Complex Research Reflection

The complex research task was much more difficult to undertake than I had initially thought. The assessment took me alot longer than what I had anticipated as I struggled to make sense of how I was going to approach the task.

It has only been in the last week or two that I have gained clarity and better understanding into the subject, and thus able to put my thoughts down in writing much more easily.


All in all, the research I undertook for this project gave me so much more understanding of a subject I thought I already had a grasp on, and made clear other opinions and perspectives.

Annotated Bibliography

A question of  origins. (2008) [Video]

This video features widely-travelled Creationist speaker, Roger Oakland, who makes the issues surrounding the creation/science debate easy-to-understand. Various scientific experts share evidence and proofs also.

The visually rich video provides overwhelming evidence in favour of creation and that the universe and all life were created by a Supernatural being, and that the God of the Bible is that Creator. the video is useful for anyone who has questions concerning the scientific accuracy of the Bible.

CreationTheory.org (2007) [Internet]. Available at <http://www.creationtheory.org> accessed 27 October 2011.

This website supports the theory of science as fact when discussing the origin of the universe. The site gives detailed summaries arising from the science/creation debate. It attempts to prove in very detailed manner, that the scientific viewpoint is the correct one.

The site is easy to navigate and makes for easy reading as well. It provides very matter-of-fact information, even if it is on an almost argumentative slant.

Behe, Michael J. (1996) Darwin's black box: the biochemical challenge to evolution. Free Press New York.

Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution is a book written by Michael J. Behe. The author sets out to argue that the organic world is so complex, particularly at the level of molecular biology and biochemistry, that Darwinian evolution cannot possibly have led to it. His reasoning suggests that as evolution cannot produce irreducibly complex systems they must be the outcome of the activities of an Intelligent Designer.

Behe takes on the main supporters of evolution, and uses clever analogies and useful comparisons. Behe has not written this book in a religious format and denies he is a creationist, but the arguments are totally scientific. The book is pretty complicated for the average reader. Readers without a strong biology background will struggle with it.

Dailymail.co.uk (2010) God did not create the universe, says Stephen Hawking [Internet] Available at <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1308278/Stephen-Hawking-God-did-create-Universe.html>, accessed 17 November, 2011.

This article explains that in a provocative book, Professor Stephen Hawking, Britain's most famous scientist, has declared God redundant said modern physics left no room for a Creator - and that science could explain the origins of the universe. Professor Stephen Hawking believes the laws of physics were behind the creation of the universe, not God, although he argues that it is "perfectly rational" to assume intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe.

The article talks a bit about the reasoning behind Hawking's theory, but doesn't elaborate much on the subject. Further research into Hawking's speculation on the subject will need to be carried out in order to obtain a clearer understanding.

eThoughts (2011) [Internet]. Available at <www.ethoughts.org> accessed 3 November 2011.

eThoughts is a website dedicated to questions about life and belief. The website is clearly categorised by topic and is a useful source for those wanting an introduction to faith and religion. A vast variety of topics is covered and theories given are mostly from a religious viewpoint. The website also boasts reaching over 100,000 people per year.

Institute for Bible and scientific studies. (2011) [Internet]. Available at <www.bibleandscience.com> accessed 3 November 2011.

Extensive website committed to outlining theories on evolution and creation - from a creation scientific view. Its resources are extensive and range from news, archaeology and science and provide depth of answer to each.

There are also numerous links to various research resources on the subject with references to a multitude of articles and publications. The site is easy to navigate and contains a wealth of up-to-date information.

Creation, or what?

Some consider creation science to be a thinly disguised creationism theory, but after extensive research into the topic I have concluded that the origin of the universe is due to it being created in agreement with what is written in the Jewish scriptures and the Christian Bible in a book called Genesis.

Even though science explains how the universe came to be (in its big bang theory) it cannot explain why creation came about or where it all came from. The scriptures explain things the same way as science, but is explains the why and where.

Can Creationism be Scientific?

One of the most famous scientists of all time is Albert Einstein, the physicist whose very name has come to be used as a synonym for "genius." What is not commonly known about Einstein, and many other of the greatest scientists of all time, is that they were absolutely convinced of God's existence.

Scientists who call themselves "creation scientists" are professionals who are generally involved in the same types of work as the average scientist. The difference is that creation scientists have a "model" for their science which is based on the belief that an intelligent designer ("God") exists and created our universe and the natural things in it.

Scientific creation is the theory which proceeds from the claim that it is possible to make use of the results of natural science to demonstrate that the universe and all life was created in fully functioning form, and that the concept of intelligent design can be validated by the results of scientific investigation.

This model states that life on earth originated as the result of one or more creation events. A creation event may be identified as the instantaneous appearance of new matter out of nothing including but not limited to, fully functional, completely developed organisms. Creation events did not transform existing organisms, but produced entirely new creatures. These creation events are no longer occurring. As such, they are not observable or repeatable. Although this is unusual for a scientific model, it has all the weaknesses as evolution.

A major goal of creation science is to point out the weakness of evolutionary theory, because basically there are only two alternatives for how we got here. Creation scientists are developing alternative models and theories in many areas to help our understanding of how the universe works.



Creation science FAQ (2011) [Internet]. Available at <http://www.creationfaq.net/>

Creation science (2011) [Internet]. Available at <http://conservapedia.com/Creation_science>

Creationism vs. science (2007) [Internet]. Available at <http://conservapedia.com/Creation_science>

Viewpoints, Theories and Beliefs

There are literally hundreds of theories and beliefs regarding the origin of the universe, its species and plant and animal life. These theories fall mostly into three general categories: 

CREATION SCIENCE:

This consists of about a dozen different belief systems based on different interpretations of the creation stories in the biblical book of Genesis. These beliefs are frequently found in Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

God created the universe during 6 consecutive days less than 10,000 years ago. All of the various "kinds" of plants and animals that currently exist (and that once existed but are now extinct) on earth are descendants of the original life forms that God created during the single week of creation. However, within these original kinds of animals, microevolution has resulted in similar species developing.

THEISTIC EVOLUTION:

The theory of evolution is accurate, just as scientists believe. The universe is about 14 billion years old. The earth's crust developed about 4.5 billion years ago.

Some believers suggest that God created the first cell; others suggest that the first cell happened as a result of natural processes through biogenesis. Subsequently, God used evolution as a tool to guide the development of each new species. By steering evolution over time, God eventually produced human beings.

SCIENTIFIC VIEW:

The origin of the universe occurred about 13 billion years ago. The earth coalesced about 4.5 billion years ago. Evolution was driven by blind, unguided natural forces without a goal. Darwin's belief that naturally occurring differences among offspring lead to evolution of the species through natural selection is the main, or perhaps the only, driving principle behind evolution.

If God exists, he played no part in the processes and they were driven by purely natural forces, and without any overall plan. 

Amans, Ross and Ragland, Dan (2001) Origin of the universe theories [Electronic book].  Available at http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~danr/ph367u/report.pdf accessed 2 November 2011.

Creation v. evolution - a feasibility study (2011) [Internet] Available at <http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/creation-vs-evolution.htm>

The evolution controversy (2006) [Internet] Available at <http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/evolution.htm>

Origins and development of life (1995) [Internet] Available at <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ev_over0.htm>