Key Terms:
Big Bang Theory – According to science the universe began with a ‘big bang’; a massive expansion of space (and time) from a singularity (single point).
Evolution – According to science all life forms have developed and changed over time. Complexity today is explained by the gradual process of evolution.
There are two main problems with the design argument (the Scottish Philosopher David Hume listed about seven, but two will do!):
- There is no real evidence the world IS designed. Maybe we have adapted to suit how the world is. It’s not that the world was created around us, but the other way around.
- There is too much evil and suffering in the world for it to be called a ‘good’ design. If it is a bad design then it probably had a bad designer! Or, no designer at all!
There is no real evidence the world IS designed.
There are other explanations of why the world is so complicated that don’t need a ‘creator God’ to explain them. For example, the THEORY OF EVOLUTION can explain why animals today are so complicated because of millions of years of gradual changes to ‘help them’ survive in the world.
RICHARD DAWKINS is an evolutionary biologist (someone who studies how life changes and adapts) in the modern world who doesn’t believe in God. You can see his views on this in a video on the BBC webiste here.
Many scientists believe the ANTHROPIC PRINCIPLE gets this the wrong way around. Evolution has adapted us to the world; the world was not designed around us.
The Problem of Evil and Suffering
This is part of a separate unit that you can look at elsewhere on this website (I’ll put a hyperlink in when I’ve written that bit of the website!). The problem is basically that there is too much evil and suffering in the world for it to be designed by an good God. Why would a God who is OMNIBENEVOLENT (all loving) and OMNIPOTENT (all powerful) make a world with volcanoes and earthquakes etc.?
GCSE Religious Studies at HGS 
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