Origins of the universe

• Catholic beliefs about the origin of the

  universe

  Catholic Christians believe God is an omnipotent and transcendent creator. Their beliefs are based on the teachings of St Augustine (ex

  nihilo) and the book of Genesis. They believe that the creation story is not meant to be taken literally. Catholics read the stories of creation in

  a symbolic way, believing that they reveal some important things about the nature of the world and humanity. Pope John Paul II stated that

  Catholic belief and science are compatible. The theory of evolution can be accepted as part of God’s plan for the universe.
• Fundamentalist Christian beliefs about the

  origin of the universe

  Some Christians take a fundamentalist approach. They believe that the account of creation as it appears in the Bible is an accurate account of

  what happened – this belief is known as creationism. They believe that the creation of the world and everything in it took place in six

  calendar days, exactly as the book of Genesis says. This stems from the view that the Bible is the direct word of God, which is never mistaken.
• Jewish beliefs about the origin of the

  universe

  God is the creator and source of all life. This teaching comes from the book of Genesis which is the first book of the Torah (Jewish written

  law). Most Orthodox Jews accept the Genesis accounts of creation as the literal world of God as was revealed to Moses on Mt Sinai. They

  celebrate the creation of the world weekly through by observing the Sabbath and they celebrate creation through the festival of Rosh

  Hashanah.
• The current scientific thinking about the creation of the world is that it was caused by the Big Bang
• Big Bang


  All matter was originally concentrated into a tiny point which, as a result of a massive explosion in space 13.7 billion years ago, expanded into the universe and is still expanding today
• Big Bang


  • Associated with Professor Stephen Hawking