Where did it all begin?
The origins of life is probably the oldest argument know, which has been debated for thousands of years. How was life created? How were humans made? Did we really evolve from apes and most importantly where did it all begin? Both religion and science have attempted to answer these questions, yet the answers are constantly disputed and have many times sparked conflicts among followers. In this article, I am going to explorer and discuss the most popular beliefs of creation in order to see how contradicting these beliefs are and if it is possible to believe in more than just one.
The most popular beliefs are often divided into three different categories which in turn are divided into more sub-categories.
- Creation science: God created the universe during 6 consecutive 24 hour days less than 10,000 years ago, precisely as a one of the literal interpretations of the Biblical book of Genesis would indicate. All of the various species of plants and animals that currently exist (and that once existed) on earth are descendants of the original life forms that God created during the single week of creation. This is the most popular belief system among the general public. It is the least popular among earth and biological scientists. Over 99% of such scientists believe that a literal translation of Genesis does not represent reality.
- Theistic evolution view: The universe is about 14 billion years old. The earth's crust developed about 4.5 billion years ago. God created the first cell, and then used evolution as a tool to guide the development of each new species. The process culminated in human beings.
- Scientific view: Beliefs are identical to the theistic view, except that God is assumed to have played no part in the processes. Scientists assume evolution was driven by blind, purely natural forces.