Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Christianity: Science and Belief. Revision – things to go back over and over and over and…. ( both use observation, draw conclusions from evidence, have an element of bias, require interpretation, etc - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Christianity Science and Belief
Revision ndash things to go back over and over and over andhellip
Revelation and Scientific Method
bull (both use observationbull draw conclusions from
evidence bull have an element of bias bull require interpretation etcbull BUT one is extremely
personal and religious experiences cannot be re-enacted to confirm they were real experiments can)
Make sure you know the similarities and differences between the methods of both revelation and science
Describe the scientific method 4KU
bull Scientific method is a systematic approach to understanding the world in a rational and verifiable way
bull Scientific method involves observation hypothesis experiment verification
bull It is based on evidence and experiment
bull It focuses on the desire to challenge and evaluate all truth claims
bull It presupposes that the world is intelligible and orderly
bull It aims to put nature to the test
bull It uses the processes of induction deduction andverification
bull Provides data which can be independently tested by other scientists
bull Provides evidenceinformation of a provisional nature which is subject to change in the light of new evidence discoveries
ldquoScientific method is no more reliable than revelationrdquo
How far would Christians agree with this statement
bull The sense of meaning value and purpose in human life isprovided by religion and is often related to the concept of God or other spiritual aspects so religion is necessary to do this
bull We also need a set of moral valuesprinciples to live by hellipscience cannot give us this as it is not in this lsquobusinessrsquo
bull Issues which are beyond the scope of science eg beliefsabout good and evil existential questions the question of God hellip are not scientific
bull Religion operates at the personal individual subjective level and not with the universal hellip as science does helliptherefore it is much more meaningful
bull If you add religious beliefs and values to scientific ideasyou can get a much more complete picture than justscience on its own
bull Scientific bias not always objective
bull Falsifiability - scientific statements are tentative
Viewpoints
bull Creationists ndash These are extremely fundamental Christians who take the Bible literally
bull ( rejection of modern science God would not lie)
bull Liberal Christians ndash Those who are lsquoregularrsquo Christians in Britain today who use the Bible to give meaning and purpose to life but would accept scientific evidence as showing the way God lsquogot things donersquo
More on Creationists
bull Bible = 100 true as comes from God and God would not lie (response is the contents of Bible interpreted by fallible humans)
bull Reject BBT = it says billions of years young earth theory says 10000 ish
bull Reject Evolution = God created a Fixity of Species not changing ones
bull Reject Evolution = says we came from animals and are not special Bible says we are special image of God soul so cannot be
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Revelation and Scientific Method
bull (both use observationbull draw conclusions from
evidence bull have an element of bias bull require interpretation etcbull BUT one is extremely
personal and religious experiences cannot be re-enacted to confirm they were real experiments can)
Make sure you know the similarities and differences between the methods of both revelation and science
Describe the scientific method 4KU
bull Scientific method is a systematic approach to understanding the world in a rational and verifiable way
bull Scientific method involves observation hypothesis experiment verification
bull It is based on evidence and experiment
bull It focuses on the desire to challenge and evaluate all truth claims
bull It presupposes that the world is intelligible and orderly
bull It aims to put nature to the test
bull It uses the processes of induction deduction andverification
bull Provides data which can be independently tested by other scientists
bull Provides evidenceinformation of a provisional nature which is subject to change in the light of new evidence discoveries
ldquoScientific method is no more reliable than revelationrdquo
How far would Christians agree with this statement
bull The sense of meaning value and purpose in human life isprovided by religion and is often related to the concept of God or other spiritual aspects so religion is necessary to do this
bull We also need a set of moral valuesprinciples to live by hellipscience cannot give us this as it is not in this lsquobusinessrsquo
bull Issues which are beyond the scope of science eg beliefsabout good and evil existential questions the question of God hellip are not scientific
bull Religion operates at the personal individual subjective level and not with the universal hellip as science does helliptherefore it is much more meaningful
bull If you add religious beliefs and values to scientific ideasyou can get a much more complete picture than justscience on its own
bull Scientific bias not always objective
