In my years of teaching science, I was always a little irritated with how the textbooks approached the evolutionary theories. I touched on this before in an earlier post. Though the books may say “theory” of evolution in one section, as you would continue to read the chapter other phrases would be printed indicating that “because of evolution” we have this or that….therefore, the overall book wasn’t exactly sticking with the whole “theory” approach.
As we move forward in this entry, I’d like to define some terms and discuss the many areas where scientists have tried to find proof over the years of how evolution works….or should work if in fact it is a real thing. Let’s start with the definition of the theory of evolution which is the process of random changes. A major part of this theory is BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION which is the change of ONE KIND of an organism to ANOTHER KIND of organism. For example, a type of fish changing into an amphibian.
But, before we move too far forward, I believe it is important to mention TWO THINGS
1) The knowledge of the word “Kind”
2) What the fossil record shows
So let’s start with #1….knowledge of the word “kind.” Why is it so important?
In Genesis 1:25 the Bible reads, “And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind.”
This passage of scripture shows that God created different “kinds” of organisms. He created cows, lizards, birds, bears, and dogs, etc…and though there may be different TYPES of these cows, lizards, birds, bears and dogs, they are all still at their core, cows, lizards, birds, bears, and dogs. They are the same KIND.
As stated in the last post, evolutionists like to use dog breeds as proof that evolution is still taking place. There are many dog breeds such as labs, basset hounds, Dobermans, Chihuahuas, etc. But here’s the thing, they are all still the same KIND of animal. They all bark, pant, chase cars, drool, tend to hate cats, so on and so forth. If they were truly evolving they would be turning into something new, not maintaining their “dog” characteristics.
Charles Darwin (who is credited for starting the evolutionary theory) studied finches and noticed differences in their beaks. This has been exaggerated to the whole “monkey to man” idea of changes. Again, there are differences in their beaks but they are all STILL FINCHES. They have not evolved into a bat, or elephant or some other new creature. They still tweet, fly, make nests, lay eggs, and so on.
Do you see why understanding the word “kind” is so important? There really isn’t proof of evolution, just slight differences in the same type of animal. Look at the human race. Do we all look the same? Not at all! But we do all share about 99% of the same characteristics!
Now, let’s move on to #2….what does the fossil record show?
When we look at fossils, we know what animal they used to be because the same creatures that existed before still exist now! (This of course is true with the exception of extinction. What the fossil record shows is that the same animals still exist or they have become extinct. They are not changing).
This cockroach is a perfect example of how history shows no change in our organisms…no matter how old they claim these rocks to be.
Take a look at the following pictures and see if you can figure out what organism this is…or used to be…
Did you struggle in your naming process? You didn’t? Isn’t that interesting?! (she writes ever so sarcastically…)
Over the years, there have been different ways to describe the beginning of time and the appearance of animals and humans. I will address a couple of these theories next. Obviously, we can see how some might seem more viable than others but I do believe it is important to understand these theories come from a worldview that cannot accept there is a God who can or who did create. Please also note, that these are the basic theories and have been built upon over the years. Theories all have a starting point…
The three theories I will describe are:
• THEORY OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS
• NATURAL SELECTION
• MUTATION THEORY OF EVOLUTION – (there is a lot of information to discuss here so I will give this theory its own entry in ENTRY 9)
THEORY OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS
Obviously, when supporting any theory, one might be inclined to consider different possibilities of how things have come to be. Evolutionists are no different. In the early 1800s there was a French biologist named Jean Baptist Lamark who proposed the THEORY OF ACQUIRED CHARACTERISTICS. Acquired characteristics are traits that are caused by an organism’s environment. For instance, women piercing their ears. A woman isn’t born with holes in her ears, she must make them herself, but the hole in the ear is a trait that is caused by the woman’s environment.
Lamark wanted to figure out how a giraffe got its long neck. He supposed that maybe long ago, giraffes didn’t have long necks but that over time droughts possibly destroyed low-growing plants and so in order to survive the giraffe had to grow a longer neck. The giraffe’s excessive stretching would have cause the acquired characteristic of a long neck.
