  Creation caused by the big bang explosion, forming particles and atoms
• Stephen Hawking's theory


  Explosion caused particles and atoms to be formed, led people to doubt existence of God
• George Lemaitre's theory


  Physical universe was initially a single particle, formulated the modern Big Bang theory
• Professor John Polkinghorne's view


  Believes the grandest unified theory of everything is provided by belief in God
• Roman Catholic view of Big Bang theory

  Happy to accept it as it supports their belief that God created the universe out of nothing
• Many Christians accept the scientific explanations, seeing them as explaining how the universe came about, while Genesis explains why it began
• Some Christians are very critical of scientific ideas because they appear to contradict the truth that God has formed all life through his own power
• Theory of Evolution


  The ideas proposed by Charles Darwin that organisms gradually change and develop into new species through a process of natural selection
• Roman Catholic teaching on Evolution

  Holds no official position, does not condemn Charles Darwin, sees evolution as not inconsistent with the notion of creation