Part of the series on Creationism

History of creationism Creation in Genesis Genesis as an allegory The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. Creationism can either refer to: the belief that humanity, life, the Earth, or the universe as a whole was specially created by a supreme being (often referred to specifically as God[1]) or by other forms of supernatural intervention. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The history of creationism is tied to the history of religions. ... Creation according to Genesis refers to the description of the creation of the heavens and the earth by God, as described in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. ... Allegorical interpretations of Genesis is devoted to historical and contemporary non-literal regarding the book of Genesis. ...

Types of creationism: Creation science Intelligent design Islamic creationism Modern geocentrism Neo-Creationism Omphalos creationism Old Earth creationism Progressive creationism Theistic evolution Young Earth creationism Creation science refers to the attempts by creationists (especially those who believe in a young Earth) to use the methods and empirical practices of science to support their side of the creation-evolution controversy. ... Intelligent design (ID) is the concept that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. ... Islamic creationism – While contemporary Islam tends to take religious texts very literally, it sees Genesis as a corrupted version of Gods message. ... Modern geocentrism is a belief currently held by certain groups that the Earth is the center of the universe and does not move. ... Neo-creationism is a movement whose goal is to restate creationism in terms more likely to be well received by the public, policy makers, educators, and the scientific community. ... The omphalos hypothesis was named after the title of an 1857 book by Philip Henry Gosse in which he argued that in order for the world to be functional, God must have created the Earth with mountains, canyons, trees with growth rings, Adam and Eve with hair, fingernails, and navels... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Progressive creationism is a form of Old Earth creationism that accepts that new species have appeared successively over earths long history but that, to a greater or lesser degree, each species represents a fiat miracle (thus the creationism part), and that the first pair or representatives of species were... Theistic evolution, less commonly known as evolutionary creationism, is not a theory in the scientific sense, but a particular view about how the science of evolution relates to some religious interpretations. ... Adam and Eve, the first human beings according to Genesis Young Earth creationism is a religious doctrine which teaches that the Earth and life on Earth were created by a direct action of God relatively recently (about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago). ...

Controversy: Creation vs. evolution ... in public education Associated articles Teach the Controversy The creation-evolution controversy (also termed the creation vs. ... The legal status of creation and evolution in public education is the subject of a great deal of debate in legal, political, and religious circles, mainly in the United States. ... The following is a clearinghouse of articles which refer to terms often used in the context of the creation-evolution controversy: // Origins Main article: Origin beliefs The creation-evolution controversy often is cast as a controversy surrounding the origin beliefs. ... Teach the Controversy is a slogan the Discovery Institute uses to promote intelligent design[1] and advance an education policy for US public schools which introduces creationist explanations for the origin of life to public-school science curricula. ...

Jewish views on evolution includes a continuum of views about evolution, creationism, and the origin of life. In 1832, while traveling on the Beagle, naturalist Charles Darwin collected giant fossils in South America. ... The Creation of Light by Gustave Doré. Creationism can either refer to: the belief that humanity, life, the Earth, or the universe as a whole was specially created by a supreme being (often referred to specifically as God[1]) or by other forms of supernatural intervention. ... Pre-Cambrian stromatolites in the Siyeh Formation, Glacier National Park. ...

Some Jewish denominations accept evolutionary creationism (theistic evolution). Many Jewish denominations exist within the religion of Judaism; the Jewish community is divided into a number of religious denominations as well as branches or movements. ... Theistic evolution, or the less common term, Evolutionary Creationism, is the general belief that some or all classical religious teachings about God and creation are compatible with some or all of the scientific theory of evolution. ...

Classical rabbinic teachings

The vast majority of classical Rabbis hold that God created the world close to 6,000 years ago, and created Adam and Eve from clay. This view is based on a chronology developed in a midrash, Seder Olam, which was based on a literal reading of the book of Genesis. It is attributed to the Tanna Yose ben Halafta, and covers history from the creation of the universe to the construction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. This chronology is widely accepted among most of Orthodox Judaism today. For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbÄ« or rebbÉ™; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... It has been suggested that Adam be merged into this article or section. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE and was subsequently rebuilt twice, after the Babylonian Captivity and during Herod the Greats renovation. ... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law) and as subsequently developed and applied by the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ...

A small minority of classical rabbis believed that the world is older, and that life as we know it today did not always exist. Rabbis who had this view based their conclusions on verses in the Talmud or in the midrash. For example: The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ...

• Talmud Chaggiga 13b-14a states that there were 974 generations before God created Adam.
• Some midrashim state that the "first week" of Creation lasted for extremely long periods of time. See Anafim on Rabbenu Bachya's Sefer Ikkarim 2:18; Midrash Bereshit Rabbah 9.

