RELG 340 - Science and Religion
Course Notes for Module 2
Science and Religion - A Very Short Introduction : chapters 4, 5 & 6
- p.61 The Thirty Nine Articles of the Church of England
- These are thirty-nine statements which were agreed upon by a council of the Bishops of the Church of England in 1563. They include statements as to the sufficiency of Scripture, and salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone. A prospective candidate for ordination in the Church of England must sign assent to the Thirty-nine Articles before ordination.
- p.89 - a wife for Cain
- Genesis 5:4 states that Adam had "other sons and daughters". Cain's wife could have been one of his sisters.
- p.112 - eschatology and the big bang
- One of the potential scenarios of the big bang theory is that the universe is destined to expand until it reaches a certain limit, and then contract upon itself until it reaches the "big crunch". This property of the universe was given to it at its inception. For those who see God as the creator of the universe the "big crunch" might be the way God will finish creation.
- p.119 - adult men
- The law allowed for acts between "consenting adults" - it did not specify that they had to be male
- p.119 - masturbation and onanism
- The usual interpretation of Genesis 38:9 is that Onan practiced coitus interruptus (withdrawal before orgasm) in order to avoid making his wife (who was his brother's widow) pregnant. He did so because he did not want to produce a son who would become his deceased brother's heir, and it was this that displeased God.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
