CreationismBelief that nature originated through supernatural actsCreationism is the religious belief that nature, and aspects such as the universe, Earth, life, and humans, originated with supernatural acts of divine creation, and is often pseudoscientific. In its broadest sense, creationism includes various religious views, which differ in their acceptance or rejection of modern scientific concepts, such as evolution, that describe the origin and development of natural phenomena.
EvolutionEvolution is the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It happens when individuals in a population vary in their genetic characteristics and in the numbers of their surviving offspring. Mutation introduces new genetic variation, and processes such as genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection result in some genetic variants becoming more or less common over time.Special creationIn Christian theology, special creation is a term with varying meanings dependent on context. In creationism, the term refers to a belief that the universe and all life in it originated in its present form by fiat or divine decree. In Christianity, this is liturgically celebrated as the Feast of Creation.
Scientific theoryA scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can be or that has been repeatedly tested and has corroborating evidence in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results. Where possible, theories are tested under controlled conditions in an experiment. In circumstances not amenable to experimental testing, theories are evaluated through principles of abductive reasoning.Creationism (soul)Creationism (or historically creatianism) is a doctrine held by some Christians that God creates a soul for each body that is generated. Alternative Christian views on the origin of souls are traducianism and also the idea of a pre-existence of the soul. The Scholastic philosophers held the theory of Creationism.
Secondary causationSecondary causation is the philosophical proposition that all material and corporeal objects, having been created by God with their own intrinsic potentialities, are subsequently empowered to evolve independently in accordance with natural law. Traditional Christians would slightly modify this injunction to allow for the occasional miracle as well as the exercise of free will. Deists who deny any divine interference after creation would only accept free will exceptions.Scientific lawScientific laws or laws of science are statements, based on repeated experiments or observations, that describe or predict a range of natural phenomena. The term law has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow) across all fields of natural science (physics, chemistry, astronomy, geoscience, biology).
Big BangThe Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an early state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including the abundance of light elements, the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation, the redshift of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe.
GodSupreme deity in theistic belief systemsLeft to right, top to bottom: representations of God in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoroastrianism, and HinduismA supreme deity, supreme being, supreme god, or simply just God (often with capital G), is a deity within theisticbelief systems which is believed to be the ultimate cause of all things in existence. As such, it is seen as the creator, sustainer, and ruler of the universe.
Nebular hypothesisAstronomical theory about the Solar SystemThe nebular hypothesis is the most widely accepted model in the field of cosmogony to explain the formation and evolution of the Solar System (as well as other planetary systems). It suggests the Solar System was formed from gas and dust orbiting the Sun which accreted to form the planets.
Age of EarthThe age of Earth is estimated to be 4.54 ± 0.05 billion years. This age corresponds to the final stages of Earth's accretion and planetary differentiation during the early Hadean eon. Estimates are based on radiometric dating of meteoritic material—the ages of which are approached by those of the oldest-known terrestrial material and lunar samples—and accretion models consistent with observations of planet formation in protoplanetary disks.
Age of the universeIn Big Bang models of physical cosmology, the age of the universe is the cosmological time back to the point when the scale factor of the universe extrapolates to zero. Using the latest models and the data from the Planck project, the age of the universe is 13.8 billion years. Astronomers have two different approaches to determine the age of the universe.
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