Christianity and Science (23)AQA A Level Religious Studies:

Revision cards for AQA A Level RE Christianity and Science topic 23 in the handbook)

Define the Theory of Evolution

• The theory of evolution was proposed by Charles Darwin during his voyage to the Galapagos Islands in 1831-1826.  

• He saw that certain birds within the same species on different islands had different beaks that helped them to eat food. This was known as random mutations.  

• Over time these random mutations can develop into new species since these mutations may create new species as those species are better suited to their environment so are able to reproduce and pass on their genes. (Natural selection) 

• He concluded that all organisms must have evolved from one common ancestor 

What does Genesis 1 say?

• Day 1: God created light; he spoke this into existence (this shows his omnipotence) 

• Day 2: God created an expanse to separate the sky forms the water, he called the expanse heavens  

• Day 3: God created land (called earth) and separated it from the waters (seas). He then created vegetation 

• Day 4:  he created the sun, moon, planets and stars. The sun ruled over the day and the moon ruled over the night. 

• Day 5: God created seas life and birds, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and let the birds multiply on earth” 

• Day 6: animals were created first, then humans were created “in His image”. Humans were given “dominion” over the other animals (suggests that we are more important). He said it was “very good” 

What are the criticisms of Genesis 1?

• The timeframes are in days however if the story is followed then days could have only happened on day 4 with the creation of the sun and the moon.  

• God said “let there be light” on one day 1 but light could have only happened on day 4 with the creation of light.  

What were the 19th Century responses to the Theory of Evolution?

• Ridicule: CofE rejected the theory as rubbish 

• Fundamentalism: these Christians would say that the theory was false as it contradicts the word of God which they believe is the only truth.  

• Losing faith: many became less religious due to the theory 

• Acceptance: Liberal Christians and Catholics who believe Genesis is a myth/poem were mor likely to believe in the theory since they do align with science. They may believe that God created everything, but it wasn’t in 6 days for example. 

Which Christian denominations accept the theory of evolution?

OEC (for non-humans only)

Catholics

Liberals

Which Christian denominations reject the theory of evolution?

YEC

Fundementalists

What is the Big Bang Theory?

• The BBT is a scientific theory for how the universe began. 

• It states that the world started off a singular point of infinite density of matter, the singularity then exploded and expanded to form the universe we have today.  

• The universe would be around 13.4bn years old according to this theory. 

What did Pope Francis say about the Big Bang theory?

The Big Bang, which today we old to be the origin of the world, does not contradict the intervention of the divine creator but, rather, requires it.”- Pope Francis, Oct 2014 

 

Who accepts the Big Bang?

Catholics: they fully accept the BBT. The believe that Gensis 1 is a myth/metaphor, so they take it nonliterally. They in the BBT because there is evidence for galaxies moving away from each other, BBT requires some ultimate force which could be God, the BBT is better than no explanation 

/OEC: They believe that the earth is much older than 6000 years so the BBT could be possible. The believe that the Hebrew word for “day” is better translated to “a period of time” rather than 24hrs, so the BBT is possible. 

Scientists: pretty much all scientists accept the BBT as there is hard evidence for it 

Deists: they believe God “set things off” and then left the universe to create itself so the BBT is possible 

Who disagrees with the Big Bang?

YEC: they disagree with the BBT because they have a literal interpretation of Gensis 1. Due to this they believe that the earth was created in 6 days by God. Due to this they would say the world is 6000 years old not 13.4bn. They completely reject the theory as it contradicts the Bible.

Fundamentalists: these Christian have a literal interpretation of Genesis 1 and the Bible so they would believe that the earth was created in 6 days by God. The BBT goes against the Bible, which is the ultimate truth, so it is wrong.  

Who thinks God is behind the Big Bang?

Catholics: there needs to be an explanation for why the BB happened and God has the power to be able to do this 

Deists: they believe God “set things off” and then left the universe to create itself so the BBT is possible 

Who doesnt think God is behind the Big Bang?

Fundamentalist/YEC: God created the world and the BBT didn’t happen. 

Scientists: God means different things to different people. The problem of evil constricts there being a God. We cannot know everything about the universe and its creation.  

What is genetic engineering?

• Genetic engineering is where a person's genes are modified to produce a certain characteristic or remove a gene.  

• Genes make up the DNA of everything, genetic engineering will change the genetic makeup of an individual 

What are the benefits of genetic engineering?

