- Theological theory of the origin of life in religions
- Doctrines opposed to the theological theory of the origin of life
- References
The theological theory of the origin of life postulates the existence of a supreme being or a supernatural act that forms everything that exists, and that is immutable in space and time. The word "theological" comes from two others of Greek origin, theos which means "God" and logos, "study".
In this sense, theology is the science that is in charge of the study of the divinities and part of the fact of the existence of God, for that reason it does not make empirical demonstration of this affirmation.
In Ancient Greece, the term "theology" was used by Plato in his text "The Republic" to name reasoning about the divine. This Greek philosopher is considered the founder of Natural Theology, being the first to consider the moral necessity of man for the existence of God.
In Plato, the figure of that God represents the idea of Good. Furthermore, in his writings, God appears as "the soul of the world", that is, as a principle of life of all souls. These last two characteristics distinguish Plato in theology from his pre-Socratic forebears.
Also, the word "theology" was used by Aristotle to separate it from philosophy and assign it to the proper thought of Greek mythology.
Likewise, Aristotle postulates the existence of the “first immobile motor”, that is, a force or first cause of the movement of everything in the universe that, in turn, is not moved by anything. Medieval theology takes up this thought as an explanation of the figure of God.
But the concept of theological theory of the origin of life acquires its main meaning with the beginnings of Judaism. The theological theory of the origin of life is also called creationism.
Creationism postulates the belief that there is a God or being superior to everything, creator of the universe, man in his image and likeness, and everything that exists, starting from nothing.
Theological theory of the origin of life in religions
In the region of Israel, ancient peoples such as Babylon, Egypt, Chaldea, have generated numerous mythological legends about the origin of life. However, creation, as an idea of the beginning of life, is of Jewish origin since it has been captured in writing for the first time by this people.
Also this creation is relatively different from those of Greek mythology and philosophy, and is distinguished by being the first act of God's salvation.
Another distinction is that this God is unique, transcendent and pre-existent to everything. It is also about a God who creates by the force of his word in an unprecedented action and without the need for pre-existing matter.
Later, this story is taken up by both Christianity and Islam. Judaism establishes the idea of creation in Genesis 1: 1-3, which says:
"1 God, in the beginning, created the heavens and the earth.
2 The land was in total chaos, the darkness covered the abyss, and the Spirit of God moved
on the surface of the waters.
3 And God said: "Let there be light!"
And the light came into being. "
Genesis is an Old Testament book of the Christian Bible and the Jewish Torah. The writing of Genesis is attributed to Moses in both religions.
The theological theory of the origin of life is taken up by Christianity in the New Testament. In this sense, the Gospel of Saint John postulates the Word of God as creator, and says:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1: 1)
On the other hand, the Qur'an attributes the origin of life to God in a similar way, as an omnipresent and all-powerful creator.
One of the verses of the Islamic holy book characterizes God with the following phrase: "Originator of the heavens and the Earth, when he decides a thing he says: Be! And it is."
Doctrines opposed to the theological theory of the origin of life
Plotin's Neoplatonism postulates that beings emanate from the fullness of God inexorably and involuntarily. This movement, which is opposed to the creationism of the theological theory of the origin of life, is called emanaticism.
Unlike creationism, emanaticism is a non-theological philosophy in which both the origin and the originate are participants in the creation or emanation. The attention of emanaticism is not focused on the divine will to create, as in theological theory.
On the other hand, the doctrine of pantheism affirms that the universe, nature and everything that exists, is God and is part of a unit.
In this conception, God is not understood as a creator but as an indivisible unit with the existence of all things. In this sense, pantheism denies a separation between creator and creation proper to the theological theory of the origin of life.
Another opposition to the theological theory of the origin of life is evolutionism. This discussion continues to this day.
The evolution holds that all that exists is formed by evolution from less complex forms and structures, because of the need to adapt to the environment.
The evolutionary theory throws its first credible investigations in the biological sciences, under the study of Charles Darwin. Evolutionism is categorically opposed to creationism, removing all cloak of mysticism and divine will from life.
The theory of evolution affirms the appearance of the different species is due to a continuous process of evolution. The philosophical doctrine that accompanies it maintains that the higher derives from the lower, like the evolution of species into more complex ones.
In this sense, it is also opposed to creationism where the inferior supposes the creation of a supreme being.
References
- The book of Genesis from a Jewish perspective. Recovered in July 2017 at: jaymack.net.
- Sayés, José Antonio. Creation Theology. Recovered in July 2017 at: books.google.com.ar.
- Islam: Scientific explanations about the origin of the world. Recovered in July 2017 at: thekeytoislam.com.
- Pantheism. Recovered in July 2017 at: inters.org.
- Plato: creator of natural theology. Recovered in July 2017 at: mujercristianaylatina.wordpress.com.