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Key Words Scientific truth: based upon observation, hypothesis experiments and repeated testing Religious truth: truths that are spiritually revealed and part of the doctrine of religion Evidence: facts that indicate whether something is true Hypothesis: an idea, based on known facts, that is yet to be proved as being correct Theory: a hypothesis that explains facts that are widely accepted or well-tested Creationism: a view which only accepts that God created the universe, as laid down in the sacred text followed by the believer (e.g. Book of Genesis) Big Bang: the beginnings of the universe according to many scientists took place when a singularity exploded and from this explosion, all the matter that makes up the universe came into being Creation: the act by which God brought the universe into being Evolution: scientific belief that life forms have changed over time, developing from simple to complex creatures Darwin: Charles Darwin naturalist who developed the theory of evolution Fundamentalist: a person who believes in the basics of a religion, particularly believing that what is contained in a sacred text is accurate, almost factual, record that cannot be questioned Middle Ages: a period of history roughly from the 5th century CE to the 16th century CE Cosmological Revolution: development of scientific ideas that challenged religious belief in the late Middle Ages, for example, that the earth is round and the sun is the focal point of the universe Evolving, changing truth: the idea that what is considered true changes over time, developing from simple to complex creatures Absolute truth: fixed, unalterable facts. Something which is true for all times and in all cultures. Authority: something or somebody accepted as having the power or right to expect obedience Different truths Scientific truth Many people will only accept the truth of something when it is proved true using scientific evidence. Scientists use observation, hypothesis (an idea based on known facts that are yet to be proved), experiment and repeated testing to prove something is true. Scientific truths are objective because they are not just one person’s opinion. Scientific truth is constantly changing because observation and experiment may result in new evidence that proves earlier scientific theories untrue or inaccurate. For many people, scientific truths are the most trustworthy type of truth because of the painstaking evidence used to support them. Religious truth Religious truth is what believers claim to be true about the existence of God, the origin of the universe and the purpose of life. The evidence they use to support a particular religious truth involves experience, belief, trust and faith. When believers make claims about the truth of their religious beliefs, they offer evidence drawn from religious authority revealed through sacred writings, their conscience, religious experience, the history of the religion, and from observation of the natural world. However, the main source of evidence that believers use to support the truth of their religion is their faith. Origins of the universe Big Bang This is an explanation for the origin of the universe and it is thought to have taken place 10 to 15 billion years ago. This theory supports the idea of an ever-changing universe because the world is still evolving. The universe is continuing to expand out from the point at which it began. After approximately half a million years, the temperatures had cooled to allow the gases, hydrogen and helium to form. It took another billion years before the stars and galaxies began to appear. Creation account – Genesis 1 and 2:1-3The Genesis account of creation explains that in the beginning there was darkness and God. In this story, we are told that God created the world in seven days from nothing. On each day God created something new to improve his creation. On day one God created light. On the next five days he created the land, sea and vegetation, the sun, moon and stars, fish and birds, animals and finally man. On the seventh day, God rested. At the end of each day, God saw that his creation was good. Believers’ view of Genesis: 1) Fundamentalist The scripture is the direct Word of God. Everything is the literal, exact truth and Genesis is a factual historical record. The world was created in six days. This belief that the creation account in Genesis is the true account, in the sense of a true scientific account, is known as creationism. 2) Non-literal view Many Christians believe that the writers did not record God’s message word for word but brought their own personalities and writing styles to each event. The writers were inspired by God. The account teaches a religious idea – that God created the universe – and was written in a way that the people of the time with limited scientific knowledge would understand. 3) Myth For some believers, including some who hold a non-literal view, the Genesis account of creation is a myth. A myth is believed to have truth within it, but it is not scientific or historical truth; it is a religious or moral truth. It is a story to help people understand God’s role in creation; it is not intended to be taken as a scientific account of creation. Are Genesis and the Big Bang theory compatible? Atheist view Fundamentalist Many religious believers/theists religious believer No, don’t believe in God. No, Big Bang conflicts Yes, if Genesis not taken literally. If accepted as Only accept scientific with Genesis and Genesis a myth, then it is possible God made the Big account. is the truth. Bang happen. Science suggests nothing happened before the universe began and this agrees with Genesis. Stages of creation are not so different. Other religious creation account - Sikhism Sikhs believe that God created the whole universe. God was all that existed before creation. While alone, God planned the universe and then, when God had finished the planning, everything needed for creation was an enclosed in an egg. When God decided that the time was right, the shell burst and elements to create the universe started to move out and away from the point of bursting. Sikhs believe that there is nothing in science that contradicts this teaching in the Guru Granth Sahib. Why is this creation story compatible with the Big Bang theory? Cosmological Revolution In the Middle Aged, religious and scientific views of the world agreed with each other. However, in the 16th century, new scientific developments led to a change in the way in which people understood God’s place in the universe. The changing world-view is known as the Cosmological Revolution. Earth-centred universe Genesis Everything on the flat earth decayed and always changing Science based on Bible’s account in Medieval world-view Everything above the moon in God’s realm did not change and moved in perfect circles Authority of the Bible was regarded as final End of the Middle Ages, there was a new interest in learning, including the study of astronomy and science. Copernicus: earth went round sun and only the moon revolved the earth. The sun is