bull Falsifiability - scientific statements are tentative
Viewpoints
bull Creationists ndash These are extremely fundamental Christians who take the Bible literally
bull ( rejection of modern science God would not lie)
bull Liberal Christians ndash Those who are lsquoregularrsquo Christians in Britain today who use the Bible to give meaning and purpose to life but would accept scientific evidence as showing the way God lsquogot things donersquo
More on Creationists
bull Bible = 100 true as comes from God and God would not lie (response is the contents of Bible interpreted by fallible humans)
bull Reject BBT = it says billions of years young earth theory says 10000 ish
bull Reject Evolution = God created a Fixity of Species not changing ones
bull Reject Evolution = says we came from animals and are not special Bible says we are special image of God soul so cannot be
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Describe the scientific method 4KU
bull Scientific method is a systematic approach to understanding the world in a rational and verifiable way
bull Scientific method involves observation hypothesis experiment verification
bull It is based on evidence and experiment
bull It focuses on the desire to challenge and evaluate all truth claims
bull It presupposes that the world is intelligible and orderly
bull It aims to put nature to the test
bull It uses the processes of induction deduction andverification
bull Provides data which can be independently tested by other scientists
bull Provides evidenceinformation of a provisional nature which is subject to change in the light of new evidence discoveries
ldquoScientific method is no more reliable than revelationrdquo
How far would Christians agree with this statement
bull The sense of meaning value and purpose in human life isprovided by religion and is often related to the concept of God or other spiritual aspects so religion is necessary to do this
bull We also need a set of moral valuesprinciples to live by hellipscience cannot give us this as it is not in this lsquobusinessrsquo
bull Issues which are beyond the scope of science eg beliefsabout good and evil existential questions the question of God hellip are not scientific
bull Religion operates at the personal individual subjective level and not with the universal hellip as science does helliptherefore it is much more meaningful
bull If you add religious beliefs and values to scientific ideasyou can get a much more complete picture than justscience on its own
bull Scientific bias not always objective
bull Falsifiability - scientific statements are tentative
Viewpoints
bull Creationists ndash These are extremely fundamental Christians who take the Bible literally
bull ( rejection of modern science God would not lie)
bull Liberal Christians ndash Those who are lsquoregularrsquo Christians in Britain today who use the Bible to give meaning and purpose to life but would accept scientific evidence as showing the way God lsquogot things donersquo
More on Creationists
bull Bible = 100 true as comes from God and God would not lie (response is the contents of Bible interpreted by fallible humans)
bull Reject BBT = it says billions of years young earth theory says 10000 ish
bull Reject Evolution = God created a Fixity of Species not changing ones
bull Reject Evolution = says we came from animals and are not special Bible says we are special image of God soul so cannot be
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
ldquoScientific method is no more reliable than revelationrdquo
How far would Christians agree with this statement
bull The sense of meaning value and purpose in human life isprovided by religion and is often related to the concept of God or other spiritual aspects so religion is necessary to do this
bull We also need a set of moral valuesprinciples to live by hellipscience cannot give us this as it is not in this lsquobusinessrsquo
bull Issues which are beyond the scope of science eg beliefsabout good and evil existential questions the question of God hellip are not scientific
bull Religion operates at the personal individual subjective level and not with the universal hellip as science does helliptherefore it is much more meaningful
bull If you add religious beliefs and values to scientific ideasyou can get a much more complete picture than justscience on its own
bull Scientific bias not always objective
bull Falsifiability - scientific statements are tentative
Viewpoints
bull Creationists ndash These are extremely fundamental Christians who take the Bible literally
bull ( rejection of modern science God would not lie)
bull Liberal Christians ndash Those who are lsquoregularrsquo Christians in Britain today who use the Bible to give meaning and purpose to life but would accept scientific evidence as showing the way God lsquogot things donersquo
More on Creationists
bull Bible = 100 true as comes from God and God would not lie (response is the contents of Bible interpreted by fallible humans)
bull Reject BBT = it says billions of years young earth theory says 10000 ish
bull Reject Evolution = God created a Fixity of Species not changing ones
bull Reject Evolution = says we came from animals and are not special Bible says we are special image of God soul so cannot be
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Viewpoints
