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• Catholic theology


  Beliefs about the origins of the universe
• Catholic beliefs about the origins of the universe


  • Use a combination of the Bible and science
  • No conflict between religion and science
• Genesis


  The first book of the Bible, which talks about the universe being formless and empty at the beginning
• God


  The only being capable of creating the universe from nothing, as he is omnipotent, eternal, and transcendent
• God created the universe


  Through the scientific process of the Big Bang
• Big Bang


  The scientific process through which God created the universe, as the "prime mover" and "first cause"
• The idea of the Big Bang was proposed by a Catholic priest, Father Lemaître
• Father Lemaître referred to the initial state of the universe as a "primeval atom" or "cosmic egg"
• God placed the primeval atom/cosmic egg and caused the Big Bang to start the process of creation
• Creatio ex nihilo


  Creation from nothing
• According to Augustine, the Bible makes it clear that there was nothing before God created everything
• According to Augustine, the Bible makes it clear that God didn't use anything to create everything, He only used His words
• According to Augustine, the Bible makes it clear that God created everything in the universe, the heavens and the earth
• Saint Augustine: 'Out of nothing you created heaven and earth'
• Creatio ex nihilo


  • It teaches that God creates all the universe from nothing
  • It shows that God did not use any pre-existent material to create the universe because nothing existed before God made it
  • It reveals that God is omnipotent, all-powerful, since He created the whole universe using only His words
  • It reveals that God is eternal, He's forever, He existed before the universe was created and He'll be there long after it
  • It reveals that God is transcendent, above and beyond time and space, God was there before the universe so He must be beyond it and that enabled Him to create everything out of nothing
• Catholics


  • Look at the Bible metaphorically, see stories as having hidden meanings and teachings
  • Believe the Bible is not all fact
• Creationists (Fundamentalists)


  • Interpret the Bible literally as the direct word of God
  • Believe the Bible is 100% fact and should not be questioned
  • Believe the universe was created by God in 7 literal 24-hour days
  • Believe the Earth is only around 6,000 years old
  • Believe God created all animals and humans in their final form
• Creationists' beliefs about the Bible


  Lead to beliefs about the creation of the universe, Earth, animals and humans
• Metaphorical interpretation


  Seeing the Bible stories as having hidden meanings and teachings, not just as facts
• Literal interpretation


  Seeing the Bible as the direct, factual word of God that should not be questioned
• Catholics believe the Bible reveals important messages about God being the creator, God's omnipotence and transcendence, humans having a special relationship with God, and the Earth being a gift to be cared for
• Science bases its knowledge upon evidence and things which can be tested
• Empirical knowledge


  Knowledge that you gain through sense observation
• Science will rely upon empirical evidence to discover the origin of the universe
• Big Bang


  The most reasonable explanation that science can provide for the creation of the universe
• Empiricism


  Studying the natural world and gaining knowledge based on facts and evidence
• Charles Darwin


  • Naturalist who wrote "On the Origins of Species by Means of Natural Selection"
  • Observed animals, especially finches, on the Galapagos Islands
• Natural selection


  The process of evolution where species with characteristics that help them survive in changes to their environment are more likely to live and reproduce, passing on those characteristics
• Everything has come from stars, everything is made of stardust
• Survival of the fittest


  Organisms produce more offspring than can survive, and those with beneficial mutations or changes are more likely to live and reproduce
• Evidence for the Big Bang


  • Universe is still expanding today
  • Cosmic microwave background radiation
• God is omniscient


  Evolution may be part of His plan, as He knows everything
• Scientists who support the Big Bang theory


  • Edwin Hubble
  • Gamoff
  • Wilson and Penzias
  • Stephen Hawking
• Evolution


  A complex system that requires a designer
• Evidence for evolution


  • Fossils showing earlier forms of animals
  • Similarities in genetic code between related species
• Stephen Hawking believes the most reasonable explanation for the universe is that it came from nothing, with no God
• Key terms related to evolution


  • Empiricism
  • Natural selection
  • Survival of the fittest
• Only God is omnipotent enough to design and implement such a system as evolution
• God creating evolution


  Gives life meaning and purpose
• Genesis is not a history book and should not be treated as fact