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evolution vs creationism
the debate on creation and evolution
evolution vs creationism
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Creationists have locked themselves into a country-wide battle against science for the minds of our youth and control of the intelligentsia. Why are they fighting? Over the last decade, the Theory of Evolution has reared its head with a vengeance, and creationists fear that it erodes the moral integrity of our society while promising to deliver us into a dark age. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the truth is, in fact, quite the opposite. The Theory of Evolution is supported by vast amounts of empirical evidence, and the dismissal of such can only cause harm to our society in a world where innovation and progress beget survival.
There are so many arguments against evolution that I could not list even a sizeable fraction of them in this paper. Instead I shall focus on explaining what the basics of evolution are, rebut a couple of common creationist arguments, and tell you why evolutionary science is so important to us. It is not my hope to make a believer of any possible skeptics, as science does not require one’s belief, but only to shed light upon an issue that has been clouded over by gross misinformation.
Evolution can be described as gradual change in a species population from one generation to the next through the process of natural selection, which is more akin to a process of elimination (Mayr 117-118). What this process basically entails is that over time, members of a species may acquire genetically inherited traits which provide greater odds of survivability within a given environment. Such members, being more likely to survive and therefore procreate, will pass these genes along to the next generation. Conversely, members of said species that do not possess these genes may have difficulty surviving long ...
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...sts love to point out. However, Darwin also put considerable effort into detailing how eyes could evolve from the humble beginnings of photosensitive cells and upward through various steps. Since then, scientists have observed and documented occurrences of these steps in nature, demonstrating great plausibility that eyes can, and have, evolved. Ears have only the simple requirement of a nerve that is attached to anything which may be sensitive to vibration, and a plethora of variations can be found from insects, with often a dozen ears, to humans, who are also capable to interpreting sound through tactile sensation. Brains also pose little challenge for evolution as the world in abundant with brains of different sizes and complexities, and tracing a gradual evolution of them can be further supported by varying skull sizes of early hominid ancestors. (Isaak 64-66)
Sarfati, Jonathan D. Refuting Evolution: A Response to the National Academy of Sciences' Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science. Green Forest, AR: Master, 1999. Print.
These days, most of the textbook only presents evolution theory as a fact to interpret the origin of life and the earth. More and more people get to reject creation unconsciously because they had no opportunity to compare and evaluate both worldview in same degree. I interviewed my three close acquaintances and heard a various responses from many people including my interviewees. Some of them had same belief with me, but some people had significantly different opinion with me. As a consequence of evolution theory’s monopoly in education, non-believers and Christians are unconsciously influenced by this secular worldview.
Evolution is described, as being the change that occurs on a genetic level when a new generation spouts from an ancestral population. Change is destined to happen. That is why in the science of biology the word evolution means descent with modification. Through various factors such as the temperature of the environment, humidity, and altitude a species will adapt to survive and will eventually pass on genetic traits that help the species next generation survive.
"Charles Darwin: The Father of Evolution." Darwin1. University of Missouri, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
Evolution became extremely popular since the publication of Charles Darwin’s theory in his infamous book, The Origin of Species: By Means of Natural Selection or The Preservation of...
of ideas and predetermined extractions from other already written short texts on evolution. Still, what is evolution? Evolution is the change in the inherited characteristics of biological populations over successive generations (N.A.), but is it a belief, dependent and trusted on and through faith, or is it a science; a proven, cold hard fact, which is observable and repeatable? Many, if not all, evolutionists would say that it is the latter, ...
environments. Evolution is the idea that while organisms exhibit certain traits, they are not fixed and are able to be altered through progressive adaptation. Adaptation occurs through the passing of traits from an organism pa...
There are many different theories as to what evolution is, but they all conclude that evolution is a change in species over time. The modern theory of evolution is based on the concept of natural selection. Natural selection is the metapho...
After Sir Charles Darwin had introduced his original theory about the origins of species and evolution, humanity’s faith in God that remained undisputed for hundreds of years had reeled. The former unity fractured into the evolutionists, who believed that life as we see it today had developed from smaller and more primitive organisms, and creationists, who kept believing that life in all its diversity was created by a higher entity. Each side introduced substantial arguments to support their claims, but at the same time the counter-arguments of each opponent are also credible. Therefore, the debates between the evolutionists and the creationists seem to be far from ending. And though their arguments are completely opposite, they can co-exist or even complement each other.
In recent years, the political and religious movement that sought to integrate theories competing with the theory of evolution into the curriculum of various schools in the US. The theory that was offered was the theory of “intelligent design”, which even though not explicitly religious, makes for a theory much more compatible with religion than evolution. The danger of this move was that it was trying to dismiss a legitimate scientific theory as just one among the existing theories – an equal rival in pursuit of true explanation. However, what the advocates of this measure were actually doing is to equate scientific theory with a vastly inferior narrative about the world. It was, therefore, necessary for an author like Coyne (2009) to write a book titled Why Is Evolution True? To show what exactly is meant by the term of a scientific theory and when we can say that something is actually true. The theory of evolution is precisely that kind of theory because it has been confirmed in every situation in which its predictions were tested and the evidence for it lies in the fossil record, comparative anatomy, embryology, molecular biology and biogeography.
There was a Dutchman named Hugo DeVries who found something interesting one day. He found a flower that had mutated. All of the Evolutionists went crazy over this and thought that this was their big breakthrough as to how life evolved. But scientists refute this claim because they can find no incident where a mutation is good. Every mutation that they have come across has hurt or damaged the organism. They describe a process called natural selection.
The theory of evolution, as set forth by Charles Darwin in 1859, stated that all plant and animal life evolved over long periods of time from simple to more complicated forms through mutation and adaptation. He also taught that only the fittest of each species would survive. He further postulated that the first living cell evolved in a "warm warm little pond" and that it took billions of years for the present diversity of living things to evolve. At the time, it was thought that the few "missing links" in the fossil record would be soon filled.(Darwin, 1927 ). Today, however, there is today a considerable body of scientific evidence that refutes this entire theory.
The information presented in evolution studies must be viewed with an open mind since there is no definite proof or law of evolution. The dilemma boils down to science vs. religion. God has been our creator since beginning of time, but the discoveries of recent science are sudde...
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
The evolutionary theory is the concept that species evolve over time through the mechanism of natural selection of survival and reproduction. Natural selection means acting on the assumption that various living organisms were produced by genetic diversity and mutation. The evolution theory may also be referred to as the philosophizing science. This theory states that all phenomena are derived from natural causes and can be explained by scientific laws without reference to a plan or purpose.