What is Evolution?
In 1973 Peter and Rosemary Grant arrived on the Galapagos Islands to witness evolution firsthand. They spent several years meticulously documenting the island's finches and their morphological makeup. Due to a drought in 1977, the Grants witnessed nature select finches with bigger beaks as the population of finches with small beaks declined to about 15 percent of the original number, while the finches with larger beaks increased by 5 percent. Natural selection at work, right? Well, that’s what was published in scientific journals and textbooks all over the world. Then, in 1983 the islands experienced heavy rains, and the food source of the finches once again became abundant.
So in 1987 Peter Grant returned to the islands to check evolution’s progress. What he found was that the finches’ beaks had returned to their original size, which he interpreted as “a reversal in the direction of selection.” With no net effect of evolutionary change you would think the entire experiment would no longer serve as evidence, yet to this day the research can still be found in textbooks all over America.
Unlike other places throughout the world, in America evolution is the biggest intellectual challenge for the evangelist. Not because it is true or false but because our educational establishment has somehow convinced the ignorant masses that evolution disproves the existence of God, which of course has no bearing on reality. The Theory of Evolution does not test for God or the supernatural, and makes no claim concerning the origin of the universe. In fact, many theist believe in God and evolution under the idea that God directed evolution, as even the most liberal interpretation requires an enormous amount of information and good fortune. In Europe, evolution and it's philosophical cousin, naturalism has decimated the church, something that is prone to happen here if the church does not wake up.
A few years back I was listening to a very popular minister who clearly had objections to evolutionary theory. His biggest challenge to those who believe in evolution was posed as a question; If we evolved from apes why do apes still exists? While this may appear to be legitimate thinking, the problem is that the question was answered by Darwin 150 years ago, primarily that species branch off rather than follow a linear pattern. The only thing you will accomplish by asking an evolutionist that question is to demonstrate that you don't know a thing about the Theory of Evolution. Our goal in discussing evolution in our course is to educate Christians on the many aspects of the theory so that when necessary, they can ask well thought out questions that truly expose the absurdity of evolutionary thinking. Below we will describe evolution, in the next article we discuss the problems with evolution.
Two Types of Evolution
There are many misconceptions about the Theory of Evolution, the most predominant is that any change within a species supports the idea that those changes will ultimately lead to new more diverse organisms. But of course we've known since the 1800s with Gregor Mendel's breeding studies on peas that there are natural limits to genetic change. To move from small micro evolutionary changes in which the genetic material is recombined to huge large scale changes and new species is a massive leap of faith. So lets define the two terms below.
Micro evolution is changes within a species. This is not the Theory of Evolution as we know each species has a range in which it can adapt and change. These ranges appear to have predisposed limits to their changes. We’ve bred big dogs and little dogs but we’ve never turned a dog into a horse. Change WITHIN a species is possible, but all species have their limits. This is not evolution.
Marco evolution is the idea that new species emerge due to random mutations and natural selection. The important thing here is that a new species evolved with new chromosomes and can no longer successfully breed with its ancestors. It is anatomically and biologically different and presumably with new features that advanced its survivability.
Is Evolution Good Science?
Why is Darwinian Evolution necessary to the atheist?
What does atheism have in common with the Garden of Eden?
Why is atheism so appealing?
Does evolution prove there is no God?
What is the scientific method?
Can science disprove God?
What is a theory?
Is Evolution good theory?
What is the Theory of Evolution?
Evolution and Time
Initially, the theory needed hundreds of billions of years to support its claims, and they had it as the prevailing theory at the beginning of the 20th century as the Steady State Theory. Then things began to change:
While this no longer provides enough time for evolutionary theory to work, it has not deterred the evolutionists. Let's put it another way. When scientists talk about "theory" they never use the word "proved" or "fact", they generally look at all the data and determine if the data "supports" or "rejects" the theory. In what direction is the data leading? Now imagine being an evolutionists at the beginning of the 1900s. Life was good because it was believed that the universe was eternal, so you had all the time in the world. Living organisms were thought to be simple protoplasm. By the end of the 1900s it turns out that the universe and earth had a beginning not long ago in evolutionary time and that life systems are extremely complex. The percentage of species that are thought to be transitional forms have diminished as compared to the amount of species we now know existed. This along with many other findings has not deterred the evolutionists as they continue to lower the bar and make the evidence fit the evolutionary model.