Bahya ben Asher or Bahya ben Asher ben Halawa also known as the Rabbeinu Behaye, born about the middle of the thirteenth century at Saragossa, died 1340 was a 13th century rabbi and scholar of Judaism. ...

Medieval rabbinic teachings

Part of a series of articles on Jews and Judaism           Who is a Jew? · Etymology · Culture Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... Image File history File links Star_of_David. ... Image File history File links Menorah7a. ... Who is a Jew? (Hebrew: ) is a religious, social and political debate on the exact definition of which persons can be considered Jewish. ... Look up Jew in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Judaism · Core principles God · Tanakh (Torah / Nevi'im / Ketuvim) Talmud · Halakha · Holidays · Prayer Ethics · 613 Mitzvot · Customs · Midrash Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ... At the bottom of the hands, the two letters on each hand combine to form יהוה (YHVH), the name of God. ... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Neviim [נביאים] or Prophets is the second of the three major sections in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). ... Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). ... The first page of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... A Jewish holiday or Jewish Festival is a day or series of days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. ... Jewish services are the communal prayer recitations which form part of the observance of Judaism. ... // Jewish ethics stands at the intersection of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics. ... Main article: Mitzvah 613 mitzvot or 613 Commandments (Hebrew: תריג מצוות transliterated as Taryag mitzvot; TaRYaG is the acronym for the numeric value of 613) are a list of commandments from God in the Torah. ... Mitzvah (Hebrew: מצווה, IPA: , commandment; plural, mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah, command) is a word used in Judaism to refer to (a) the commandments, of which there are 613, given in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) or (b) any Jewish law at all. ... Minhag (Hebrew: מנהג Custom, pl. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi · Sephardi · Mizrahi · Lost tribes See related article Judaism by country. ... Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim (Standard Hebrew: sing. ... {{Ethnic group| |image= |group=Sephardi |poptime=>1,700,000 |popplace=Israel: 950,000[1] United States: 150,000 [2] Turkey: 20,000[3] The Netherlands: 270 families Northern Africa: nn Europe (mostly in France): 600,000 Southern Africa: nn Oceania: nn |langs=*Liturgical:,[[Arabic],Sephardic Hebrew *Traditional: Ladino, Judæo... height=28 width=28 thumb->width=28 --> This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... The phrase Ten Lost Tribes of Israel refers to the ancient Tribes of Israel that disappeared from the Biblical account after the Kingdom of Israel was totally destroyed, enslaved and exiled by ancient Assyria. ... Population (historical) · By country Israel · Iran · USA · Russia/USSR · Poland Canada · Germany · France · England India · Spain · Portugal · Latin America Muslim lands · Turkey · Iraq · Syria Lists of Jews · Crypto-Judaism Jewish population centers have shifted tremendously over time, due to the constant streams of Jewish refugees created by expulsions, persecution, and officially sanctioned killing of Jews in various places at various times. ... It has been suggested that Lists of Jews by country be merged into this article or section. ... The vast territories of the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest Jewish population in the world. ... This article is about the history of the Jewish people in England. ... The history of the Jewish people in the Americas dates back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross-Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492, when he left Spain and eventually discovered the New World. ... Excluding the region of Palestine, and omitting the accounts of Joseph and Moses as unverifiable, Jews have lived in what are now Arab states at least since the Babylonian Captivity (597 BCE), about 2,600 years ago. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Judaism are referred to as crypto-Jews. The term crypto-Jew is also used to describe descendants of Jews who still (generally secretly) maintain some Jewish traditions, often while adhering... Jewish denominations · Rabbis Orthodox · Conservative · Reform Reconstructionist · Liberal · Karaite Alternative · Renewal Many Jewish denominations exist within the religion of Judaism; the Jewish community is divided into a number of religious denominations as well as branches or movements. ... For the town in Italy, see Rabbi, Italy Rabbi (Sephardic Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«; Ashkenazi Hebrew רֶבִּי rebbÄ« or rebbÉ™; and modern Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished (in... Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law) and as subsequently developed and applied by the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest stream of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ... Reconstructionist Judaism is a modern Jewish movement marked by views and practices including: Personal autonomy should generally override traditional Jewish law and custom, yet also take into account communal consensus Modern culture is accepted The view that Judaism is an evolving religious civilization Traditional rabbinic modes of study, as well... Liberal Judaism is a term used by some communities worldwide for what is otherwise also known as Reform Judaism or Progressive Judaism. ... Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish denomination characterized by the sole reliance on the Tanakh as scripture, and the rejection of the Oral Law (the Mishnah and the Talmud) as halakha (Legally Binding, i. ... Alternative Judaism refers to several varieties of modern Judaism which fall outside the common Orthodox/Non-Orthodox (Reform/Conservative/Reconstructionist) classification of the four major streams of todays Judaism. ... The term Jewish Renewal refers to a set of practices within Judaism that attempt to reinvigorate Judaism with mystical, Hasidic, musical and meditative practices. ... Jewish languages Hebrew · Yiddish · Judeo-Persian. Ladino Judeo-Aramaic · Judeo-Arabic Juhuri · Krymchak · Karaim · Knaanic · Yevanic · Zarphatic · Dzhidi The Jewish languages are a set of languages that developed in various Jewish communities, in Europe, southern and south-western Asia, and northern Africa. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Yiddish (Yid. ... The Judæo-Persian languages include a number of related languages spoken throughout the formerly extensive realm of the Persian Empire, sometimes including all the Jewish Indo-Iranian languages: Dzhidi (Judæo-Persian) Bukhori (Judæo-Bukharic) Judæo-Golpaygani Judæo-Yazdi Judæo-Kermani Judæo-Shirazi Jud... