The document describes the biblical story of creation over 7 days according to Genesis, with God creating light, sky, land, plants, animals, and humans. It then discusses Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, which challenged the idea that God was responsible for design. The document explores perspectives on whether creationism and evolution can coexist, and discusses arguments for and against intelligent design versus natural processes like the Big Bang and evolution.

2. CREATIONISM DAY 1 In the beginning there was nothing except God. Everything was dark God said, ‘Let there be light’ And instantly there was light. God called the light and day and he called the dark night. Day 2 On the second day God separated the waters from the great space And made a beautiful blue sky Day 3 On the third Day God made land appear from the waters. He made oceans, seas, rivers and lakes. He made tall mountains, hot deserts. He made tress, grass and flowers of every colour. Day 4 God made two great lights. One for the day and one for the night. He called the one for the day the Sun, and one for the night the Moon. God made all the stars in the universe. And he saw it was good. The evening and the morning – a fourth day. Day 5 On the fifth day God filled the waters with fish and he made birds to fly through the skies. And he saw that it was good. Day 6 On the sixth day God made animals of all kinds and he made people. God was very pleased with what he had made. He saw that it was all very good. Day 7 God saw his creation was good and was pleased. On this day he rested.

3. Charles Darwin (1809 – 82) was a scientist. He is known most of all for his THEORY ON EVOLUTION. He suggested a idea of – natural selection – by which new species evolve from existing ones. HIS ARGUMENT CHALLENGED THE IDEA THAT GOD WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE DESIGN AND STRUCTURE OF THE UNIVERSE 1859 Darwin published ‘On the Origin of the Species’. According to this theory, we evolved from apes – not from Adam and Eve .

4. WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS PICTURE?

5. Can you believe in Darwinism and Creation? 1996 Roman Catholic Church accept big bang theory Bible says things were created in the following order : the heavens (space), earth, land and sea, plants, animals and people pretty much the same order as scientists believe things appeared So the timescale is different (millions of years rather than six days), but the general idea is the same These theories are at odds with many religious arguments. However if you don’t take everything written in the bible as literally true , scientific and religious ideas can exist in harmony.

6. Nobody would look at a watch and believe it came into being as a result of an accident. It has to have a designer. So too with the universe. The Big Bang was pure chance. How can we possibly know that our ideas about cause and effect operated billions of years ago? There is no need to invent a cause it just happened. A B The number of natural disasters that occur regularly – floods, droughts, earthquakes – point to an imperfect design or no designer at all C Something cannot come out of nothing. Everything that happens has a cause. So, for the universe to exist at all, there must be a reason or cause, and that ‘cause’ must be God. D God had a plan for the universe which led to human beings. We are all unique i.e different DNA...this uniqueness is surely not an accident. E Darwin’s Theory of evolution explains why living things are as they are. Life was very simple to begin with but became more complex as the environment changed. This was because of the survival of the fittest rather than intelligent design - humans have more developed minds that’s all F

7. God arranged the whole universe to provide the conditions necessary for life to evolve. Evolution is the science that studies how God created the species. If Darwin was right in thinking that species formed by a process of natural selection – survival of the fittest – how do you explain selfless acts by humans and animals when they protect the weak members of the species? Why do people care for the disabled and mentally ill? G H

8. BIBLICAL CHRISTIAN - CREATIONISM BIG BANG THEORY EVOLUTION SOURCE A SOURCE D SOURCE C SOURCE B SOURCE D SOURCE E SOURCE C SOURCE E SOURCE H SOURCE F SOURCE G

9. How it all began...... Evolution Biblical Creation The Big Bang Theory Literally true Symbolically true R.C accepted Big Bang theory 1996 There is no beginning 12 billion years ago universe was hot gas Evolved from apes Survival of the fittest HAS RELIGION BEEN OUSTED BY SCIENCE?

10. Chicken or the chicken egg? And God said: “... and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. So God created ... every winged bird according to its kind”... Genesis 1, verses 20 and 21

11. Natural selection Survival of the fittest Theological Darwinism Creation story The Big Bang theory Evolution Chicken - Egg KEY WORDS

12. KEY QUESTION What is the creation story? What is Darwin’s theory of Evolution? What is the big bang? Is the creation story credible in the light of modern knowledge? - based on a set of beliefs of pre – historic beliefs in a non scientific area? What does evolution and the big bang mean for religion? Science is not able to scientifically disprove religion? What does the creation story tell us about humans and their relationship with God?