bull Creationists ndash These are extremely fundamental Christians who take the Bible literally
bull ( rejection of modern science God would not lie)
bull Liberal Christians ndash Those who are lsquoregularrsquo Christians in Britain today who use the Bible to give meaning and purpose to life but would accept scientific evidence as showing the way God lsquogot things donersquo
More on Creationists
bull Bible = 100 true as comes from God and God would not lie (response is the contents of Bible interpreted by fallible humans)
bull Reject BBT = it says billions of years young earth theory says 10000 ish
bull Reject Evolution = God created a Fixity of Species not changing ones
bull Reject Evolution = says we came from animals and are not special Bible says we are special image of God soul so cannot be
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
More on Creationists
bull Bible = 100 true as comes from God and God would not lie (response is the contents of Bible interpreted by fallible humans)
bull Reject BBT = it says billions of years young earth theory says 10000 ish
bull Reject Evolution = God created a Fixity of Species not changing ones
bull Reject Evolution = says we came from animals and are not special Bible says we are special image of God soul so cannot be
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
bull Scientism ndash lsquoHard linersquo scientists who give no room at all to belief Truth is in the proof
bull Other scientists ndash not all scientists are like this You get open minded scientists who are not religious but may believe there are limits to what science can find out You also get religious scientists
bull (in the past many major scientific breakthroughs have been by scientists motivated by wanting to find out how their God did things or to understand the world God had given them)
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
In what ways do Christians describe the origin of human
life
God created the world over a period of time hellip Timescale varies between Genesis 1 and 2 hellip human beings were created as the final partclimax of creation over 6 daysIn Genesis 1 human beings are created last after all plantand animal lifeIn Genesis 1 male and female are created togetherIn Genesis 2 the humans are created first and other lifeforms follow The man is created first and the woman iscreated from the manrsquos ribIn Genesis 2 God took some soil from the ground andbreathed life into the man who became a living beingOrigin of life is as per evolutionary theory
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Biblebull Take note of the
differences between Genesis 1 amp 2
bull ndash 2 different stories from different times cultures and naturally with different emphases
bull Remember the Bible is a collection of books
bull (not one book by one person more of a complex library)
bull Used for bull origin of universebull origin of life and bull purpose of life
arguments ndash bull creationists believe it
is literally true liberal Christians take it in context of the history and draw meaning from it
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Why might creationists believe the Biblical account of the origin of the
universe isaccurate
bull The Biblical account states this and as it is inspired by God it should be accepted at face value as trueaccurate
bull The Bible is understood as being without error in historical scientific and spiritual matters and so should be interpreted literally (except when a symbolic meaning is clearly intended)
bull The Bible is the word of God and if it says God created the world in 6 days then thatrsquos what it means
bull If you take the Bible literally then it saves complications you donrsquot have to decide what bits are true and what bits arenrsquot ndash they are all true as itrsquos ldquoGodrsquos wordrdquo
bull Having faith means believing things which you cannot prove to be true People who question the truth of the Bible are not showing much faith
bull Itrsquos easier to believe in what the Bible says than the complicated explanations of science
bull The Bible is right and science is wrong
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Explain the importance of revelation for Christians
bull ExamplesMoses on Mount Sinai AbrahamMother TeresaThe supreme revelation of God in Christ
Revelation means that God has taken the initiative in revealing something of his attributes to humans Theology would be impossible without a self-revelation of God Revelation is a supernatural act of self-communication ndash a purposeful act on the part of God
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
bull General ndash lsquorevelatio realisrsquo ndashrevelation in nature in human consciousness and in the providential government of the world
bull General is rooted in creation addressed to human reason It finds its purpose in the realisation of the end of his creation ndash to know God and enjoy communion with Him
Specialndash lsquorevelatio verbalisrsquo ndash a revelation embodied in the Bible as the word of God
bull Special is rooted in the redemptive plan of God ndash is addressed to man as sinner and can be understood by faith
bull bull Special revelation gives knowledge of mysteries ndash Trinity Incarnation Redemption It is not rationally demonstrable but must be accepted by faith