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ... Judæo-Aramaic is a collective term used to describe several Hebrew-influenced Aramaic and Neo-Aramaic languages. ... The Judeo-Arabic languages are a collection of Arabic dialects spoken by Jews living or formerly living in Arabic-speaking countries; the term also refers to more or less classical Arabic written in the Hebrew script, particularly in the Middle Ages. ... Juhuri, Juwri or Judæo-Tat is the traditional language of the Juhurim or Mountain Jews of the eastern Caucasus Mountains, especially Dagestan. ... Krymchak is the Crimean Tatar language dialect spoken by the Krymchaks - Rabbanite Jews of the Crimea. ... The Karaim language is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences, in a similar manner to Yiddish or Ladino. ... Knaanic (also called Canaanic, Leshon Knaan or Judeo-Slavic) was a West Slavic language, formerly spoken in the Czech lands, now the Czech Republic. ... Yevanic, otherwise known as Yevanika, Romaniote and Judeo-Greek, was the language of the Romaniotes, the group of Greek Jews whose existence in Greece is documented since the 4th century BCE. Its linguistic lineage stems from Attic Greek and the Hellenistic Koine (Κοινή Ελ&#955... Zarphatic or Judæo-French (Zarphatic: Tsarfatit) is an extinct Jewish language, formerly spoken among the Jewish communities of northern France and in parts of what is now west-central Germany, in such cities as Mainz, Frankfurt-am-Main, and Aachen. ... Dzhidi, or Judæo-Persian, is the Jewish language spoken by the Jews living in Iran. ... Political movements · Zionism Labor Zionism · Revisionist Zionism Religious Zionism · General Zionism The Bund · World Agudath Israel Jewish feminism · Israeli politics Jewish political movements refer to the organized efforts of Jews to build their own political parties or otherwise represent their interest in politics outside of the Jewish community. ... Zionism is a political movement that supports a homeland for the Jewish people in the Land of Israel, where Jewish nationhood is thought to have evolved somewhere between 1200 BCE and late Second Temple times,[1][2] and where Jewish kingdoms existed up to the 2nd century CE. Zionism is... Labor Zionism (or Labour Zionism) is the traditional left-wing of the Zionist ideology. ... Revisionist Zionism is a right wing tendency within the Zionist movement. ... Kippot Sruggot: Modern Orthodox Jewish students carry the flag of Israel at a public parade in Manhattan, NY, USA Religious Zionism, or the Religious Zionist Movement, also called Mizrachi, is an ideology combining Zionism and Judaism, which offers Zionism based on the principles of Jewish religion and heritage. ... General Zionists were centrists within the Zionist movement. ... A Bundist demonstration, 1917 The General Jewish Labour Union of Lithuania, Poland and Russia, in Yiddish the Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland (אַלגמײַנער ײדישער אַרבײטערסבונד אין ליטאַ, פוילין און רוסלאַנד), generally called The Bund (בונד) or the Jewish Labor Bund, was a Jewish political party operating in several European countries between the 1890s and the... World Agudath Israel (The World Israelite Union) was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Orthodox Judaism. ... Jewish feminism is a movement that seeks to improve the religious, legal, and social status of women within Judaism and to open up new opportunities for religious experience and leadership for Jewish women. ... Politics of Israel takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister of Israel is the head of government, and of a pluriform multi-party system. ... History · Timeline · Leaders Ancient · Temple · Babylonian exile Jerusalem (In Judaism · Timeline) Hasmoneans · Sanhedrin · Schisms Pharisees · Jewish-Roman wars Diaspora · And Christianity · And Islam Middle Ages · Kabbalah · Hasidism Haskalah · Emancipation · Holocaust Aliyah · Israel (History) · Arab conflict Jewish history is the history of the Jewish people, faith (Judaism) and culture. ... This is a timeline of the development of Judaism and the Jewish people. ... Jewish leadership: Since 70 AD and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish community. ... In compiling the history of ancient Israel and Judah, there are many available sources. ... The Temple in Jerusalem or the Holy Temple (Hebrew: בית המקדש, transliterated Bet HaMikdash) was built in ancient Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE and was subsequently rebuilt twice, after the Babylonian Captivity and during Herod the Greats renovation. ... Babylonian captivity also refers to the permanence of the Avignon Papacy. ... Panoramic view from Mt. ... The city of Jerusalem is significant in a number of religious traditions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam. ... 1800 BCE - The Jebusites build the wall Jebus (Jerusalem). ... The Hasmonean Kingdom (pronunciation) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. // Recorded history The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the... For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... Schisms among the Jews: // First Temple era Based on the historical narrative in the Bible and archeology, Levantine civilization at the time of Solomons Temple was prone to idol worship, astrology, worship of reigning kings, and paganism. ... The Pharisees (from the Hebrew perushim, from parash, meaning to separate) were, depending on the time, a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 BCE–70 CE). ... Combatants Roman Empire Jews of Iudaea Province Commanders Vespasian, Titus Simon Bar-Giora, Yohanan mi-Gush Halav (John of Gischala), Eleazar ben Simon Strength 70,000? 13,000? Casualties Unknown 600,000–1,300,000 (mass civilian casualties) The first Jewish-Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called The Great... The Jewish diaspora (Hebrew: Tefutzah, scattered, or Galut, exile) is the dispersion of the Jewish people throughout the world. ... Judaism and Christianity are two closely related Abrahamic religions that are in some ways parallel to each other and in other ways fundamentally divergent in theology and practice. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Jews in the Middle Ages : The history of Jews in the Middle Ages (approximately 500 CE to 1750 CE) can be divided into two categories. ... This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ... It has been suggested that Hasidic philosophy be merged into this article or section. ... Haskalah (Hebrew: השכלה; enlightenment, intellect, from sekhel, common sense), the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew, and Jewish history. ... Dates of Jewish emancipation. ... This article is becoming very long. ... Aliyah (Hebrew: עלייה, ascent or going up) is a term widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ... This article describes the history of the modern State of Israel, from its Independence Proclamation in 1948 to the present. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Persecution · Antisemitism The Holocaust History of antisemitism New antisemitism Persecution of Jews includes various persecutions that the Jewish people and Judaism have experienced throughout Jewish history. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This article is becoming very long. ... This is a partial chronology of hostilities towards or discrimination against the Jews as a religious or ethnic group. ... New antisemitism is the concept of an international resurgence of attacks on Jewish symbols, as well as the acceptance of Judeophobic beliefs and their expression in public discourse, coming simultaneously from three political directions: the left, Islamism, and the far-right. ... v • d • e

