Origins Of The Universe Flashcards
(29 cards)
Describe Catholic Beliefs About the Structure of the Bible.
-The Bible is a collection of 73 books compiled into one volume which is separated into two parts.
-The Old Testament starts with creation and describes the history, beliefs and culture of the Jewish people before Jesus’ incarnation.
-The second part of the Bible is the New Testament that begins with the four Gospels detailing Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension.
-After the Gospels is the Acts of the Apostles and letters of early church leaders before finishing with Revelation which talks about the end of the world.
Describe Catholic Beliefs About the Origins of the Bible
-It took about 350 years for the books in the Bible to be accepted as authentic records of Christian beliefs.
-The Synod of Hippo in 393AD decided which books should be included in the Bible.
-For a book to be included, it had to be accepted by all Christians, be dated back to the Apostles and agree with other presentations of Christian belief.
-The words of the Bible have been carefully preserved over the centuries. The first Bibles were hand written and copies were made so other people could read them.
Describe Jewish Beliefs About the Structure and Origins of the Torah
-The Torah is the first five books of the Tenakh (Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim). It is believed to be the holiest and most important part of scripture for Jewish people.
-Moses is believed to have received the Torah from God on Mt Sinai. Thus, Orthodox Jews believe it must be taken literally and changed.
-Many Orthodox Jews will seek to obey all mitzvot as duties in life. Society may change but Jewish teachings don’t. The Torah was given in its entirety to Moses so can’t be changed.
-For Reform Jews it is not necessary to take the scriptures literally and they believe that sometimes they have to be adapted for modern life.
Describe the Importance of the Bible for Catholics
-Catholics believe the Bible is one of the ways that God has revealed Himself to us so that we can learn how to live a good life.
-Vatican II announced that the Bible and other sacred scripture was written with, “God for their author.”
-Catholics believe the Bible was inspired by God which means that the Holy Spirit guided the authors of the Bible to help them write it.
Describe What Genesis 1 Teaches About the Nature of God.
-God is omnipotent. This is because “God said let there be light and there was light.” This shows God is all powerful as creation happens by Him just commanding it.
-God is transcendent. This is because “The Spirit was hovering over the waters.” This shows God is transcendent as He is above and outside creation.
-God is eternal. This is because God creates Heaven and Earth “In the beginning.” This shows that God already existed- He has no beginning.
Describe What Genesis 2 Teaches About the Nature of God.
-God is immanent. This means that God is not distant from the world but is involved in it. He is close to the first humans and does everything for them.
-God is omnibenevolent. God creates out of love. He needs nothing but provide everything humans need.
-God does not want man to be lonely so He creates other species to keep him company, and allows Adam to name them but He knew they were not suitable companions for Adam so He created Eve and they became ‘one flesh’.
Describe What Genesis Teaches About the Nature of Humans.
-Humans are stewards of creation. This is because Adam was told to, “Work it and take care of it.” This shows humans are stewards as God gave us this role directly so we must protect His creation.
-Human life is sacred. Humans were created last in Genesis 1 so are the high point of creation. God made humans personally- Adam from dust and Eve from his rib. God reflects on creation as “good” which includes humans.
-Humans were made Imao Dei. This is because, “God created man in His image.” This shows humans are sacred as God made us uniquely like Him, setting us apart from the rest of creation.
How is the Nature of God Shown in Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’.
-God is presented as transcendent since He is in a cloud: above and outside of creation.
-Some believe that the cloud resembles the brain suggesting God is the source of all knowledge and wisdom representing the belief that God is omniscient.
-The belief that God is omnipotent and eternal is represented by God being drawn as an old yet strong figure.
-God is shown as creator through His outstretched hand and cloud full of future creatures. His age represents Him being the father of Creation.
Significance of the Womanly Figure in Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’.
-Next to God, is a womanly figure, widely believed to be Eve.
-This could suggest that God is omnibenevolent as He does not want Adam to be alone.
-He says this in Genesis “It is not good that the man should be alone.”
How is the Catholic Belief in Imago Dei Shown in Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’.
-In the painting, Adam and God have a similar physique which may symbolise the Catholic belief in Imago Dei.
-This is described in Genesis 1:26 “God said, let us make mankind in our image.”
-This is further shown by God and Adam being in mirror-image of each other.
-The difference in age between God and Adam signifies the parent-child relationship between God and humanity.
Significance of the Hands in Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Adam’.
-God reaching out to Adam is a reminder that life is God given.
-It represents the spark of life given to all humans by God in Genesis 2, “Breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”
-However, because Adam’s finger is bent it suggests that he has not yet received life from God
Describe St Augustine’s Teachings About Creation Ex Nihilo.
-St Augustine taught that Heaven and earth cannot be made from the same substance as God because they are not equal to his greatness.
-However, there was nothing else in existence before creation.
-Therefore, Heaven and earth must have been created out of nothing.
-St Augustine explains this in his confessions, “from nothing, then, you created Heaven and Earth.”
-This would mean that because God is good, everything God created must be good.
Describe the Catholic Interpretation of the Bible
-Catholics read the Bible as an inspired text which means that God worked through human authors to be revealed to human beings.
