The Compatibility of Science and Religion

Fundamentalist - Some one who believes the key teachings, messages and stories of their holy text are true

Literalist -  Some one who believes the key teachings, messages and stories of their holy text are true word for word

Liberal - Some one who believes their holy text provides important truths but that these truths may not always be literal or historical

Metaphor - Imagery that is meaningful but not in a literal or possible sense.

Genesis

Day 1 Light
Day 2 Land and Plants
Day 3 Heavenly Bodies
Day 4 Birds and fish
Day 6 Animals including Humans who are the pinnacle of creation. God sees that everything is good

Against:

• Big Bang theory suggests universe is billions of years old whereas Bible suggests that universe is only thousands of years old.
• Incompatible with Evolution which suggests the development of species took millennia rather than days
• Scientifically implausible. For instance, how can the sky be made by taking some of the oceans water and placing it in an arch above us
• How can light be made before sun?

Liberal Account

1. God is the reason why there is something rather than nothing. We have God to thank for our existence.
2. God loves everything, and made it to be good.
3. God cares about human beings most of all – there is something extra special about human life.
4. Humans have an important role to play in the world.
• This approach could be made compatible with evolution and Big Bang Theory.

Big Bang Theory

More than 13 billion years ago, the universe was a superheated and super dense fireball which exploded and then expanded rapidly. The matter from this fireball cooled down to makes planets, stars, gases etc.
In Favour:
• The universe is still expanding and cooling
• There is cosmic background radiation and the increasing distance between galaxies which support the Big Bang theory

Evolution

Evolution suggests that all life on earth began from a common ancestor around 3.8 billion years ago. From this common ancestor, natural selection and survival of the fittest occurred where the specie with a genetical advantage is able to survive a certain circumstance such as hot weather. It therefore survives the circumstance and has offspring with the same genetic advantage. Over successive generations this gives rise to a diversity of species.

In favour and against Evolution and Big Bang

In Favour:

• Enough physical evidence which suggests that these theories are true. It is based on facts rather than faith
• If these theories are true, then stories in Holy texts are wrong. This would show that science and religion are incompatible and that religion is incorrect
Against:
• They are only theories. We cannot definitely prove that they are true particularly given the time frames in question
• Liberals interpretation of their religious texts can be compatible with science. For instance they may believe God caused the Big Bang
• Both religious and scientific theories fail to explain why there is something rather than nothing and why ife began in the first place. The failure to explain leaves a requirement for God as the explanation
Function of Human Beings
• Evolution suggests that human life came about through a random set of chance processes. It was not intended. Our purpose is simply to survive and to reproduce. We are not more special than any other creation
• Religious stories suggests that human life is special and made in Gods image. We were intended, loved and are more special than other creatures due to out intelligence, free-will and capacity to love
• God may have guided evolution