Some medieval philosophical rationalists, such as Maimonides held that it was not required to read Genesis literally. In this view, one was obligated to understand Torah in a way that was compatible with the findings of science. Indeed, Maimonides, one of the great rabbis of the Middle Ages, wrote that if science and Torah were misaligned, it was either because science was not understood or the Torah was misinterpreted. Maimonides argued that if science proved a point, then the finding should be accepted and scripture should be interpreted accordingly. Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Commonly used image indicating one artists conception of Maimonidess appearance Maimonides (March 30, 1135 or 1138–December 13, 1204) was a Jewish rabbi, physician, and philosopher in Spain and Egypt during the Middle Ages. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Nahmanides, often critical of the rationalist views of Maimonides, pointed out (in his commentary to Genesis) several non-sequiters stemming from a literal translation of the Bible's account of Creation, and stated that the account actually symbolically refers to spiritual concepts. He quoted the Mishnah in Tractate Chagigah which states that the actual meaning of the Creation account, mystical in nature, was traditionally transmitted from teachers to advanced scholars in a private setting. Many classic Kabbalistic sources mention Shmitot - cosmic cycles of creation, similar to the Indian concept of yugas. Nahmanides' disciple, rabbi Isaac of Akko, a prominent Kabbalist of 13th-century, held, that the Universe is about 15 billion year old - strikingly close to the modern scientific calculations. According to the tradition of Shmitot, Genesis talks openly only about the current epoch, while the information about the previous cosmic cycles is hidden in the esoteric reading of the text. Nahmanides (1194 - c. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... This article is about traditional Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). ... In Hindu philosophy, the existence of the world is divided into four Yugas (ages): Satya Yuga or Krita Yuga Treta Yuga Dwapara Yuga Kali Yuga According to the rishis of ancient India, the world goes through a continuous cycle of these ages. ... Nahmanides (1194 - c. ... (12th century - 13th century - 14th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 13th century was that century which lasted from 1201 to 1300. ...

