PROMPT: Does the suggestion of a grand pattern of evolution and change, amongst both matter and organisms, contradict traditional religious conceptions, or reinforce the majesty of the complexity, mystery and design of Life often suggested in many Genesis stories throughout the human cultural world?Things to consider as you address this question:Are Genesis and big bang cosmology mutually exclusive? In what ways do the two accounts differ? In what ways do they agree?
The word day in Genesis means a period of light, and not necessarily twenty-four hours as we measure a day on Earth. Therefore, the origin of the universe in seven periods of light may cover far vaster ranges of time than how we clock time in reference to our life on Earth. Many believe that stories of creation in many traditions are metaphors for greater principles, such as telling a child simple stories to illustrate principles of mathematics. Under this interpretation, do you think theories such as the big bang necessarily contradict other illustrations of the origins of the cosmos.