• Gene therapy: cells are worked on in a lab and inserted back into someone to cure a disease 

• Genes can also be used to produce hormones and proteins, this could help produce insulin for someone suffering with type 1 diabetes 

• Genes have been inserted into animals to produce body parts for transplants 

• Genetic engineering can also modify an embryo to ensure a baby doesn't get genetic diseases 

• Genetically modified crops can help those suffering from food shortages and solve hunger as crops could be adapted to grow in more arid regions or become resistant to disease 

What are the drawbacks of genetic engineering?

• Designer babies: parents may choose their children to have certain eye/hair colour this could lead to segregation between those who can and cannot afford this engineering 

• Transhuman: babies may be modified to have “superhuman” qualities such as increased speed or intelligence 

• Ethical implications: experimenting on animals can hurt the animals  

• Embryos are often discarded, and many (Catholics) would view this as murder as it is a potential life.  

• Germline cell therapy modifies genes in sex cells, this passes the information onto the offspring and if something goes wrong it could have long term impacts 

• Genetic engineering removes that we are “made in Gods image” so we almost loose the sanctity of life.  

What are the christian responses to genetic engineering?

Church of England support genetic engineering if it is done to cure diseases and not to create perfect humans. They believe this because: Jesus showed that Christians should do all they can to cure diseases-He was a healer, so Christians should follow His example if it is used positively. The research can lead to people having a better quality of life.  

 

Roman Catholics are against all forms of genetic research because:  they are trying to ‘play God’, this is a sin. It is wrong to try to make the earth perfect, only heaven is perfect. Because some research is carried out on Embryos which must be destroyed when they are 14 days old Christians see this as murder and ‘thou shalt not kill’. 

Define “God of the Gaps” (GOTG)

• I can't explain it, so God did it” 

• Religion has responded to science using this God of the Gaps theory, for example Deists would say that the BBT happened but God was behind it, therefore what we can't explain (what started the BB was God) 

• God fills the gaps where scientific understating has reached its limit 

What are the responses to “God of the Gaps”?

• God of the Gaps theory may be seen as irrational 

• There is little to no evidence for God 

• GOTG could be seen as “lazy” rather than setting out to solve certain questions we simply put it down to God 

• What/who is God? I sit the God of Christianity? God of Islam? Multiple Gods? 

• God will eventually get “smaller” as we make scientific advancements, the point of God is that he is “amazing and beyond powerful” as science explains more God will become less impressive so what would be the point of worshiping a God with limited power? 

• Dawkins and Hawkins reject the belief in God because of this.  

What did John Lennox say?

• He was a mathematics Professor and a Chistian 

• He rejects the GOTG approach 

• He says there are two explanations for everything: 

• Volition: will of personal agent, e.g. If I boil a kettle the reason behind this, is I wanted a cup of tea 

• Scientific: explained by science, e.g. If I boil a kettle the water gets hot because the particles have more energy so, move more thus heating up the kettle 

• This means that the scientific explanation for the creation of the universe is the BB bit we also need a volition explanation, and this could be God.  

• He says that many of sciences definition of what God is isn’t correct, so the GOTG is flawed 

What did John Polkinghorne say about Christianity and science?

Providence is at the heart of the relationship between God and humankind and the universe 

• God has and continues to sustain life for a purpose 

• God does this in undetectable ways, we cannot observe God like other physical phenomena  

• People's experiences of God provide a credible explanation of why we are here 

• God could have intervened at the quantum level  

Challengers 

• Problem of evil: why would an omnibenevolent God let so many people suffer? - counter argument: natural vs moral evil, soul making  

 

Both religion and science are concerned with making sense of experience 

• Scienc emakes sense of phycical and observable phenomenon and religion makes sense of spiritual and unseen phenomena. 

• Religious experience cannot be ignored due to how many of them there are across a wide range of cultures 

Challenges 

• There are too many differences between religions e.g., Muslims do not believe Jesus us the son of God whereas Christinas do, this is very significant for Christians. This would suggest that Polkinghorne is saying that all religions are true in some way.  

 

Religious claims can be assessed using eveidence akin to scientific investigation 

• The Bible counts as evidence for life, death and resurrection of Jesus 

• Historians accept that Jesus was alive (but depute whether he performed miracles or rose form the dead) 

Challenges 

• No evidence Jesus was the son of God 

• All accounts about Jesis are eyewitness accounts which are less reliable that empirically repeatable experience in science. There is no way we can recreate Jesus, he only existed at one point in time.  

 

God explains why the universe is intelligible