A literal interpretation of the biblical Creation story among classic rabbinic commentators is uncommon (yet there is universal agreement regarding the literal understanding of the time of the creation of Adam). One of several notable exceptions may be the Tosafist commentary on Tractate Rosh Hashanah, where there seems to be an allusion to the age of creation according to a literal reading of Genesis. The non-literal approach is accepted by many as a possible approach within Modern Orthodox Judaism and some segments of Haredi Judaism.

Jewish views in reaction to Darwin

With the advent of Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory, the Jewish community found itself engaged in a discussion of Jewish principles of faith and modern scientific findings. Charles Robert Darwin FRS (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist [1] who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. ... There are a number of basic Jewish principles of faith that were formulated by medieval rabbinic authorities. ...

Post-1800 Kabbalistic views of compatibility

In his commentary on the Torah, Rabbi Bahya ben Asher (11th century, Spain) concludes that there were many time systems occurring in the universe long before the spans of history that man is familiar with. Based on the Kabbalah he calculates that the Earth is billions of years old. Bahya ben Asher or Bahya ben Asher ben Halawa also known as the Rabbeinu Behaye, born about the middle of the thirteenth century at Saragossa, died 1340 was a 13th century rabbi and scholar of Judaism. ...

Rabbi Israel Lipschitz of Danzig (1800s) gave a famous lecture on Torah and paleontology, which is printed in the Yachin u-Boaz edition of the Mishnah, after Massechet Sanhedrin. He writes that Kabbalistic texts teach that the world has gone through many cycles of history, each lasting for many tens of thousands of years. He links these teachings to findings about geology from European, American and Asian geologists, and from findings from paleontologists. He discusses the wooly mammoth discovered in 1807 Siberia, Russia, and the remains of several then-famous dinosaur skeletons recently unearthed. Finding no contradiction between this and Jewish teachings, he states "From all this, we can see that all the Kabbalists have told us for so many centuries about the fourfold destruction and renewal of the Earth has found its clearest possible confirmation in our time." Israel Lipschitz of Danzig (1782-1860) was the author of Tiferet Yisrael a well-known commentary on the Mishna. ... Paleontology or palaeontology (see Spelling differences) is the study of the history and development of life on Earth, including that of ancient plants and animals, based on the fossil record (evidence of their prehistoric existence as typically preserved in sedimentary rocks). ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... World geologic provinces Oceanic crust  0-20 Ma  20-65 Ma  >65 Ma Geologic provinces  Shield  Platform  Orogen  Basin  Large igneous province  Extended crust Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason))[1] is the science and study of the solid matter of a celestial body, its composition... Species Mammuthus africanavus   African mammoth Mammuthus columbi   Columbian mammoth Mammuthus exilis   Pygmy mammoth Mammuthus jeffersonii   Jeffersonian mammoth Mammuthus trogontheri   Steppe mammoth Mammuthus meridionalis Mammuthus primigenius   Woolly mammoth Mammuthus lamarmorae   Sardinian Dwarf Mammoth A mammoth is any of a number of an extinct genus of elephant, often with long curved tusks... Orders & Suborders Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Theropoda Ornithischia Thyreophora Ornithopoda Marginocephalia Dinosaurs were vertebrate animals that dominated the terrestrial ecosystem for over 160 million years, first appearing approximately 230 million years ago. ...

When scientists first developed the theory of evolution, this idea was seized upon by rabbis such as Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin, known as the Netziv, who saw Kabbalah as a way to resolve the differences between traditional readings of the Bible and modern day scientific findings. He proposed that the ancient fossils of dinosaurs were the remains of beings that perished in the previous "worlds" described in some Kabbalistic texts. This today is the view of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan. Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (נפתלי צבי יהודה ברלין also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, 1817- 10 August 1893) was a rosh yeshiva (dean [of a] yeshiva) of the Volozhin yeshiva and author if several works of rabbinic literature in Lithuania. ... Aryeh Kaplan (1934 - 1983) was a noted rabbi and author, who had a background in both physics and Judaism. ...

Late 1800s Orthodox view of evolution

n the late 1880s, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, an influential leader in the early opposition to non-Orthodox forms of Judaism, wrote that he while he did not endorse the idea of common descent (that all life developed from one common organism), even if science ever did prove the factuality of Evolution, it would not pose a threat to Orthodox Judaism's beliefs. He posited that belief in Evolution could instead cause one to be more reverent of God by understanding His wonders (a master plan for the universe). // Development and commercial production of electric lighting Development and commercial production of gasoline-powered automobile by Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Maybach First commercial production and sales of phonographs and phonograph recordings. ... Rabbi S.R. Hirsch Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. ... A group of organisms is said to have common descent if they have a common ancestor. ... A crab is an example of an organism. ... In 1832, while traveling on the Beagle, naturalist Charles Darwin collected giant fossils in South America. ... The deepest visible-light image of the cosmos, the Hubble Ultra Deep Field. ...

