Hi there twinbanj and welcome,
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Being a biology student, but having many friends who are church going christians, ive always wonderd why Evolution and creationism are mutualy exclusive? Why can't they both, work side by side?
It depends on the particular creationist belief in question. Many modern Christians (and Jews, Muslims and others) agree with evolution, taking the opinion that God "kick-started" the process and then left it to run it's course, or some similar idea. The problem comes when the claim is made that, say, "The universe was created 6000 years ago in just 6 days.". That is very clearly in direct contradiction to much of known geology and cosmology. The two ideas cannot be held simultaneously.
Milder forms of creationist thought are usually compatible with science, but the people who hold such beliefs are more likely to identify as "theistic evolutionists" if they identify as anything specific (probably the vast majority of UK Christians would qualify as theistic evolutionists, but very few will have heard the term since the issue is not so fractious here). In practise, "creationism" usually involves some level of disagreement with the theory of evolution, as well as a host of other disciplines, depending on the particular flavour of creationism.
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Being from the UK, more christians muslims and Jewish people here take their respective holy book's view on a creation as a metaphor
Whilst this is broadly true of European theists, I think you might be surprised at how many UK theists, especially Muslims hold creationist ideas. They are just not as vocal as their US counterparts.
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I myself don't fall into any religious category (I'm definately not atheist, i think there is the potential for a higher power in some form).
I don't mean to try and fence you in to a specific label, but doesn't that make you an agnostic?
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Isn't it possible for the energy in the theorized big bang, to be a god?
I find this kind of reasoning slightly disingenuous. Most religions, definitely including Christianity, have always been quite specific about what is meant by "god". The term refers to a distinct sentient being of great power. It does not apply to a burst of energy or any such thing. The idea of God as an "all-pervading energy field" or some such vagueness, is very modern and quite removed from the very simple and clear definition of god that has stood for centuries.
I see this as a rather desperate attempt to define God into existence by means of pointing to something that can be demonstrated to exist and saying "Well, that's God.", despite the fact that it redefines God's nature to the point where he (it?) no longer resembles the original concept at all. In my opinion, this is most likely the result of those theists who find themselves dwindling in belief attempting to rationalise a way of clinging on to a last vestige of religious mentality rather admit that they do not believe in gods.
I hope that you find this useful and that you enjoy your time at EvC.
Mutate and Survive
"The Bible is like a person, and if you torture it long enough, you can get it to say almost anything you'd like it to say." -- Rev. Dr. Francis H. Wade
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