-They also believe that these authors were of course fully human and therefore limited in their understanding and living in a particular time and place.
-The CCC states “scripture should be interpreted in the context in which it was written.”
-For Catholics, the truth revealed in the Bible needs to be carefully and authoritatively interpreted by the Magisterium.
Describe the Catholic Interpretation of the Genesis Creation Accounts
-Catholics believe that the Genesis accounts should not be taken literally.
-This is because the Bible is full of different literary forms such as poetry which can affect the understanding of the texts.
-The CCC states “scripture should be interpreted in the context in which it was written.” This teaches Catholics that not everything in the Bible is literally or historically accurate.
-The Creation accounts should be read as myths containing great truths such as that humans are made in God’s image.
-They are theological statements about the world’s relationship with God.
How Are Catholics Influenced by their Interpretation of the Bible
-Catholics believe that not everything in the Bible is literally or historically accurate.
-They may contribute to the further development of science because they do not literally follow Genesis so will accept ideas such as the Big Bang.
-They may attempt to help both science and religion by going into careers involving science.
Describe the Fundamentalist Interpretation of the Bible
-Fundamentalists read the Bible as an inspired text. This means means that God gave some human beings the special gift of being able to write down exactly what God intended.
-They believe that every word of the Bible is the literal Word of God so inherently true.
-2 Timothy states, “All scripture is inspired by God.” Therefore, the Bible holds no errors or mistakes.
-They believe whatever the Bible says is completely factual and should not be questioned.
Describe the Fundamentalist Interpretation of the Genesis Creation Accounts.
-Fundamentalists believe that the creation accounts in Genesis are literally and historically true. This is because they believe that the Bible is the literal word of God.
-2 Timothy states, “All scripture is inspired by God.” Therefore, the Bible holds no errors or mistakes. As a result, they believe the Bible is completely factual and should not be questioned.
-Hence, they believe the Genesis accounts are as accurate today as when written even if they conflict with the modern day.
-In turn, fundamentalists believe the earth was created in exactly six days and animals were created in their final form as these are mentioned in Genesis.
How Are Fundamentalists Influenced by their Interpretation of the Bible
-Fundamentalists believe the earth was created in exactly six days and animals were created in their final form as these are mentioned in Genesis.
-They may look for evidence to further back up the Genesis accounts as there is a lot of opposition in the modern day.
-They may also try to disprove evidence for modern theories such as that fossils are a test of faith or remains of animals that died in Noah’s Ark.
Describe the Orthodox Jewish Interpretation of the Genesis Creation Accounts.
-Orthodox Jews believe that the Creation accounts in Genesis are completely accurate.
-One of Maimonides principles of faith is, “God gave the Torah to Moses”.
-Because of this, Orthodox Jews believe that every detail in the Torah is literally true as it was given directly from God.
-They believe that the Torah should never be changed.
How Are Orthodox Jews Influenced by their Interpretation of the Bible
-Orthodox Jews believe God created the world in six days and that the creation accounts are not symbolic stories.
-They won’t accept other creation theories such as the Theory of the Big Bang.
-They believe God made the world directly which opposes the Theory of the Big Bang so they will not accept it.
-They may object over the teaching of the Big Bang in school as they would want their children to follow the Genesis accounts.
Describe Catholic Beliefs About the Creation of the Universe
-Catholics believe God created the world through natural processes. He carefully planned creation and did not just ‘magic up’ the universe as suggested by Genesis.
-Catholics may use St Augustine’s teaching of creation ex nihilo to describe this. He wrote, “from nothing, then, you created Heaven and Earth.”
-This shows God is creator and that the universe has a starting point. Catholics in turn accept the Theory of the Big Bang as it supports their belief that the universe came from nothing and from a singular point.
-There is no conflict between God and science as the creator God described in the doctrine of creation ex nihilo is compatible with science.
How are Catholics Influenced by the Creation of the Universe
-Catholics do not literally follow Genesis so will accept ideas such as the Big Bang.
-Therefore, they will contribute to the further development of science.
As a result, they may attempt to help both science and religion by going into careers involving science.
Evaluate Catholic Teachings About the Creation of the Universe
-Catholics provide an unconvincing argument because their view on creation and religion working together may be viewed as a ‘God of the Gaps’ argument which some such as Richard Dawkins view as ‘lazy;.
-However, God often acts over long periods and through processes. For example, the 9 weeks in childbirth which allows a foetus to develop and grow as God’s image.
-Therefore, science does not only explain the universe’s origins as God is the uncaused causer who creates through processes to allow things to develop as He wants.
Describe Atheist Beliefs About the Creation of the Universe
-Atheists see no reason for a creator God to have made the universe. Stephen Hawking argued, “because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing.”
-This shows that there is no reason for a creator God to exist as the laws of science allow for the universe to create itself.
-Hence, atheists believe that science alone can explain the origins of the universe because there is no need for a creator when there is evidence suggesting science can cause the world naturally.
-They believe the world to be random meaning that life is not special opposing; religious belief.
