Origin of life

Origin of life

1. theories

   • evolution
     • Darwin
       • identified that accidental variations occur in offspring within a species
       • natural selection
         • survival of the fittest
           • organisms that are best able to survive e.g. finding food, avoiding predators- pass on their genetic traits
             • combination of variation and survival leads eventually to the emergence of organisms that are better suited to their environment
               • over time beneficial mutations accumulate, result is an entirely different organism
                 • appearance of design, but result of organisms evolving by variation and survival
                   • God becomes an unnecessary hypothesis
       • order not necessarily evidence of purpose and design, could result from blind chance
     • provided a way of understanding the natural world, in which its complex biological functions no longer required an intelligent designer to account for apparent order
   • genesis accuracy
     • Genesis account
       • describes each species as being complete and created separately, rather than progressing and developing into different species
       • human beings made in image of God
         • faculty of having a relationship with God
           • marks out human beings as different from the rest of creation
     • literal interpretation
       • creationist theories

2. ways of reconciling with God as creator

   • progressive creationism
     • each day of the creation story represents millions of years
   • theory of evolution
     • Theistic evolution
       • Genesis account= religious and theological rather than historical and scientific
       • evolution= seen as mechanism God used to bring about life and human beings
   • intelligent design
     • attack on Darwinism and evolution
     • an intelligent being is necessary to explain complex biological structures