This will never change, not even if the latest scientific notion that the genesis of all the multitudes of organic forms on earth can be traced back to one single, most primitive, primeval form of life should ever appear to be anything more than what it is today, a vague hypothesis still unsupported by fact. Even if this notion were ever to gain complete acceptance by the scientific world, Jewish thought, unlike the reasoning of the high priest of that notion, would nonetheless never summon us to revere a still extant representative of this primal form as the supposed ancestor of us all. Rather, Judaism in that case would call upon its adherents to give even greater reverence than ever before to the one, sole God Who, in His boundless creative wisdom and eternal omnipotence, needed to bring into existence no more than one single, amorphous nucleus and one single law of "adaptation and heredity" in order to bring forth, from what seemed chaos but was in fact a very definite order, the infinite variety of species we know today, each with its unique characteristics that sets it apart from all other creatures. (Collected Writings, vol. 7 pp. 263-264)

By the early to mid 1900s, the majority of Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism came to accept the existence of evolution as a scientific fact. They interpreted Genesis and related Jewish teachings in light of this fact. // First flight by the Wright brothers, December 17, 1903. ... This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ... Reform Judaism can refer to (1) the largest stream of Judaism in America and its sibling movements in other countries, (2) a branch of Judaism in the United Kingdom, and (3) the historical predecessor of the American movement that originated in 19th-century Germany. ...

Modern day Orthodox Jewish views

A recent scientific study described in Skeptic Magazine presented compelling evidence that modern day Orthodox Jews oppose evolutionary theory and overwhelmingly support ideas about the origin of life and the universe along the lines of Young Earth creationism [1]. Moreover, the study found that those with an educational background in the sciences were more likely to reject evolutionary theory than those without any prior scientific background. In short, the study's findings strongly suggest that rejection of and hostility towards evolutionary theory (and other findings of modern science) is at least as common among modern Orthodox Jews as it is among other religious groups more typically associated with hostility towards evolutionary theory, such as fundamentalist Christian Protestants. The Skeptics Society is a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting scientific skepticism and resisting the spread of pseudoscience, superstition, and irrational beliefs. ... Orthodox Judaism is one of the three major branches of Judaism. ... Adam and Eve, the first human beings according to Genesis Young Earth creationism is a religious doctrine which teaches that the Earth and life on Earth were created by a direct action of God relatively recently (about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago). ... Fundamentalism is a movement to maintain strict adherence to founding principles. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, referred to as the Christ. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ...

The RCA [2] notes that significant Jewish authorities have maintained that evolutionary theory, properly understood, is not incompatible with belief in a Divine Creator, nor with the first 2 chapters of Genesis. The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) is one of the worlds largest organizations of Orthodox Jewish rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU. History The roots of the organization go back to 1923 when... Posek (Hebrew פוסק, IPA: , pl. ...

One can find an array of Orthodox views on the age of the universe, the age of the earth, and views on evolution, in Challenge: Torah Views on Science and Its Problems edited by Aryeh Carmell and Cyril Domb, and in Gerald Schroeder's Genesis and the Big Bang. These works attempt to reconcile traditional Jewish texts with modern scientific findings concerning evolution, the age of the earth and the age of the Universe.

Prominent Orthodox rabbis who affirm that the world is older, and that life has evolved over time, include Aryeh Kaplan, Israel Lipschitz, Sholom Mordechai Schwadron (the MaHaRSHaM), Zvi Hirsch Chajes. To be sure, these rabbis do not accept the views of atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, who hold that evolution has no room at all for God. Rather, each rabbi taking this position proposes their own understanding of theistic evolution, in which the world is older, and that life does evolve over time in accord with natural law, yet also holding that God has a role in this process. Aryeh Kaplan (1934 - 1983) was a noted rabbi and author, who had a background in both physics and Judaism. ... Rabbi Schwadron Rabbi Sholom Mordechai Schwadron (1835-1911), also known as Shalom Mordechai Hacohen Schwadron, the gaon (sage) of Berezhany, was known as the Maharsham (after the initials of his title and name). ... Zvi Hirsch Chajes (November 20, 1805 – October 12, 1855) was one of the foremost Galician talmudic scholars. ... The 18th-century French author Baron dHolbach was one of the first self-described atheists; he did not believe in the existence of any deities. ... Clinton Richard Dawkins (born March 26, 1941) is a British ethologist, evolutionary biologist, and popular science writer who holds the Charles Simonyi Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Theistic evolution, less commonly known as evolutionary creationism, is not a theory in the scientific sense, but a particular view about how the science of evolution relates to some religious interpretations. ...

