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A History of Ideas: Jessica Frazier on Creation Myths

How Did Everything Begin?

13/01/2015

Jessica Frazier on Creation Myths

BBC Radio 4 - A History of Ideas, Jessica Frazier on Creation Myths

How did the world begin? Jessica Frazier canvases the views of the great religions.

How did the world begin? It is one of the first questions any civilisation asks itself. Jessica Frazier investigates the answers thrown up by the great religions.

How did the world begin? In the Old Testament it all starts with an act of God, but where did God come from?

Dr Jessica Frazier, lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and fellow of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies wants to know how different cultures deal with this most fundamental of questions.

Hindus can choose from a menu of options, followers of Chinese Taoism are comfortable with the idea that we come from chaos, a potent force of creativity that continues to pulse through the life of the Universe.

With the help of Ram Aithal from Birmingham's Shri Venkateswara Hindu Temple and the renowned science fiction writer Ursula K Le Guin, Jessica asks if the wonder of the great Creation myths can increase our understanding. Can they help us make sense of the data that modern science is gathering from the beginning of time?

This is part of a week of programmes exploring the beginnings of the Universe.

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