the focal point of the universe. Kepler: discovered planets moved in elliptical orbits Galileo: movement of planets not God, it is natural Challenge of Cosmological Revolution: Challenges idea God had special relationship with humanity because God had not put humans at the centre of everything – the sun is the centre of the universe. Scientists no longer referred to God to explain the way the physical world works. Science and religion began to separate. Religion became the explanation for those things that were still not understood by science. Parts of God’s creation were like a machine that ran itself. God might have created the world and moved on. Evolution Evolution is the process by which plant and animal life developed from the earliest and most primitive life forms to reach their present state. A chain can be established going back through time to trace the origin of each species. Charles Darwin first published his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Origin Of Species in 1858.The process of natural selection is the species changing over a period time by adapting to their situation. The survival of the fittest is the species that are best suited for life in their environment. The species have got used to the change and adapted e.g. finches, pollen peepers. Darwin suggested that human beings had developed (evolved) from apes through natural selection over hundreds of thousands of years Are Genesis and the theory of evolution compatible? Atheists No, don’t believe in God. Creationist No, evolution conflicts with Genesis and Genesis account is the truth. All life forms were in their final form by day six and, therefore, one species cannot evolve into another. Religious believers/theists Yes, if Genesis not taken literally and it is accepted as a myth, a story with religious truth. Evolution could have been God’s plan. Both accounts, first life appears in the sea and the final form is humanity. Challenge of Darwin Brought up as a Christian. Darwin believed evolution would support the existence of God 1809 Darwin became convinced that although God created life, God had left the details to random chance 1860s His research caused him to reject the evidence for God in nature and ultimately, doubt the Bible 1871 Challenge to Genesis: 1) Animals and plants were not in their final form by the sixth day of creation. 2) Natural selection occurs by random chance, rejects the work of a designer God. 3) Evolution showed that things changed to fit with the environment. This conflicts with God creating the Reasons for rejecting Darwin: Humans were made in the “image of God”, so not evolved from other species. Humans have spiritual soul that distinguishes them from animals, so not evolved. Gaps in fossil records, therefore no conclusive evidence that the evolutionary process took place. No clear fossil evidence to support the link between the apes and humans. Conflict in time, place of human life and process. Reasons for accepting Genesis: o Evolution process through which God’s creation took place. o Evolution shows the power of God and God’s design for the development of humanity. o Evolution looks at how things occur and religion looks at why things occur. o Genesis is thought to be a simple picture-language answer to the same sort of questions that the theory of evolution tries to answer. o Both versions tell the same truth but they tell it in different ways. Can science and religion agree? Yes If the Bible’s creation stories are not taken literally, then science can be regarded as revealing the laws by which God created the universe Islam has always taught that science proves the truth of the Qur’an, and Islam encourages scientific research. Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism all agree that scientific findings do not conflict with the teachings of their religion No Scientists who are atheists can never agree with religion as they totally reject any aspect of religious belief. No if take scriptures literally It is dangerous to change religious truths to fit scientific laws as this leads to the rejection of other teachings of the Bible. Religious believers must be willing to adapt their interpretation of the scriptures and their religious teachings to keep up with scientific discoveries Many believers feel that the conflict between science and religion is over unimportant points. A fundamentalist believer would state that it is not possible to accept the Big Bang theory as it conflicts with the Genesis account and the Genesis account is the truth. A creationist believe all forms were in their final form by day six and, therefore, one species cannot evolve from another and so they cannot accept evolution Conclusion Many religious believers argue that it is possible to accept the Big Bang and evolutionary theories without rejecting their faith. They believe that evolution is the process through which God’s creation took place. In fact, they say, their faith can be supported by scientific theories as they show how God acts in the world in which we live. Whether someone accepts both science and religions depends on how they interpret the scriptures and teachings of their religion. Absolute truth versus evolving, changing truth Absolute truth is when it is thought that what is believed to be true cannot be changed. Fundamentalist Christians believes that the Bible contains the absolute truth. Richard Dawkins argues that God does not exist because there is no evidence to support a belief in God. For Dawkins, this is an absolute truth. Evolving, changing truth varies, depending on the knowledge and understanding at the time. For an agnostic, belief in God could be an evolving, changing truth. The main source of authority for people is themselves, what they personally believe to be true. This means that truth is subjective. How people interpret an illusion shows the relationship between science and religion: it depends on what people believe to be true. Are science and religion trying to find the answers to the same questions? Answer is probably yes, but not in the same way. Both asking questions about origins and development of universe and life. But, science puts emphasis on ‘how’ and religion puts an emphasis on ‘why.’ Science questions How did the universe begin? How did life begin? How did the universe develop? How did life on earth evolve? Religious questions Why did the universe begin? Why did life begin? Why did the universe develop? Why did life on earth evolve? Science versus religion in the modern world In the 19th century the philosophy of ‘god of the gaps’ became known, role of religion filled gaps science could not explain. Deism is the belief that once God set things going, he moved on and didn’t again intervene in his creation. There was a belief science would find answers to everything but this has not happened and some scientists e.g. John Polkinghorne turn to religion for answers to what cannot be explained. Many religious believers and scientists argue that the modern world needs both religion and science. Science can explain facts, but the spiritual needs of people have to be catered for.