The only proper way to obtain perfectly reliable knowledge of Godrsquos attributes is by a study of Godrsquos self-revelation in Scripture Revelation through the works of God ndash nature ndash God as designer Revelation through the word of God ndash scripture providing truth in all matters of experience including history and science
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
First Cause Argument (Aquinas)
bull To be used for Origin of Universe questions
bull If asked KU on Cosmological FC A then try and explain it using the Three Ways from Summa Theologica if you canrsquot remember it copy the next slide ( all drawing conclusion of God as First Cause Unmoved Mover)
bull Remember objections and possible replies
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
In what ways does the cosmological argument
answer thequestions about the origins
of the universe
bull The universe itself is the most vital piece of evidence for the existence of God If God does not exist the world as we know it cannot be explained
bull 1) Everything that moves is moved by something else This cannot be infinite or the movement would not have started in the first place There must be an lsquounmoved moverrsquo ndash God
bull 2) Everything has a cause There cannot be an infinite number of causes therefore there must be an lsquouncaused causersquo ndash God is the First Cause
bull 3) Nothing can come from nothing Something only comes into existence as a result of something that already exists There must be some lsquonecessary beingrsquo that exists of itself ndash God
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Explain two criticisms of the cosmological argumentbull There does not have to be
a Firstfinal Cause to the universe ndash it might have come into existence spontaneously with no actualfirst cause
bull The First Cause of the universe may not be God hellip it may be a natural event
bull If everything has a cause then God must be caused bysomething you cannot just stop at any point in the chainand randomly call this God
bull Just because individual things within the universe have causes it does not mean that the worlduniverse itself has a cause
bull Just because every human being has a mother it does not follow that the universe has a mother
bull This is too simplistic an argument hellip God is far greater than we can ever explain with our finite logic
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
bull Bertrand Russellbull If everything must have
a cause then God must have a cause
bull It is unreasonable to say that everything has a cause except God
bull The universe may not have a cause at all
bull How can we know that the universe needs a cause The only thing we know for sure is that the universe exists
bull David Humebull Everything in the universe
appears to have a cause but the creation of the universe was a unique event and did not have any witnesses so we cannot say if it needed a cause or not
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Big Bang Theory
bull It was NOT an explosion in space ndash there was no space to explode in
bull The lsquoexplosionrsquo contains all space and time ndash we donrsquot even know if there is an lsquooutsidersquo or what it would be like just that it is not space and time as we experience it
bull Remember words like singularity expansion and cooling 12-15 BILLION years etc
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Describe the Big Bang theory
bull The universe began with an ldquoexplosionrdquo called a singularity around 12-15 billion yearsago After about 3 minutes particles were produced (neutrons and protons) which combined to form nuclei the key centers of atoms
bull About 500000 years later atoms finally came into existence
bull In another 500000 years the atoms produced expanded and cooled and some clumpedtogether as a result of the force of gravity and eventually formed galaxies out of whichcame suns
bull Clouds of gas developed which then spun under the force of gravity
bull This produced heat which led to the first stars and out of these came the elements of hydrogen helium carbon oxygen
bull These chemicals eventually produced more stars and planets and this resulted in solar systems including our own about 45 billion years ago
bull These solar systems gradually cooled over millions of years to produce the planets which we have today
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
What evidence is used to support the Big Bang
Theory
bull Heatbull Red shift of galaxiesbull Microwave background radiationbull Primordial elementsbull Spread and distribution of galaxies
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
In what ways is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the cosmological
argument
Big Bang suggests a beginningNo pre-existing matterSomething cannot come out of
nothingSomething had to cause Big BangCause was God
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
ldquoThe Big Bang theory is an effective challenge to the First Cause
argumentrdquoAgree
bull It explains the origins of the universe without the need for a God
bull It is based on scientific evidence not faith ndash it can be proved
bull Quantum physics shows that the Big Bang could have come from nothing so there is no need for a First Cause
Disagreebull God could have
