The document provides information on several theories of the origin and evolution of the universe, Earth, and life: - The Big Bang Theory which states the universe began as a tiny, dense point that expanded rapidly around 13.8 billion years ago. - Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection, where he proposed that life evolved over long periods through gradual processes of variation and adaptation to the environment. - An alternative theory called punctuated equilibrium, which suggests species experience little evolutionary change, interrupted by periods of rapid change when new species emerge. - Young Earth creationism holds that God created the universe and life on Earth in six days, around 6,000 years ago, as described in Genesis.

1. In the Beginning… Theories of Origin

2. The Big Bang Theory The following video will provide a short explanation of the Big Bang Theory The theory: The universe started out as a tiny pin point of matter as dense as it is possible to be. It expanded to the size of a pea, then exploded. It expanded into the universe and is still growing. We know the universe to still be expanding. Scientists have concluded that this happened between 10-20 billion years ago. Physicists have done the math and state that the first particle after the explosion (known as the “God particle” came into existence 10-43 seconds after the big bang.

3. Evolutionary Timeline The link below will take you to an animated timeline showing a modern understanding of how the earth and life evolved.

4. Darwin, Evolution, and Natural Selection or ?????

5. Darwin, Evolution, and Natural Selection Charles Darwin was born on February 12, 1809 in Shropshire, England. Darwin developed an early love of the natural world and in scientific experiments, especially in Chemistry. Darwin did not do well in school, so his father took him out early. His father believed that he would be a disgrace to the family. Darwin’s favorite things to do with his time were to go shooting, play with his dogs and catch rats. Darwin’s father eventually decided that Charles should be a doctor, so he send him to medical school in Scotland. However, Darwin was terrified at the sight of blood which was a bit of a problem. During his time at school he developed an interest in nature and travel. He began studying plants and animals and making notes on his ideas. He eventually quit medical school. In 1827, Darwin decided to become a clergyman, but his interests in science and nature kept getting in the way of his studies. He decided to study science at Cambridge.

6. Darwin, Evolution, and Natural Selection In December of 1831, Darwin began his career as a naturalist by setting out on an exploration voyage on the H.M.S. Beagle. On the voyage, Darwin collected samples of the natural life that he encountered. He spent four years on and around the South American continent researching and beginning to put together what would later become the theory that shook the world to its core. November 2, 1859, Darwin’s On The Origin of Species was published and sold out almost immediately. A firestorm of controversy was unleashed over his theories. Evolution- Darwin believed that all life evolved from a single starter organism and all life came from that. In order for this to take place, the earth had to be much older than anyone had previously believed. This was because all of this change into different forms happened very, very slowly. He did not deny the existence of God, but felt that God had started the process, then left life to fend for itself. The Church was extremely angry over this theory and criticized Darwin heavily. Even his own wife worried about his salvation.

7. Darwin, Evolution, and Natural Selection The idea of life evolving and changing from species to species is known as macroevolution. One of Darwin’s more socially acceptable ideas at the time was that of adaptation of species, also known as microevolution. In microevolution, species adapted to their environment by the strongest of a species mating with other strong mates and producing offspring that was better suited to surviving over weaker members of a species. This is also known as Natural Selection. The phrase “survival of the fittest” was later given to this idea. Something to remember about microevolution is that species do not change into other species. This means a dog does not change into a cat, but it could be bred to make different kinds of dogs. Darwin’s theories eventually became accepted by most of the scientific communities although they were rejected by the mainstream religious communities. As more was known about molecular biology, some of his ideas would be put aside in favor of new ones.

8. Punctuated Equilibrium One of the main theories to replace Darwin’s ideas was that of Punctuated Equilibrium. Scientists realized that there was a lack of fossils to support Darwin’s ideas and began to research how else evolution may have happened. Niles Eldridge and Stephen Jay Gould wrote a paper in 1972 outlining this theory. In punctuated equilibrium, there is very little to no change in species over long periods of time, followed by rapid change in which new species evolve very quickly.

9. Creationism Although there are different ideas of how creation may have been accomplished, for our purposes, we will consider the most commonly held theory of six-day, young earth creationism. This theory holds that the earth was formed by a divine Creator who made the earth in six days and rested on the seventh. After this, the earth stayed stable until the flood of Noah. The flood caused a cataclysmic change of the earth resulting in atmospheric changes, landform changes, and changes in the life present on earth. On the next slide, we will examine the timeline of creationism and discuss.

10. Creation Timeline

11. The Days of Creation Day One: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the face of the waters. And god said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Gen. 1:1-5) LIGHT “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day” (Gen. 1:6-8) SEPARATION OF AIR AND WATER “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day” (Gen. 1:9-13) SEPARATION OF LAND AND WATER AND CREATION OF PLANTS

12. The Days of Creation “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:14-19) LUMINARIES (STARS, MOON, STARS) “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (Gen. 1:20-23) AIR AND WATER ANIMALS “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good” (Gen 1:24,25) LAND ANIMALS

13. The Days of Creation “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Gen 1:26-28) CREATION OF MAN (ALSO ON THE SIXTH DAY) The Seventh Day-God saw that every thing was good and rested from His work. He decreed it a day of rest from all labors. Some common questions about creation to discuss: -What about changes in animals since creation? -If dinosaurs were created when humans were, where are they now? - Any others?

14. The End