origins

• Why the origin of the universe is an important question


  • It's part of human nature to find the answers to things
  • The answer might help us answer the question: "What is life for?"
  • People have always wondered whether there is something controlling the universe (God?)
  • If there's a point to the universe then maybe how we live our lives matters more
  • If the universe or world is just an accident, then maybe there's no point to life
• The story of creation is found in the Bible Genesis 1
• The Genesis creation story


  • God created the world in 6 days
  • Human beings were created last because they were special
  • Humans were created to look after God's creation
• Creationism


  Some Christians believe the Bible is literally true
• Many Christians


  Believe the Bible is not a science book, it doesn't tell us how the world began but why it began and what this means for us all (the Genesis story is poetry or metaphor)
• The story of the creation of the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) is found in the Bible Genesis
• Adam and Eve


  • God formed a man from the mud of the earth and bathed into his nostrils the breath of life
  • God made Adam fall asleep and formed a woman from one of his ribs - Eve
• Darwin's Theory of Evolution


  • Single celled organisms evolved into more complex ones
  • When 2 of a species mate their offspring is a unique mixture of their DNA
  • In the copying process random changes in the DNA take place some good for survival and some bad
  • Living things (including humans) have evolved from each other over millions of years
  • Humans were not created by God right at the beginning
• Fossils show that simple life forms gradually changed and developed into more complex life forms
• Similarities between religious and non-religious explanations


  • Both try to explain the origins of life
  • Both believe how the world was created is an important question
• Differences between religious and non-religious explanations


  • Religious explanations tell us why the universe was created and what that means for us
  • Non-religious explanations tell us how the world was created
  • Religions use the language of poetry and metaphors and stories, non-religious explanations use scientific language
  • Religious explanations believe there is a creator behind the universe (God), non-religious explanations suggest the Big Bang could be an accident and evolution a natural process
• The Bible states that the Universe was created by God
• The Creation Story in Genesis

  1. God said "Let there be light" and light appeared

  2. God created the sky, dry lands, seas, plants, sun, moon, stars, sea creatures, land animals, and humans

  3. At the end of each day God looked at what He had done and said it was good

  4. God blessed the seventh day and set it apart as a special day of rest
• The Creation Story in Genesis


  • For some Christians, the Bible is the exact word of God and the Universe was created in six days
  • For other Christians, the writers of the Bible were inspired by God but wrote the stories in a way which people could understand
  • The purpose of the story is to tell people why the Universe and people were created, not to provide detailed explanations about how the Universe was created
  • The Creation Story is easy to understand
• Scientists have developed their own theories to explain the origin of the World with a great deal of evidential proof, and there is absolutely no scientific proof to support the literal view of the Creation Story in Genesis
• The Creation Story in the Bible has similarities with the creation stories in other religions, as they were written to give answers to important questions at a time when knowledge of science was minimal
• The Creation Story in Genesis answers an important why question but doesn't answer important how questions
• The Big Bang Theory


  • Science provides compelling evidence of a 'Big Bang' start to the Universe
  • Powerful telescopes allow us to look at the very heart of the 'Big Bang'
  • Meteorites and Earth formed from the same primordial stuff, and by comparing the amount of uranium and lead in rocks, scientists were able to work out that the Earth is 4.5 billion years old
  • Many Christians believe there is compatibility between the Big Bang theory and their beliefs, as the Bible has to be seen in its context and the Creation Story is a simple and poetic exploration to show the power of God
• The Big Bang Theory is just a theory and the history of Science shows how theories can change and, in some cases, be discounted altogether
• The Big Bang theory leaves many questions unanswered, such as what existed before the Big Bang and whether the Universe will continue to expand forever
• Creationists