caused the Big Bangbull It is open to the same
basic challenge as the existence of God ndash if nothing can come from nothing who caused the Big Bang
bull The Big Bang is still a lsquotheoryrsquo
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Design Argument - Paley
bull Fits with Origins of Life questions
bull Remember for KU on Teleological D A to give in-depth step-by-step account
bull Paley used human eye as evidence of design
bull Know criticisms and replies
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Explain how the Teleological Argument uses observation of the world to support
Christian belief in God
bull A special application of the Cosmological argument
bull Infers the existence of God from the presence of order
bull Order is seen as a mark of design Coincides with a revival of interest in natural theology
bull Analogy is between the universe and a man-made machine ndash Paleyrsquos watch
bull Human eye cited as evidencecomparison
bull Causal link =bull watch 1048774 watchmaker 1048774 God
bull Just as design apparent in watch could not have happened by chance so lsquodesignrsquo in universe ndash including living creatureshumans ndash demand a designer to explain them
bull Swinburne order means world runs according to regular laws God responsible for scientific laws ndash the explanation for the orderliness of the universe
bull This is called the Anthropic Principle
bull FR Tennant ndash Aesthetic Principle
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Explain the Design Argument for the existence
of GodThe analogy of the Watch
bull If someone walking over a heath stumbled against a stone and asked how it got there they might say it had always been there
bull But if they found a watch they might say that its various parts are complex and domust have a purpose
bull Also the watch must have had a watchmaker ndash someone who had designed it as a complex machine
bull The universe like the watch gives the impression of a vast designed machine
bull All machines are the product of intelligent design ndash they have been designed by someone superior in intelligence
bull Therefore the designer of this complex universe must also be a superior intelligent being whom we can call God
bull Additional arguments would be acceptable
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
ldquoThe Design Argument has more strengths than weaknesses
Agreebull The complexity of the world
must point to a designer (examples of human eye bucket orchid human brain etc)
bull It is not reasonable to believe that the debris from the Big Bang would form such complex things in the universe ndash therefore there must have been a designer
bull Life is too awe-inspiring and complex to be the result of chance therefore the belief thatGod created the universe gives life special meaning
Disagreebull Comparisons used to
explain the design argument need to be similar
bull Analogies used are based on assumption and not fact
bull There is evidence of bad design in the world so perhaps this is down to chance rather than design
bull The universe doesnrsquot need a creator maybe it has always been there
bull Relies on a leap of faith ndash the universe was designed therefore it was God who designed it
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
Evolution
bull No need to discuss development in to much detail
bull Explain life developed from simple single celled organisms to more and more complex ones
bull The ones best adapted to environments survive
bull Also competition for resources gives a regime of lsquosurvival of the fittestrsquo
bull The ones that are best adapted and survive the best have differences that make them better ndash these differences happen at a genetic level in DNA
bull Random genetic mutations give an organism an advantage or disadvantage that can be passed on to offspring
bull Over thousands of years these changes lsquotake holdrsquo and species can change and survive or change and die out
bull Not all members of a species will change so evolution happens with lsquobranchesrsquo and is not linear (so we have not descended directly from primates)
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
bull Evolution can be seen as a creative process with God behind it
bull Evolution shows the power of God and enhances belief
bull Evolutionary theory explains how life developed revelation explains why (complementary)
bull Religious and scientific truth are different and should not be confused
bull Anthropic principle supports existence of an intelligent designer
ldquoFor some Christians there is no contradiction in believing that God created human life and also
believing in the theory of evolutionrdquo Can this claim be justified
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
bull Acceptance by Christians that there is random chance but that the rules were formulated by God
bull A theistic interventionist approach suggests that evolution is acceptable but God intervenes directly Body of Adam result of natural selection from other species but the soul created directly by God
bull Evolution is the mechanism by which God creates and operates
bull Some people ndash Vitalism - (Bergson) sees the action of God within the evolutionary process
bull Evolution is purposeful (Peacocke) ndash Godrsquos activity determines the lsquofinal causesrsquo of everything
