Transcript Slide 1

B602: Religion and Science revision
This unit includes:
• The origins of the
world
• People and animals
• Environmental
issues
Big Bang Theory…
At first there was nothing, not
even time…
BANG!!!
Then a single point began to
increase…
SPACE
Think…
• You have grown to your size from a cell
which was smaller than a grain of sand…
Space is still expanding, but what
is it expanding into?
Our Sun.
Earth.
Mars.
Jupiter.
Saturn.
Could this be pure chance, or has
God planned it?
Activities.
• How old do scientists believe the
universe is?
• In contrast, how old does the Bible say
the world is?
The Earth
How was it created
according to Christians?
Christian Belief on the Creation
of the World
In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth. Now the earth was formless and
empty, darkness was over the surface of the
deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering
over the waters. And God said, "Let there
be light," and there was light. God saw that
the light was good, and He separated the
light from the darkness. God called the light
"day," and the darkness he called "night."
And there was evening, and there was
morning—the first day.
And God said, "Let there be an expanse
between the waters to separate water
from water." So God made the expanse
and separated the water under the
expanse from the water above it. And it
was so. God called the expanse "sky."
And there was evening, and there was
morning—the second day.
And God said, "Let the water under the sky be
gathered to one place, and let dry ground
appear." And it was so. God called the dry
ground "land," and the gathered waters he
called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let the land produce
vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on
the land that bear fruit with seed in it,
according to their various kinds." And it was
so. The land produced vegetation: plants
bearing seed according to their kinds and
trees bearing fruit with seed in it according
to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
And there was evening, and there was
morning—the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the
expanse of the sky to separate the day from
the night, and let them serve as signs to mark
seasons and days and years, and let them be
lights in the expanse of the sky to give light
on the earth." And it was so. God made two
great lights—the greater light to govern the
day and the lesser light to govern the night.
He also made the stars. God set them in the
expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,
to govern the day and the night, and to
separate light from darkness. And God saw
that it was good. And there was evening, and
there was morning—the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the water teem with living
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth
across the expanse of the sky." So God
created the great creatures of the sea and
every living and moving thing with which the
water teems, according to their kinds, and
every winged bird according to its kind. And
God saw that it was good. God blessed them
and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number
and fill the water in the seas, and let the
birds increase on the earth." And there was
evening, and there was morning—the fifth
day.
And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures
according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that
move along the ground, and wild animals, each
according to its kind." And it was so. God made the
wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds, and all the creatures that
move along the ground according to their kinds. And
God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us
make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them
rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all
the creatures that move along the ground." So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he
created him; male and female he created them. God
blessed them and said to them,
"Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of
the sea and the birds of the air and over
every living creature that moves on the
ground." Then God said, "I give you every
seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole
earth and every tree that has fruit with
seed in it. They will be yours for food. And
to all the beasts of the earth and all the
birds of the air and all the creatures that
move on the ground—everything that has
the breath of life in it—I give every green
plant for food." And it was so. God saw all
that he had made, and it was very good. And
there was evening, and there was morning—
the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed
in all their vast array. By the seventh day God
had finished the work he had been doing; so on
the seventh day he rested from all his work.
And God blessed the seventh day and made it
holy, because on it he rested from all the work
of creating that he had done.
Human beings and animals
In the story of creation (Jews and Christians) it says that the birds,
animals and land creatures were all created on day 5, but human beings
were created on day 6 “in God's image”.
According to the Bible , human beings alone can worship
God. This is what makes them different from the animal
world and is another difference of opinion between
Christianity and science. Science looks upon humans as
animals whose intelligence puts them higher up the
evolutionary ladder.
And God created man
in His image, in the
image of God He
ceated him, male and
female He created
them.” (Genesis 1.27)
“
Being made in Gods image
means that humans share
something of His natureChristians refer to this as
their spirit or soul. It is
this that worships God and
lives on after death.
So, Christians believe that animals do not have souls… so can they
go to heaven?
This separation of humans from animals is seen in the
instruction in Genesis to humans:
“Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it:
and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and
all the living things that creep on the earth. “
(Genesis 1.28)
Some Christians feel that it is this attitude of elevating humans
above all the rest of creation that has led to the plight we are now
facing of a ruined planet and species extinction.
Not all religions treat animals as inferior. Hindus value animal
life very highly. Many Hindus feel they have been animals in a
previous incarnation, And that all forms of life are related to
one another because all forms come from God. Animals are also
closely associated with many Hindu Gods, such as Ganesha, the
elephant God and Hannuman, the monkey God.
Many Hindus show their respect for animal life by being
vegetarian-they cannot kill animals because of the danger of
killing someone , who , in a previous life, was a human being.
Almost al Hindus believe the cow is sacred because of its links
with the God Krishna. Cows in India are not slaughtered for
food and have right of way on the roads!
Jainism is one of the oldest religions in India. Jains have respects
for all life and consider that animals and plants have souls too. All
conscientious Jains are vegan. They sometimes even cover their
mouths with cloth when they are out to avoid inhaling insects. They
do not eat the parts of plants that would kill the plant (the roots for
example) but harvest the older, outer leaves. They only use the
resources that they absolutely need.
The animals of the world exist for their own
reasons. They were not made for humans any
more than black people were made for white,
or women created for men. ~Alice Walker
Do you agree with this statement? Why/Why
not?
What is your attitude towards animals?
What influences your thoughts about animals?
Environmental Issues and
stewardship
What has happened to His
creation?
What is Stewardship?
Christians
believe that God
gave them a
world that they
need to care for.
Sadly many humans have treated the
earth very badly. Our rivers, seas, our
atmosphere, fields and forest have all
suffered dreadfully from pollution and
destruction. We have destroyed many
different species of animals and bids
and many are now on the brink of
extinction. By destroying the earth we
are destroying ourselves. We have been
careless stewards.
Air Pollution
Land Pollution
Water Pollution
Light Pollution
Ozone Pollution
Deforestation
Global Warming
How can you be a good steward?
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Recycle
Reuse
Use less electricity/gas/oil
Campaign to make governments change
Use renewable products
Be aware of your actions and how those
affect others and the world.
Why be a good steward?
The Roman Catholic Church stated: ‘The
Earth and all life on it are … given to us
to share and develop, not to dominate
and exploit.’
God created the earth for us to care for
it and to protect it not to destroy it.