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Religion and Science
Scientific views on the creation of the Universe
Background
Following the medieval period Mathematics was an essential investigative tool and the Universal Laws could be
expressed in mathematical terms.
Experiments, rather than philosophy, became the final arbitrator of faith.
Religion and science began to separate. Scientific findings were to have significant consequences for religious
belief.
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The Universe was seen as a machine and not a living creation of God.
It was no longer necessary to believe that God caused movement in the Universe.
Scientists no longer had to refer to God in order to explain the way in which the physical world worked.
Deism developed. The belief that once God set things going, He could not intervene in His own creation.
The medieval world-view had been proven wrong. This resulted in many taking a sceptical approach to
scripture, and viewing the church as fallible.
AS LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVISION NOTES
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Scientific views of creation
The Big Bang Theory – The scientific theory has proved how the universe began. It can be used to either
support or reject the cosmological argument. Edwin Hubble (1920’s) discovered ‘red shift’ taking place. As stars
moved outwards from an area the stars became redder. This showed that the matter came from one explosion
and that the Universe is expanding.
The Theory of Evolution – Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species by means of Natural Selection (1859).
Darwin demonstrated why there appeared to be design in the world. Life has developed as a result of evolution.
The survival of the fittest and natural selection have given the appearance of design. Darwin said “I am almost
convinced (contrary to the belief I started with) that species are not immutable”.
Richard Dawkins (Evolutionary Biologist)
“Evolution is not a faith position. Like the ‘theory’ the earth is round and not flat, evolution is supported by
mountains of scientific evidence, accepted by informed scientists and church people from the Pope on”.
AS LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVISION NOTES
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Dr Rev John Polkinghorne (Prof of mathematical physics at Cambridge then became an Anglican
minister)
He claimed the universe came from the Big bang “but that doesn’t to my mind, stop me also saying that God
created the world”. Not that God lit the blue touch paper but that God is the One who “upholds the world and
keeps it in being”.
Prof Stephen Hawking
“An expanding universe does not preclude a creator, but it does place limits on when He might have carried out
His job”
Prof Fred Hoyle (Atheist)
“The chances of finding such an atom (carbon atom) through blind forces of nature would be utterly miniscule”.
He went on to say that the chances were comparable with a tornado blowing through a junk yard and assembling
a Boeing 747.
Dr Arthur Peacock (Physical biochemist and Anglican Priest)
“People want confrontation” “Religion versus science is good copy”
AS LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVISION NOTES
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Christian views of creation
Many Christians have always followed the Bible for guidance on how the earth was created. Within Genesis 1
and 2 God creates the Earth and people. However, as science has grown and developed the Christian belief that
God created the world has come under attack from evolution.
In response to the theory of evolution, some Christians developed what is known as a ‘fundamentalist’ approach.
The theory of evolution was rejected because it was thought to challenge the notion of God as creator. Secondly,
the theory of evolution suggests that human beings are evolved from animals, thus denying that humans are the
unique and superior creation of God as stated in Genesis 1 and 2.
Fundamentalists attempted to demonstrate the truth of the Bible by using empirical methods of science. For
fundamentalism, science is a tool which can be used to demonstrate the truth of scripture. When science, such
as the theory of evolution, conflict with religious beliefs in the Bible, the scientific theory is rejected as it does not
correspond with the truth claims expressed in scripture.
AS LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES REVISION NOTES
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Creationism
Creationists believe that the Genesis creation accounts are totally accurate and should be taken literally. Key
creationist beliefs follow.
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All groups of creationists share the belief that Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution should be rejected.
The fundamental problem with evolution is that it places humans on the same level as animals – no
longer the distinct pinnacle of creation.
Scripture is the Word of God and is literally true.
Questions concerning the origins of life are most clearly answered in the book of Genesis
Features of the world, such as apparently millennia-old rock can be explained as prematurely aged by
God or the product of past catastrophes such as Noah’s flood.
Fossils are the bones of animals that are more recently deceased then archaeology suggests or they are
evidence of the flood of Noah.
The theory of evolution is only a theory (although in science a theory is considered an established
explanation)
There are gaps in fossil records (there are other scientific reasons for the gaps).
The age of rocks has been challenged. Radiometric dating is unreliable.
Creationists use the discoveries of scientists to illustrate the truth of statements within the Bible.
Many Christians use the Bible to work out a chronology of the earth
Some say the ‘days’ in Genesis 1 represent thousands of years
Some modern creationists (since 1980) have argued in favour of ‘Intelligent Design’.
Modern creationists point to the complexity of the world and discoveries such as DNA, as evidence that
the universe is designed by an intelligent designer
Supporters of Intelligent design point towards the irreducible complexity of biological systems, such as
the body’s blood clotting mechanism.
Some creationists claim that the physical laws are ‘fine tuned’, suggesting there must be a designer
Intelligent Design (An academic attack on Darwin and evolution)
Intelligent design is the idea that the universe must have a designer rather than being the result of change or
undirected natural processes.
Rev Arthur Peacock
“God makes things to make themselves,”
Michael Behe
In 1996 Michael Behe launched an academic attack on Darwinism. His main points were..
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Life at molecular level was so complex that it could not come about by small changes (evolution)
Everything has to function at the same time, it would not work if it had evolved gradually
Behe claims that irreducible complexity is best accounted for by intelligent design
The best explanation for life is an intelligent designer. That is God.