Religious beliefs/ teachings about 

the origin of the universe 

and the place of human beings 
in the universe
 Sample exam questions:

Choose one religion.

Identify THREE beliefs Outline TWO
Outline its teachings
about the origins of the characteristics of God.
about how the universe
universe. (3) (4)
begin. (4)
 The Biblical Creation

God was responsible

for the creation of the
earth and the whole
universe.
God is the Creator.
Why
How
long

Two biblical accounts & 

their key messages /implications

http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/1
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/2
http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3
 Genesis 1
Day 1 – heaven & earth; light & darkness
sequence/ order
Day 2 – separated the earth from the sky
Day 3 – dry land, plants & trees
Day 4 – sun, moon & stars plan/ design
[not random]
Day 5 – fish & birds
Day 6 – animals and humans
purpose
[God created mankind in His image]
 Genesis 2 & 3
God created the heavens and the earth. Life-giving
breath

God formed man from the dust of the

earth and breathed life into him.
God made tree grow out of the ground
and formed the Garden of Eden.
God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden
 Genesis 2
God thought Adam would be lonely, so
He created birds and animals which Adam
named.
The birds and animals were not suitable Power/ dominion

helpers for Adam, so God put Adam to

sleep, removed one of his ribs , and
from the rib he created woman, Eve. Union
(marriage)
 Genesis 2 & 3
Adam and Eve lived in innocence in the Garden of Eden
until the serpent tempted them to eat the fruit of the tree that Good nature
God had forbidden them to eat, telling them that if they ate it vs.
Evil nature
they would become like God and know good and evil.
Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam. As a result of this reason
God “me”
first (original) sin, Adam and Eve were banished from the
Garden of Eden.
Eve was condemned to bearing children in pain and to be
ruled over by her husband. Adam was condemned to working Free will
hard for his living.
The importance/ significance
for Christians (today)
In the beginning, when God
created the heavens and the
earth (Gen 1:1)
 

When the LORD God made

the earth and the heavens. God
(Gen 2:1) is the creator.

He is the cause of
The origin of the everything that exists in the
universe . 
universe
and the earth was without
form or shape, with darkness
over the abyss and a mighty God is eternal and
wind sweeping over the omnipotent. God needs no
pre-existent thing or any
waters (Gen 1:2)
help in order to create. 

a Latin phrase, ex nihilo meaning "out of

nothing“
Then God said: Let there be
light, and there was light. Each part of the creation
(Gen 1:3) came about because of
God’s words.
 
Power in His word  His omnipotence How
God’s characteristics (1)
• If God created the universe “in the
beginning” out of nothing, then he
must exist outside of time.
eternal • He is the eternal creator who has
no beginning and will never come to
an end.
God’s characteristics (2)
• God is omnipotent.
(Omnipotent = all-powerful)

• God created the universe out of

Omni-
eternal nothing.
potent
• God alone created the universe, freely,
directly and without any help.
God looked at everything
he had made, and found it
very good. Evening came,
God is omnibenevolent.
and morning followed—
The God who created a
the sixth day. (Gen 1:31) good world must
Himself be good.

why
God’s characteristics (3)
• God is omnibenevolent.
eternal (Omnibenevolent = all-loving)

• God has goodwill towards all

Omni-
Omni-potent
beings.
benevolent
Christians believe that God’s work did not stop with the creation
of humans, He continues to care for the world and show His love
for the world (in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus which
brought salvation).
God showed his love for humans in the creation. God created the
world for humans, made it a good place for them to live with all
the sustenance they need, and gave them their purpose in living.
The LORD God planted a Day 1 – heaven & earth; light &
garden in Eden, in the darkness

east,* and placed there the Day 2 – separated the earth from the
sky
man whom he had Day 3 – dry land, plants & trees
formed. (Gen 2:8) Day 4 – sun, moon & stars
Day 5 – fish & birds
Day 6 – animals and humans
God is omniscient. He creates by wisdom and love.
His creation is ordered/ carefully planned and guided.
God is the designer of the universe.
 When things within

Design the universe appear

to be connected in
a ways which
of the universe suggests purpose
and a designer.
God’s characteristics (4)
eternal
• God is omniscient.
(Omniscient = all-knowing)

Omni-scient Omni-potent • God knows everything (past,

present and future).
Omni-
benevolent
 Sample exam questions:
Choose one religion.
Identify THREE beliefs Outline TWO
Outline its teachings
about the origins of the characteristics of God.
about how the universe
universe. (3) (4)
begin. (4)

