World Problems
In class you should have looked at a number of problems the modern world faces, such as pollution, climate change, modern living, the destruction of natural habitats and the use of natural resources. As well as knowing what those things are, you need to know what is being done / what can be done to address these issues.
You should have notes on those things but look at the links below to see what international efforts have been used.
You should have notes on those things but look at the links below to see what international efforts have been used.
The origins of life - what are the ideas?
Christianity:
And on the seventh day, Christians believe God rested.
Find a fuller account of the Genesis creation story here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1
Find a fuller account of the Genesis creation story here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1
Scientific Explanations:
Scientific explanations of the origins of life (mainstream) is a combination of the big bang theory and evolution. You need to ensure you know the general tenants of both of these ideas, as well as how they differ from the Christian perspective above. The differences are quite self evident, but make you can talk about ideas surrounding purposeful creation / meaning in the Christian perspective and the less anthropocentric (where human life is centre) creation of human life in the scientific approaches. Below is a very general explanation of the scientific explanation of the origins of the universe, you may want to note down the differences (with the above) in a table.
About 20m years ago there was nothing before the big bang, the explosion caused the formation of lots of dust and gas. Over a large expanse of time the cloud settled to form stars, galaxies and planets. On Earth, over a large expanse of time life gradually evolved from simple organisms to more complicated organisms (like humans).
About 20m years ago there was nothing before the big bang, the explosion caused the formation of lots of dust and gas. Over a large expanse of time the cloud settled to form stars, galaxies and planets. On Earth, over a large expanse of time life gradually evolved from simple organisms to more complicated organisms (like humans).
Seeing God in nature - How?
Some religious people believe that sufficient evidence for the existence of God, can be found by merely looking at the natural world. Some people argue that things like beauty which have no (known) value for the survival of life, is evidence that God created the universe. For some people looking at a beautiful sunset or a waterfall fills them with awe and wonderment (amazement).
The units you did in year 9 which covered the design argument (William Paley's blind watchmaker argument and Fred Tennant's Anthropic Principle) could be quite useful here in explaining why some religious people see God in nature.
If you are unsure of what these arguments are or merely need to refresh your knowledge, see the links below.
The units you did in year 9 which covered the design argument (William Paley's blind watchmaker argument and Fred Tennant's Anthropic Principle) could be quite useful here in explaining why some religious people see God in nature.
If you are unsure of what these arguments are or merely need to refresh your knowledge, see the links below.
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As with everything in PRE, there are obvious argument against these viewpoints. I have included a video (on the right) which explains the anthropic principle but also includes counter arguments such as God of the gaps.