1. B602: Religion and Science revision This unit includes: The origins of the world People and animals Environmental issues

2. Big Bang Theory… At first there was nothing, not even time…

3. BANG!!!

4. Then a single point began to increase…

7. SPACE

8. Think… You have grown to your size from a cell which was smaller than a grain of sand…

9. Space is still expanding, but what is it expanding into?

11. Our Sun.

12. Earth.

13. Mars.

14. Jupiter.

15. Saturn.

16. Could this be pure chance, or has God planned it?

17. Activities. How old do scientists believe the universe is? In contrast, how old does the Bible say the world is?

18. The Earth How was it created according to Christians ?

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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,

25. "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.

26. 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.

27. Human beings and animals

28. 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”.

29. 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.

31. “ 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 nature- Christians refer to this as their spirit or soul. It is this that worships God and lives on after death.

32. So, Christians believe that animals do not have souls… so can they go to heaven?

33. 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)

34. 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.

36. 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.

37. 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!

38. 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.

39. 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?

40. Environmental Issues and stewardship

41. What has happened to His creation?

42. What is Stewardship? Christians believe that God gave them a world that they need to care for.

43. 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.

44. Air Pollution

45. Land Pollution

46. Water Pollution

47. Light Pollution

48. Ozone Pollution

49. Deforestation

50. Global Warming

51. How can you be a good steward? 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.

52. 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.