God is eternal. He exists

The universe was created
The universe was created outside of time. (He
by an eternal and
by God creates the universe in the
omnipotent God.
beginning out of nothing)

He creates the universe by God is omnipotent (i.e. all-

His words. powerful) as He creates the
(6 days; according to a universe out of nothing
plan; out of His love) without any help.
Then God said: Let us make human
beings in our image, after our
likeness. (Gen 1:26)
Then the LORD God formed the God is the giver of life.
man out of the dust of the ground Every human person possesses a
and blew into his nostrils the breath God-given dignity because we
of life, and the man became a living are the only creature made in
the image of God.
being. (Gen 2:7)
Both male and female were made
in His image. They are equal in
God’s sight.
 God is the Giver of Life
God Human beings

Respect for
owner steward life

Abortion
Our lives belong to Our lives are not our Euthanasia
God own.
[no such
right]
We are entrusted by
God to take good care
of our lives.
 Humans occupy a unique place
in creation

The only creatures who are

able to know and to love their

Image of God creator. (i.e. personal

relationship with God)

Being made in the image of

Humans share God's characteristics and God means that humans have
nature. dignity.
 Self-knowledge means knowing who
you are and why you are here.

Free will is the idea that human

beings are free to make their own
choices.

Human Dignity Freedom to choose

between good and
Freedom to choose to
believe in God or
evil reject God

The belief that humans are persons, not

things, and that they have self-knowledge and Misuse of God creates the
free will. free will universe and all that in
it out of His love and
free will
Let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all
the wild animals, and all the creatures that
crawl on the earth. (Gen 1:26)
So the LORD God formed out of the ground
all the wild animals and all the birds of the air, Dominance of human beings
and he brought them to the man to see what (power & authority)
he would call them; whatever the man called
each living creature was then its name. (Gen Human beings have been
given the right to exercise
2:19)
control over all other living
things.
Diverse views

Dominant &
Commonality
Unique (The belief that) all living creatures
are part of the same process of
development
The LORD God then took
the man and settled him in
We are entrusted by God to care for His
the garden of Eden, to creation.
cultivate and care for it. (our responsibility)

(Gen 2: 15) {stewardship of the earth & its

resources}
• To cultivate = the right to use the resources
• To care for = to duty to conserve (sustainability)
To work  Purpose of life
• To uphold justice by distributing the resources fairly
 Stewardship
Looking after something so it can be passed on to the
next generation

God Human beings

owner stewards

Being entrusted by God

The universe and all that in it belong • to take care of the universe and other creatures
to Him • to perfect its harmony for their own good and
that of their neighbors
The LORD God said: It is not good for
the man to be alone. I will make a
helper suited to him..(Gen 2:18)
… So the LORD God cast a deep sleep
God did not create man a solitary being.
on the man, and while he was asleep, he
took out one of his ribs and closed up (out of His benevolence for mankind)
its place with flesh. The LORD God then
built the rib that he had taken from the This partnership of man and woman constitutes
the first form of communion between persons.
man into a woman. (Gen 2:20-22)
That is why a man leaves his father
and mother and clings to his wife,
and the two of them become one
body. (Gen 2:24)
Purpose – to reproduce/ to cooperate
God blessed them and God said to
in a unique way (in a marriage) in
them: Be fertile and multiply; fill
the Creator’s work
the earth and subdue it.(Gen 1:28)
Why
How
long

The role of the Word

and Spirit in creation
In the beginning, when God
created the heavens and the earth
— and the earth was without
form or shape, with darkness
over the abyss and a mighty The Spirit brings order out of the
wind sweeping over the waters. chaos at the start of time.
(Gen 1:1-2)
In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. He was in the John identifies the Word with Jesus,
beginning with God. All things came the Son.
to be through him and without him
nothing came to be.(John 1:1-3)
The biblical creation shows that the
God who created is the God
Christians believe to be a Trinity.
 Creeds
God the Creator is
God the Father
Why
How
long
Divergent
Christian interpretations
of Genesis creation
 Conservatives

 Gen 1 &2 ≠ absolute scientific facts

 Tend to regard Gen 1 as fairly factual though they would see the days as eras
lasting millions, or billions, of years rather than 24 hours
 The basic sequence in Gen 1 (compatible with that of evolution)
 The sudden beginning from chaos (compatible with the Big Bang Theory)
 Gen 2 & 3 are poetic explanations of how suffering and evil came into the world
 References

 Book A
 1.1.3 Creation

 Book B
 1.1.2 The creation of the universe and of humanity