Creation and the Big Bang

Thomas Davenport, OP

Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum)

Genesis 1 describes the creation of the world as occurring over seven orderly days while modern cosmology describes a chaotic 13.8 billion year journey since the Big Bang. On the surface these accounts of beginnings seem contradictory and are seen as a point of conflict between science and Christianity. If we look more deeply at the history of reading Genesis 1, beginning with the Church Fathers and flowing through Thomas Aquinas, we find a much deeper understanding of the meaning of creation in general and the Genesis creation narratives in particular. Aided with these tools we can see how contemporary Cosmology can reinforce our understanding of creation, rather than contradict it.

Fr. Thomas Davenport, O.P. is a Dominican priest from the Province of St Joseph. He studied physics at the California Institute of Technology before going on to earn his doctorate in physics from Stanford University, studying theoretical particle physics. He also holds a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America, and he is currently getting a Ph.D. in Philosophy. He is a frequent speaker on topics related to the intersection of faith and science and a contributor to a number of projects in this area including, the Thomistic Evolution project, the Aquinas 101 – Faith and Science series, and the annual Thomistic Philosophy and Natural Science Symposium hosted by the Thomistic Institute in Washington, DC. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Catholic Scientists and is part of the Angelicum Thomistic Institute’s Project for Science and Religion.

This event is organised by the KUL student chapter, in Lublin, Poland.