1. Origins of the Natural and Social Order 1.Creatio ex nihilo 2. Rejecting Cosmological Speculation 3. Cosmology Today

2.  If the creator is the true creator of everything and ultimate all- powerful bring, nothing could have existed before him or outside of him.  Creation by “divine fiat”; by word/command/will.  The western monotheisms of Judaism, Christianity and Islam take this approach.  So does Mayan cosmology from Central America.  Theogony = an account of how the gods came to be. These 4 religions have no theogony.

3. p. 195

4. 5 th Century BC8 th century BC p. 196

5.  There is no cosmic conflict between good and evil.  The created world is good, but not divine (not made of the same stuff as God) and not perfect.  Humans have free will.  Body and soul are created in harmony, not conflict.  God created a good world. Man can create evil if he chooses.

6.  The answer to cosmic speculation: Who knows? Who cares? Why does it even matter?  Both Jainism and Buddhism broke from Hinduism’s philosophical speculation on the nature of the world and its creation: both saw it as unproductive speculation distracting people from more immediate questions.

8.  Mythology, philosophy and religious cosmogony competes with secular studies to explain the origins of the universe and man.  Astronomy & Physics  cosmology (the origin and fate of the universe)  Geology & AstroPhysics  Earth’s origin  Biology  origin of life and man Science explains the mechanisms of these creations, but not their purpose or meaning.

9.  We seem to have a universe designed in fine exact mathematical detail to allow life to evolve.  The odds of a universe such as ours coming into being by mere random chance are enormous.

10.  The anthropic principle implies an architect to the universe  intelligent design.  Creation Science: an attempt to prove evolution is incorrect and allow room for a literal interpretation of the creation accounts in the Bible.