One of the most prominent writers on this subject in the Orthodox Jewish community is Gerald Schroeder, an Israeli physicist. He has written a number of articles and popular books attempting to reconcile Jewish theology with modern scientific findings that the world is billions of years old and that life has evolved over time. (Genesis and the Big Bang: The Discovery of Harmony Between Modern Science and the Bible) His work has received approbations from a number of Orthodox rabbinic authorities. Dr. Gerald Schroeder is a former professor of nuclear physics at MIT and former member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. ... The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density. ...

Some of Orthodox Judaism offers significant resistance to the idea of evolution, with many Orthodox rabbis developing rejections of evolution that exactly paralleled the rejections in the Christian community. Orthodox Jews who reject evolution held that the scientists were mistaken, were heretics, or were being deliberately misled by God. Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts (The Oral Law) and as subsequently developed and applied by the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the ‘catholic’ or orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ...

In 2005, Rabbi Natan Slifkin, popularly known as the "zoo rabbi", for his writings about animals in Jewish thought, had his books about animals and evolution banned by many of the most prominent charedi rabbis. 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Natan (Nosson) Slifkin (born 1975) is an Orthodox rabbi best known for his interest in biology, zoology, and natural history, and for his books on these topics. ... Haredi Judaism, or Charedi Judaism, also called ultra-Orthodox Judaism, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism. ...

Modern day Conservative Jewish views

Conservative Judaism embraces science as a way to learn about God's creation, and like Orthodox and Reform Judaism, has found the theory of evolution a challenge to traditional Jewish theology. The Conservative Jewish movement has not yet developed one official response to the subject, but a broad array of views has converged. Conservative Jews teach that God created the universe and is responsible for the creation of life within it, but proclaims no mandatory teachings about how this occurs at any level. This article refers to Conservative (Masorti) Judaism in the United States. ...

Many Conservative rabbis embrace the term theistic evolution, and most reject the term intelligent design. Conservative rabbis who use the term intelligent design in their sermons often distinguish their views from the Christian fundamentalist use of this term. Like most in the scientific community, they understand "intelligent design" to be a technique by fundamentalist Christians to insert religion into public schools and to attack science, as admitted in the Intelligent Design movement's wedge strategy position papers. Theistic evolution, less commonly known as evolutionary creationism, is not a theory in the scientific sense, but a particular view about how the science of evolution relates to some religious interpretations. ... Intelligent design (ID) is the concept that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection. ... The wedge strategy is a political and social action plan authored by the Discovery Institute, an organization that works to promote a Neo-Creationist religious agenda centering on Intelligent design, and is the hub of the Intelligent design movement. ...

In contrast to fundamentalist views, Conservative Judaism strongly supports the use of science as the proper way to learn about the physical world in which we live, and thus encourages its adherents to find a way to understand evolution in a way that does not contradict the findings of peer-reviewed scientific research. The tension between accepting God's role in the world and the findings of science, however, is not resolved, and a wide array of views exists. Some mainstream examples of Conservative Jewish thought are as follows:

Professor Ismar Schorsch, chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, writes that: Ismar Schorsch is the sixth chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) of Conservative Judaism in the United States, where he is the Rabbi Herman Abramovitz Professor of Jewish History. ... The Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism. ...

The Torah's story of creation is not intended as a scientific treatise, worthy of equal time with Darwin's theory of evolution in the curriculum of our public schools. The notes it strikes in its sparse and majestic narrative offer us an orientation to the Torah's entire religious worldview and value system. Creation is taken up first not because the subject has chronological priority but rather to ground basic religious beliefs in the very nature of things. And I would argue that their power is quite independent of the scientific context in which they were first enunciated.

Rabbi David J. Fine, who has authorized official responsa for the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, expresses a common Conservative Jewish view on the subject: Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Conservative Halakha. ...

Conservative Judaism has always been premised on the total embrace of critical inquiry and science. More than being compatible with Conservative Judaism, I would say that it is a mitzvah to learn about the world and the way it works to the best of our abilities, since that is to marvel with awe at God's handiwork. To not do so is sinful.

But here's where the real question lies. Did God create the world, or not? Is it God's handiwork? Many of the people who accept evolution, even many scientists, believe in what is called "theistic evolution," that is, that behind the billions of years of cosmic and biological evolution, there is room for belief in a creator, God, who set everything into motion, and who stands outside the universe as the cause and reason for life. The difference between that and "intelligent design" is subtle yet significant. Believing scientists claim that belief in God is not incompatible with studying evolution since science looks only for the natural explanations for phenomena. The proponents of intelligent design, on the other hand, deny the ability to explain life on earth through solely natural explanations. That difference, while subtle, is determinative.

