Since the earliest times, man pondered about existence, where he came from and the purpose of life. Before science came to be, humans looked towards God and the sacred books to find the answers to the greatest questions. The most ancient of these books are the Bible, Torah and Quran. In the Book of Genesis in the Bible we learn that God created the world in six days, and on the seventh he rested. Genesis also says that every living thing was created by God. For a long time science and theology were seen as rivals, however there were several accounts in history, when religious and scientific leaders tried to find a connection between them. The purpose of science was to explore the natural world, but only theology could give answers to the most important questions about existence. Science gives us many answers, but it cannot explain all the secrets of life and the universe. Even until today, science cannot explain why the Big Bang happened or how life originated. In this paper I would like to compare the 2 theories of how the Earth was created – with the help of the Almighty Creator or our world was created with the help of clouds of dust and gas.
It is worth getting into the world of Bible starting from Genesis. It reveals description of wonderful world’s formation by God. One by one the wonders which surround us nowadays were created. The first things shaped by God were earth and Heaven though they were unshaped and in total darkness therefore the next was light. God appreciated the light. Since then light is considered as something kind and pure. The following step was separation of day into night and morning. The next days were founded water surfaces, creatures in the water and above, plants and all beautiful masterpieces of the nature.
On the other hand, one can see that lots of people believe, that our planet and in general our universe was created after some complex chemical reactions and events. Such theory is called nebular hypothesis. The nebular hypothesis, known as the nebula theory, is the most commonly accepted model that explain how the solar system was created and developed.
At first, this theory was applied only to our solar system, yet this theory is now applied for whole universe. For instance, our solar system comprises 9 planets, the Sun, various asteroids and comets. It is believed that all these objects were united and assembled with the help of sequence of events, known as the nebular hypothesis. (Geosci.ipfw.edu, 2015) Contemporary astronomers have identified the presence of massive clouds of dust and gas throughout the space. Such clouds are nebula – the remains of older stars that collapsed. According to the astronomers, such creation of planets and stars requires some crucial steps.
The matter that creates a nebula is spread thinly over a huge area of space; however, in spite of the space between particles in the cloud, the whole nebula is influenced by the force of gravity. (Geosci.ipfw.edu, 2015) Evolutionists believe that the creation of the universe was a result of a Big Bang – the explosion/ expansion of compressed energy that eventually to the evolution of millions life forms.
The similarity between these two approaches one may find in the statement, that there are people who truly believe in God, yet claim that all the processes connected the Big Bang could have happened, but the Big Bang itself was made by God himself. However, here one can state that the theory our planet’s creation or 6 days contradicts with the millions of years of evolution. It is possible to claim, that nebular hypothesis is similar with the theory of creation of the Earth by God, is that the gas and the dust that supposedly, created the Earth was a part of God’s creation sometimes, or according to his will, this dust and gas formed the Earth. (Theologicalperspectives.com, 2015)
Speaking of the differences between these two viewpoints, it is safe to say that the main concept on how the Earth was created is the major difference between these theories. From the one hand, we have the Almighty creature – God who is the most powerful and most intelligent creature in the whole universe, who, supposedly, created the Earth and every living creature in 6 days, making all the laws of physics etc. And on the other hand, we can see that the Earth was created with the help of the other stars’ remains. Moreover, the time span of the creation is different – 6 days compared with millions and millions of years of evolution, development and forming. (Theologicalperspectives.com, 2015)
Hence, one can cone to the conclusion that here one can see completely opposite theories of our planet’s creation. It is quite hard to find similarities as the origin of the creation is completely different, however it is possible to find some differences such as time span of the creation and the Creator itself. Therefore, it is safe to state that no matter what religious views one may have, still some theories of the world’s creation could be found and used.
References
Geosci.ipfw.edu,. (2015). New Page 5. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.geosci.ipfw.edu/PhysSys/Unit_2/earth.html
Theologicalperspectives.com,. (2015). Creation Versus Evolution: Part One. Retrieved 23 June 2015, from http://www.theologicalperspectives.com/creation-versus-evolution-part-one