Dissenters of Darwinism
Over the past century, many predicted that science would be free from any trace of religious belief as a consequence of the evolutionary paradigm. A 2009 study by the Pew Research Center of scientists who are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, found that just over half of scientists (51%) believe in some form of deity or higher power. More specifically, 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. The same study was performed with the same questions back in 1914 and again in 1996. Surprisingly American scientists answered almost the same way as their 1914 counterparts. Therefore, it is clear that new knowledge is not influencing scientists in any direction, which starts at an early age in America and Europe. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey, conducted in May and June 2009, David Masci, Senior Researcher, Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Discovery Institute publishes a list of prominent scientists who reject Darwinian evolution. The scientists on this list dispute the first claims of evolution. Since Discovery Institute launched this list in 2001, hundreds of scientists have courageously stepped forward to sign their names. The list, which exceeds 1,200 signatures, is growing and includes scientists from the US National Academy of Sciences, Russian, Hungarian and Czech National Academies, as well as from universities such as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and others. It can be found at www.dissentfromdarwin.org.
So in 1987 Peter Grant returned to the islands to check evolution’s progress. What he found was that the finches’ beaks had returned to their original size, which he interpreted as “a reversal in the direction of selection.” With no net effect of evolutionary change you would think the entire experiment would no longer serve as evidence, yet to this day the research can still be found in textbooks all over America.
Unlike other places throughout the world, in America evolution is the biggest intellectual challenge for the evangelist. Not because it is true or false but because our educational establishment has somehow convinced the ignorant masses that evolution disproves the existence of God, which of course has no bearing on reality. The Theory of Evolution does not test for God or the supernatural, and makes no claim concerning the origin of the universe. In fact, many theist believe in God and evolution under the idea that God directed evolution, as even the most liberal interpretation requires an enormous amount of information and good fortune. In Europe, evolution and it's philosophical cousin, naturalism has decimated the church, something that is prone to happen here if the church does not wake up.
A few years back I was listening to a very popular minister who clearly had objections to evolutionary theory. His biggest challenge to those who believe in evolution was posed as a question; If we evolved from apes why do apes still exists? While this may appear to be legitimate thinking, the problem is that the question was answered by Darwin 150 years ago, primarily that species branch off rather than follow a linear pattern. The only thing you will accomplish by asking an evolutionist that question is to demonstrate that you don't know a thing about the Theory of Evolution. Our goal in discussing evolution in our course is to educate Christians on the many aspects of the theory so that when necessary, they can ask well thought out questions that truly expose the absurdity of evolutionary thinking. Below we will describe evolution, in the next article we discuss the problems with evolution.
Two Types of Evolution
There are many misconceptions about the Theory of Evolution, the most predominant is that any change within a species supports the idea that those changes will ultimately lead to new more diverse organisms. But of course we've known since the 1800s with Gregor Mendel's breeding studies on peas that there are natural limits to genetic change. To move from small micro evolutionary changes in which the genetic material is recombined to huge large scale changes and new species is a massive leap of faith. So lets define the two terms below.
Micro evolution is changes within a species. This is not the Theory of Evolution as we know each species has a range in which it can adapt and change. These ranges appear to have predisposed limits to their changes. We’ve bred big dogs and little dogs but we’ve never turned a dog into a horse. Change WITHIN a species is possible, but all species have their limits. This is not evolution.
Marco evolution is the idea that new species emerge due to random mutations and natural selection. The important thing here is that a new species evolved with new chromosomes and can no longer successfully breed with its ancestors. It is anatomically and biologically different and presumably with new features that advanced its survivability.
Is Evolution Good Science?
Why is Darwinian Evolution necessary to the atheist?
- It gives intellectual credibility to the atheists’ assumptions.
- The alternative is little green Martians.
What does atheism have in common with the Garden of Eden?
- If there is no God, then you can be your own god.
- Being your own god carries the highest appeal to our fallen nature.
Why is atheism so appealing?
- Because if there is no God, then I am not accountable for my actions.
- I can make up my own morality which will be grounded in physical pleasure.
- It is presented as a logical, sequential hypothesis.
Does evolution prove there is no God?