David J. Fine, Intelligent Design

Rabbi Michael Schwab writes:

...the Jewish view on the first set of questions is much closer to the picture painted by adherents to intelligent design than to those who are strict Darwinians. Judaism, as a religion, and certainly Conservative Judaism, sees creation as a purposeful process directed by God, however each individual defines the Divine. This is clearly in consonance with the theory of Intelligent Design. What Darwin sees as random, we see as the miraculous and natural unfolding of God’s subtle and beautiful plan.

...However, as unlikely as it may seem, this does not mean for one moment that Judaism’s view rejects wholesale the veracity of Darwin’s theory. In fact, I believe that it is easy to incorporate Darwin and Intelligent design into a meaningful conception of how we humans came into being...

We have frameworks built into our system to integrate the findings of science into our religious and theological beliefs. That is because we believe that the natural world, and the way it works, was created by God and therefore its workings must be consistent with our religious beliefs.

...One of the most well known ways our tradition has been able to hold onto both the scientific theory of evolution as well as the concept of a purposeful creation was by reading the creation story in Genesis in a more allegorical sense. One famous medieval commentary proclaims that the days of creation, as outlined in the book of Bereshit, could be seen as representative of the stages of creation and not literal 24 hour periods. Thus each Biblical day could have accounted for thousands or even millions of years. In that way the progression according to both evolution and the Torah remains essentially the same: first the elements were created, then the waters, the plants, the animals, and finally us. Therefore, Genesis and Darwin can both be right in a factual analysis even while we acknowledge that our attitudes towards these shared facts are shaped much more strongly by the Torah – we agree how the process unfolded but disagree that it was random.

Parshat Noah -- November 4, 2005, How Did We Get Here? Michael Schwab

The claim that evolution is purposeful is in conflict with modern day evolutionary theory. The precise way in which God inserts design is not specified by Schwab or other rabbis. Teleology is the philosophical study of purpose (from the Greek teleos, perfect, complete, which in turn comes from telos, end, result). ...

Rabbi Larry Troster is a critic of positions such as this; he holds that much of Judaism (and other religions) have not successfully created a theology which allows for the role of God in the world and yet is also fully compatible with modern day evolutionary theory. Troster holds that the solution to resolving the tension between classical theology and modern science can be found in process theology, such as in the writings of Hans Jonas, whose view of an evolving God within process philosophy contains no inherent contradictions between theism and scientific naturalism. Process theology (also known as neoclassical theology) is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947). ... German-born philosopher Hans Jonas (May 10, 1903 - February 5, 1993) studied under Martin Heidegger and Rudolf Bultmann in the 1920s. ...

Lecture God after Darwin: Evolution and the Order of Creation October 21, 2004, Lishmah, New York City, Larry Troster

In a paper on Judaism and enviromentalism, Troster writes:

Jonas is the only Jewish philosopher who has fully integrated philosophy, science, theology and environmental ethics. He maintained that humans have a special place in Creation, manifest in the concept that humans are created in the image of God. His philosophy is very similar to that of Alfred North Whitehead, who believed that God is not static but dynamic, in a continual process of becoming as the universe evolves.

From Apologetics to New Spirituality: Trends in Jewish Environmental Theology, Lawrence Troster

Sources

• Abrams, Nancy Ellen, and Joel R. Primack. "In a Beginning...: Quantum Cosmology and Kabbalah." Tikkun, Vol. 10, No. 1, p. 66-73.
• Aviezer, Nathan. In the Beginning: Biblical Creation and Science. Ktav, 1990. ISBN.
• Carmell, Aryeh, and Cyril Domb (editors). Challenge: Torah Views on Science New York: Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists/Feldheim Publishers, 1976. ISBN
• Kaplan, Aryeh. Immortality, Resurrection, and the Age of the Universe: A Kabbalistic View. Ktav, 1993.
• Schroeder, Gerald L. The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom. Broadway Books, 1998. ISBN-X.
• Tigay, Jeffrey H. "Genesis, Science, and 'Scientific Creationism.'" Conservative Judaism, Vol. 40(2), Winter 1987/1988, p. 20-27.

Tikkun is a bi-monthly English-language magazine published in the United States. ...

External links

• "Age of the Universe" written by Aish to show how science and Torah come together.
• Various Orthodox Jewish views - The Soc.Culture.Jewish FAQ
• Evolutionary creationism by Susan Schneider
• Rabbi Ari Kahn and his evidence for evolution in the Torah