  Believe the World was created exactly as described in the Book of Genesis and totally reject the Big Bang theory because it contradicts the Bible's teachings
• Creationists argue that Science has its limitations and point out that Science has often been very wrong in the past
• The Big Bang theory tells us what happened but it doesn't tell us why it happened, and it doesn't provide moral guidance or help us to live out our lives
• The Old Testament, the Book of Genesis Chapter 2, states that Adam and Eve were the first man and woman created by God
• The story of Adam and Eve


  • Provides simple answers to important questions such as why humans exist and why they are unique and special
  • Illustrates the power of God
  • Provides human beings with special status - they are made in God's image, are the result of God's will and not a cosmic accident, and have an important purpose in life
• The Book of Genesis provides two completely different accounts of God creating human beings
• The purpose of the Adam and Eve stories is to explain why people were created and not how, and they are similar to the creation stories in other religions
• Scientists have shown that people evolved from other creatures over millions of years and say there is no scientific proof to support the Adam and Eve story
• Origins of life according to science


  • All life on Earth developed from single cell organisms which emerged around 3.5 billion years ago
  • One scientific theory is that life arrived in a cloud of dust from a passing comet
  • The heat from volcanos and lightning strikes mixed with chemicals in the atmosphere to produce simple organic chemicals that are essential for life
  • Scientists have simulated the Earth's early sphere in a laboratory and shown that simple molecules can become more complex ones, some of which are capable of replicating themselves
  • The first living cells developed into bacteria and algae, and over millions of years these tiny organisms changed the Earth's atmosphere into one based on oxygen
  • More complex cells then evolved, leading to more complex creatures, and the first humans started to evolve around 5 million years ago
• Strengths of the Theory of Evolution


  • There is strong scientific evidence - physiological, fossil and bio geographical - to support Darwin's ideas
  • The key principles of the Theory of Evolution are widely accepted by scientists and the general public
  • Advances in scientific understanding since the 19th century have reinforced Darwin's ideas
• How simple forms of life developed


  They fed themselves by photosynthesising the energy from the Sun
• Over millions of years these tiny organisms changed the Earth's atmosphere into one based on oxygen and nitrogen
• How more complex life forms evolved

  1. 600 million years ago the only life was in the oceans

  2. By 400 million years ago there was enough oxygen for the first plants

  3. 325 million years ago and flying insects 25 million years later

  4. The first reptiles evolved 300 million years ago

  5. Within another 70 million years the first mammals had emerged
• The first human beings started to evolve from apes around 5 million years ago
• Around 98 percent of modern human DNA is identical to that of chimpanzees
• The Theory of Evolution


  • There is strong scientific evidence (physiological, fossil and biogeographical) to support Darwin's ideas
  • The key principles of the Theory of Evolution are widely accepted by scientists and the general public
  • Advances in scientific understanding since the 19th century have reinforced Darwin's ideas on natural selection
  • Advances in genetics, DNA and computer simulations have been particularly useful
  • Evidence from geologists and palaeontologists also support the process of evolution of living things
• Some scientists believe the Theory of Evolution is compatible with religion
• Some Christians combine their belief in God and science's explanations of the origin of the Universe and human life
• Some Christians have used Darwin's theory to reinforce their ideas of God as an ever-working God rather than a God who created all species at the same time
• Limitations of the Theory of Evolution


  • It is criticised by some Christians for lacking evidence including missing links and inconsistencies
  • It is attacked for being contrary to Biblical teaching
  • The theory isn't perfect and still has some important gaps
  • Fossil records do not provide examples of all the evolutionary stages
  • Theories can change and be disregarded altogether
  • Fundamentalist Christians totally reject the Theory of Evolution because it contradicts the Bible
  • Science has its limitations and has been wrong in the past
  • Scientists are still seeking firm clues about the origin of human life
  • There is still a lack of comprehensive agreement on how natural selection began
  • Darwin's theories are incapable of explaining everything which exists in the living world
  • The human brain which greatly exceeds the demands required by the evolutionary process, gives credence to the idea that human beings were made special by God
  • The Theory of Evolution only attempts to tell us how life originated it doesn't tell us why