- To date evolutionists have not performed any experiments to support or reject the God hypothesis.
- Evolution does not test for God or the metaphysical; rather it is a theory about the evolution of species.
- It does not attempt to explain the origins of the universe, solar system, laws of physics, etc.
- Can you be an evolutionist and believe in God? Yes as most evolutionist do believe in God.
- Can you be a Christian and believe in the Theory of Evolution? Yes the only qualification for salvation is belief and trust in Christ. C.S. Lewis among other great Christians were believers in evolution.
What is the scientific method?
- Reproducing or observing an event, in a controlled environment to support or reject a hypothesis.
Can science disprove God?
- Scientists only test natural causes, not supernatural events.
- The scientific community has not performed a single experiment that tests for God.
What is a theory?
- An explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; theories can incorporate facts and laws and hypotheses.
- Bad theory, superstition, myth - A claim or belief about a process which is untestable and purely speculative.
- Good theory - It can be replicated or observed, it can be verified and it can make predictions. In addition, the great theories of the past have all involved using mathematics to test and support the theory.
Is Evolution good theory?
- Can it be replicated? No, because it supposedly only happens over millions of years.
- Can it be verified? No, because it cannot be tested.
- Can it make predictions? No, because supposedly there is not enough time to witness the results of any predictions, although Darwin did make predictions about future findings in the fossil record (see Problems with Evolution).
- Is the Theory of Evolution supported by mathematical calculations? No Intelligent Design theorists apply mathematics to evolutionary theory to make conclusions but evolutionists have rejected the application of mathematics primarily because it weakens the theory's claims.
What is the Theory of Evolution?
- Change over time? No
- Change within a species? No
- All species emerged from a common ancestor through the process of random mutations and natural selection.
- Evolution is gradualism.
- Evolution involves the emergence of NEW species.
- What is a species: the largest group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
- Can evolution “develop” anything for species to adapt? No, mutations are random and unguided (chance).
Evolution and Time
Initially, the theory needed hundreds of billions of years to support its claims, and they had it as the prevailing theory at the beginning of the 20th century as the Steady State Theory. Then things began to change:
- Steady State Theory – Universe is eternal – evolution has all the time in the world.
- General Relativity – Universe had a beginning about 13.4 billion years ago.
- Earth is dated – Earth had a beginning 3.6 billion years ago
- Cambrian explosion is dated – First complex life 550,000 million years ago.
- Mass extinctions – Four extinctions separated by only millions of years.
While this no longer provides enough time for evolutionary theory to work, it has not deterred the evolutionists. Let's put it another way. When scientists talk about "theory" they never use the word "proved" or "fact", they generally look at all the data and determine if the data "supports" or "rejects" the theory. In what direction is the data leading? Now imagine being an evolutionists at the beginning of the 1900s. Life was good because it was believed that the universe was eternal, so you had all the time in the world. Living organisms were thought to be simple protoplasm. By the end of the 1900s it turns out that the universe and earth had a beginning not long ago in evolutionary time and that life systems are extremely complex. The percentage of species that are thought to be transitional forms have diminished as compared to the amount of species we now know existed. This along with many other findings has not deterred the evolutionists as they continue to lower the bar and make the evidence fit the evolutionary model.
Dissenters of Darwinism
Over the past century, many predicted that science would be free from any trace of religious belief as a consequence of the evolutionary paradigm. A 2009 study by the Pew Research Center of scientists who are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, found that just over half of scientists (51%) believe in some form of deity or higher power. More specifically, 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. The same study was performed with the same questions back in 1914 and again in 1996. Surprisingly American scientists answered almost the same way as their 1914 counterparts. Therefore, it is clear that new knowledge is not influencing scientists in any direction, which starts at an early age in America and Europe. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey, conducted in May and June 2009, David Masci, Senior Researcher, Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life.
Discovery Institute publishes a list of prominent scientists who reject Darwinian evolution. The scientists on this list dispute the first claims of evolution. Since Discovery Institute launched this list in 2001, hundreds of scientists have courageously stepped forward to sign their names. The list, which exceeds 1,200 signatures, is growing and includes scientists from the US National Academy of Sciences, Russian, Hungarian and Czech National Academies, as well as from universities such as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and others. It can be found at www.dissentfromdarwin.org.