Theories of Originscompiled by Steve Badger Appearance of age theory--Proposes that God created the universe several thousand years ago but made it appear to be much older Atheistic evolution--Suggests that species have changed into other species without divine intervention Big bang theory--A cosmogony that claims that the universe began as a single mass that exploded trillions of years ago to produce our current universe Catastrophism--Claims geological structures were not formed over long periods of time, but quickly by a catastrophe (flood, volcanic eruption, meteor impact, etc.) Concordism--Attempts to harmonize the theories and conclusions of modern science with the Bible Cosmogony--A theory of origins of the universe, scientific or religious Creation science--Claims that scientific evidences support the theory that (1) God suddenly made the universe (matter and energy) and life (2) out of nothing, (3) in six consecutive 24-hour periods, (4) about 8,000-12,000 years ago Darwinism--Refers to Darwin's idea that species gradually changed into other species through a process of natural selection (survival of the fittest); the theory is considered outdated Day-age theory--Suggests that the days of the first chapter of Genesis are really epochs Evolution--A general term that is often used to mean macroevolution (which see) Ex nihilo--A Latin phrase that indicates that God created all of the matter and energy in the universe "out of nothing" Fiat creationism--Posits that God created the universe and all in it by speaking it into existence Gap theory--Proposes a large time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2; at the end of this time, all life was destroyed; thus, the rest of the account is actually re-creation (see Restitution theory and Ruination-Reconstruction theory below) Macroevolution--Proposes that genetic changes occurring over time have resulted in one species changing into another species (a/k/a mega-evolution); (See microevolution below) Neo-Darwinism--Random genetic changes and natural selection give rise to new species Old-earth creationism--Accepts the scientific evidences for a universe that is billions of years old, but argues that God created everything including life Panspermia--Suggests the "seeds of life" were transplanted to earth from space Pictorial day theory--Explains the Genesis account by presenting the days of creation as six periods of revelation during which the events, which actually occurred over long periods of time, were revealed (See Revelatory day theory below) Progressive creationism--Embraces the concept that the universe, the earth, and life are all billions of years old; however, it denies any form of macroevolution and believes that God directly created life and its forms (though no agreement is found on when each of these occurred) Punctuated equilibrium--Claims that macroevolution has taken place within comparatively short periods of time separated by long periods of time during which no evolution occurred Restitution theory--Proposes a large time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2; at the end of this time, all life was destroyed; thus, the rest of the account is actually re-creation (see Gap theory and Ruination-Reconstruction theory) Revelatory day theory--Explains the Genesis account by presenting the days of creation as six periods of revelation during which the events, which actually occurred over long periods of time, were revealed (See Pictorial day theory above) Ruination-reconstruction theory--Proposes a large time gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2; at the end of this time, all life was destroyed; thus, the rest of the account is actually re-creation (see Gap theory and Restitution theory) Spontaneous generation--Life arising from non-life on its own; a/k/a abiogenesis Theistic evolution--Presents macroevolution as the method God used to bring the diversity of life from simple life forms Young-earth creationism--Claims that the days of creation in Genesis were six consecutive 24-hour periods and that the universe and life were created several thousand years ago |
An Origins Glossarycompiled by Steve Badger Adaptation--An organism's change in form, structure, or behavior (supposedly) to fit environmental conditions better Anthropic principle--Posits that everything about the universe tends toward making life (especially human life) possible and sustaining it ("fine tunig of the universe) Anthropomorphism--Describing a non-human (like God) with human characteristics or attributes Apologetics--The defense of a position Biology--Science that studies life; the theory of evolution is considered the foundational theory by virtually all nonChristian biologists, and many (if not most) Christian biologist Causality--Asserts that every physical reality must have a cause for its existence Cosmogony--Any account (theory, model) of the origin of the universe Cosmology--A branch of astronomy that addresses the history and structure of the universe Cosmos--The universe and everything in it Creationism--Typically refers to Young-Earth Creationism (which see) Concurrence-- Complementarity-- Deism--Pictures the Supreme Being as an "absentee God" who, after creating the universe and its laws, never interferes but allows everything to run by itself Empirical--Derived from and based on observation (the physical senses) Entropy--A measure of the degree of disorder in the universe; the greater the disorder, the