Religion and Science

• Religion tries to explain why, science how.

The Big Bang Theory

• Universe Billions of years old
• Universe still expanding 
• The Earth is just one of Billions of other planets and stars
• One day the universe will end as stars spread to far or in a 'Big Crunch'

Creation

• Universe a few thousand years old
• Universe as it is when it was created
• The Earth of Special significance, created first before other stars (day 1/day 4)
• The world ends on the day of judgement

Evolution

• Charles Darwin- Survival of the fittest leading to perfect adaptions
• Humans evolved from single celled organisms (slime near volcanic activity)
• Humans have high worth due to their extremely developed brain
• Life a coincidence, no purpose, reason or soul

Creation

• God created birds and sea creatures (day 5) then land animals (day 6) then man then woman (day 6) all designed to be perfect for their environment
• All animals created exactly as they are
• Humans have high worth ast hey were given the breath of life, created in God's image and given stewardship and dominionship, created for a special relationship with God, to reproduce, name the animals etc.
• No mention of extinction or evolution
• Life a gift from a benevolent God
• Soul

The Big Bang Theory

• How (and why) did it start and where did the matter come from?  (BUT no reason, some theories more may be discovered)
• Vey unlikely as perfect conditions needed (BUT infinite universes? Infinite explosions leading to at least one perfect universe)
• What was before the Big Bang (Bible teaches that at the very beggining there was only God)

Evolution

• Gaps in fossil record (BUT rot away etc)
• No purpose to human life (only exist a short time), no soul

Creation

• Contradictions- eg in Genesis 2  man created before animals
• Scientific problems- Light and plants before sun? (BUT God all powerful)

Orthodox

• Torah the direct, literal word of God and never wrong and should not be updated or interpreted
• The contradictions in the two theories mean that the scientific theory is wrong

Scientific

• No proof for creation
• Ideas put forward to explain the unexplainable

Reform/Religious Scientist 

• Concordism- science how, religion why
• God created Big Bang and intended evolution
• Order of creation mostly same as fossil record
• Torah has spiritual truths not factual
• Torah should be updated for the modern time
• arguement by cause and maybe by design (too perfect)

Relationship between Man and God- (1) His own Image, (2) the breath of life ((1) other animals also have this 'everything with the breath of life within him')

Relationship between Man and Creation- (1) 'Subdue and rule over' dominionship, (2) Trees 'pleasing to the eye and good for food' for humans, 'to work and take care of it' stewardship

Relationship between Man and Woman- (1) 'be fruitful and increase in number' reproduction, woman created after man (2) 'For it is not good for man to be alone' companionship woman created for man and a part of him as formed from his rib 

Ethics- (1) No marriage mentioned, (2) 'they were naked but they felt no shame', 'Do not eat from the tree of knowledge or you will surely die'

God Provides- (1) 'I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the earth', (2) 'The Lord God made a woman from the rib' 'Gold, resin and onyx' in the Garden in the East

• God provides for man through nature so man must care for nature
• Nature gives humans a glimpse of Gods goodness 

Tikkum Olam- reapiring the world

• Appears in the Mishnah
• Doing something not just for Biblical law but to promote social order to speed the arrival of the messiah
• Caring for the environment as well as following the mitzvot etc.

• 'Do not wast or destroy' 
• 'Do not casue distress to living creatures'
• Prevent pollution- guidlines in the Talmud and Torah about waste disposal, greenbelts, noise, air and water pollution
• Leave the land fallow every 7 years

Tu B'Shevita

• In the Midrash, New Year for Trees, around the time that the first trees spring in Israel
• Some Jews plant trees or educate and celebrate

The Noah Project

• Education- Teach Jews that the Environment is an important part of Judaism, create a curriculum for use in Jewish Primary Schools, highlight Torah teachings about waste, produce leaflets, promote stewardship
• Celebration- Encourage links between the rhythms of Earth and the Festival cyle and unite sects
• Action- Co-ordinate practical action, build synagogue network to promote green awareness, add a Jewish voice to secular movements

What has improved

• Boris' Bikes, emphasis on public transport (and bike riding during the olympics, Congestion charge), hosepipe ban

Animals and Work

• Animals may work if they are given a day of rest (4th commandment)
• Animals food must be supplied before owners 'Do not buy an animal before you have bought food for it' Ketubot 4.8
• Stray animals must be cared for
• Animals must not suffer
• 'A righteous man cares for his animals' Proverbs
• 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads at the grain' Deut 25.4

Kosher Rules

• Shechita- animals must be properly killed, some Jews believe vegetarianism is the ideal
• Meet and milk may not be consumed in the same meal
• Only those that chew the cud, no shell fish or pork

Battery eggs cannot be eaten because the animal has suffered though some Jews may believe it is ok as the chicken has not been consumed

Vegetarianism

• Some Jews believe Vegetarianism is the ideal because eating meat was not allowed until after the flood
• Others believe the Kashrut system allows animals to be eaten

Blood sports and fox hunting

• Some Jews believe blood sports are wrong because th animal suffers
• However others believe if the animal is trapped and feels no pain it is acceptable
• Hunting foxes may be an important part of culture, may feel no pain when hunted by dogs, economic activity
• Farmers- pest control as foxes eat chickens and often kill more than they eat, but foxes also kill rabbits, the activity is not necessary for fox control, does not make a significant change in population, other more effective methods available such as dazzling lights
• Cruel to foxes and dogs (inbreeding, older dogs killed by foxes others injured, unnatural)

Should we care for the environment?

Atheists

• Best from earth by using sustainably
• Animals should not suffer they also feel pain
• Global woarming causing human deaths

Jewdaism

• Stewardship
• Environment Gods gift and sign of goodness
• Tikkum Olam
• All humans gods people and must be cared for

Me

• Green spaces important for good state of mind

The Big Bang Theory

• Universe started expanding 15,000 million years ago
• 2 gasses emitted from bang, other atoms formed by fusion in stars

Evidence

• Backgroung microwave radiantion
• proportional expansion with red shift

Conditions

• Violent enough so gravity didnt **** back in
• not too violent to form galaxies

Stewardship- Responsible management of others property

Dominion- Rulership

Human purpose- The role of Humans

Environmental issues- Problems occuring in the natural world

Tikkun Olam- Repairing the world

Evolution- The Gradual development of life on earth

Cosmology- The study of the universe

Kosher- Fit to eat

Shechita- Killing an animal humanely in accordance with Jewish food laws

Kashut- System of Jewish food laws