greater the entropy; related to the 2nd law of thermodynamics (which see) Environmental tracking--Variation within the already existing catalog of genes; provides for adaptation to the environment within the limits of its available genetic information Evolutionism--A philosophical position that asserts all of life, society, culture is getting better on its own Falsification principle--Claims that a proposition is meaningful (and true) if and only if a test can be devised (at least in theory) that could prove it false; note it is self-refuting (See Verifiability principle) Fideism--A philosophical position that asserts that all knowledge is ultimately based only on faith Fossil--Remains of plant or animal life found in the earth's strata (typically rocks) God-of-the-Gaps--Uses God to explain anything that science cannot explain; notice the position it puts Christianity in: when science finds a naturalistic explanation for that which was previously explained by God, He is increasing excluded from our thinking Genetics--Branch of biology that studies principles of heredity Geology--Science that deals with the earth and the materials that compose its layers (rocks, etc.) Homologous structures--Structures that have similar functions or morphologies, e.g., a person's legs and a dog's hind legs; they may have different functions, e.g., a person's arms and a bird's wings Humanism--A philosophy that denies the existence of a Supreme Being and sees humankind as able to solve all of their problems Intelligent design--Believes the physical realm must have had Someone who designed it Imago Dei--Latin phrase meaning "image of God"; applied to the creation of humans Kind--A biblical word indicating a basic type; a less well-defined term than the term species (which see below) Law (of science)--Conclusions that are thought to be universally established; thus we believe them to be constant and invariable throughout the universe; in biology often called a principle Logical positivism--Claims that propositions have meaning if and only if they are verifiable by logic or observation Macroevolution--One species changing into another species over time Mega-evolution--Macroevolution Microevolution--Observable minor changes within a species Missing links--Undiscovered, intermediate forms between early life forms and their modern evolutionary descendants Model--A framework of ideas used to organize and present data meaningfully Molecular taxonomy--Attempts of use biochemical similarities to determine how closely different species are on an evolutionary scale Mutation--A change in the genetic material producing a new, inheritable trait; almost never beneficial but typically lethal Naive realism--The universe and reality is generally as people perceive it Naturalism--Rejects all supernatural causes; provides natural causes for all events Natural selection--Posits that nature allows those best suited to survive and reproduce Objective--The conclusion does not depend on the perceptions of the person making the observation and drawing the conclusions (See subjective) Paleontology--The study of fossil animals and plants Phenomenon--An observable event Principle of uniformity--Says that "The present is the key to the past"; thus, we can understand past processes by observing those acting today (See uniformitarianism) Radiometric dating--Uses the amounts (ratios) and half-lives of radioactive isotopes to estimate the age of an object Realism--Claims that material objects exist independently, they do not depend upon mental processes in any way Science (natural)--Attempts to gain an understanding of the physical realm by using powers of observation and experimentation to find and test explanations Scientism--Assumes that all truth can be discovered by the scientific method and only by this method (note it is self-refuting) Second Law Of Thermodynamics--States that a closed system left to itself tends to move from order to disorder; a/k/a the universal law of decay; (See entropy above) Species--A category of biological classification; an interbreeding gene pool; it's poorly defined Speciation--Means the formation of new species from existing ones Subjective--The conclusion depends on the perceptions of the person making the observation and drawing the conclusions (See objective) Teleological argument--Affirms that the order of the universe and life strongly argue for a "Cosmic Designer" (God) Teleology-- Teleonomy--The information stored within a living thing; includes the idea of something having a design and purpose Theism--Believes that God is the Supreme and Necessary Being Thermodynamics--A branch of physics that studies the dynamics of heat energy including the transfer or exchange of heat Uniformitarianism--Assumes that all past causes were natural like those observed today (See Principle of Uniformity) Verifiability principle--Claims that a proposition is meaningful (or true) if and only if it is purely definitional or empirically verifiable; note some see it as self-refuting (See Falsification principle) Vestigial--Means not fully developed or useful (e.g., nipples on males, vermiform appendix) Worldview--Refers to a comprehensive framework of a person's basic beliefs about things, including himself and his relationship to the rest of the world (from the German Weltanschauung) |
BibliographyThoughts included in the definitions above have been gleaned from:
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