Lamark’s theory also stated that the loss of a feature through lack of use or disease could change the organism and be passed down to the offspring. But, we know that this is not true. Acquiring a physical characteristic does not change an organism’s genetic make-up to be passed down. (Here again, I submit the example of my ear-piercing…my ears were pierced when I gave birth to my sons, but neither of them were born with holes in their ears).
Despite what we know now, back in the 1800s, Lamark and his followers did not completely understand genetics. Touching back on Lamark’s theory where lack of use might cause the disappearance of a portion of the organism, a study was conducted. In the late 1890s August Weisman “de-tailed” mice to test this part of the theory. If Lamark was correct, and an organism never used a particular part of its body because it had been removed, then eventually they would produce “tailless” offspring. However, after 22 generations of mice and (1577 tail removals) not one “tailless” mouse was ever born.
Another example of this is the two dog breeds of boxers and Doberman pinschers. For years, people have clipped their ears to give them a distinct look and they have never been born that way.
Also, the Pandaung Tribes in Burma put rings around their necks to make them longer. It is seen as a sign a beauty. The women who added these rings to their necks still give birth to regular babies.
Therefore, we have seen that this theory doesn’t work to describe such changes over time. I would like to note though, that August Weisman did conduct other genetic tests and considered some ideas about inheritance prior to Gregor Mendel’s work being re-discovered in 1900. However, he always strongly believed that evolution was a fact it just had yet to be proven. He also believed it involved both the inheritance of genes and factors of the environment to make it happen.
NATURAL SELECTION
Almost everyone alive knows the name Charles Darwin. He lived in England during the 1800s. He went to school to be a doctor but found surgeries distressing so he neglected his studies. His father was irritated that he neglected his medical studies so he sent him to school to become a preacher. Now, I’d like to pause here. On this account, I actually feel sorry for Charles. I don’t know about you, but I have never wanted to do something I was FORCED to do. And, as many of us know, having God or religion forced upon you will never make you see it or learn it in a positive light. It is no surprise to me then, that the kid who was forced to go to seminary rejected the very thought of it all. Maybe some of my readers can appreciate this. I do hope that if you are reading this post now, it is out of curiosity and hopefully the desire to learn more, not because it is being forced upon you.
Fortunately, Darwin’s cousin William was also studying at the same theological school and Darwin found himself interested in William’s butterfly collection. William introduced Darwin to entomology (study of insects). From here he made more friends in the area of naturalism. He had to stay at Cambridge until June of 1831 at which time he studied Natural Theology which made an argument for divine design in nature and explaining adaptation as God acting through the laws of nature. Later that year he was invited to go on a self- funded trip aboard the HMS Beagle to South America where he eventually ended up on the Galapagos Islands. He was gone for nearly 5 years. During this time, he investigated the geology, surveyed the coasts and collected specimens. All this studying and classifying of creatures eventually led to his writing of The Origin of Species which is considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology.
While on his 5-year trip, he noticed animals on different sides of the Galapagos islands with different features. Similar birds with different beak types along with similar tortoises with different shells.
From these observations, he developed his theory of natural selection. Below are the high points of Darwin’s natural selection process:
• In every species, more young species are produced than can stay alive; therefore, some will die
• The individuals in a species will compete with one another for the things necessary for survival such as food, shelter, and mates
• In every species, there are some individuals that are able to compete for things more effectively
• Those individuals that have traits that allow them to win the competition are the individuals that will live and reproduce = survival of the fittest
• Those individuals that reproduce pass on their traits
• Only the organisms with the traits best suited to survive will be able to reproduce and pass on their traits
• Many evolutionists believe that natural selection will cause new KINDS of organisms to evolve
• Though Darwin’s points are true and observable in many cases, they do not demonstrate biological evolution
Our world has countless examples of species with different breeds or KINDS of organisms among them, but evolution fails to produce proof that one organism is changing into a NEW kind of organism. Darwin’s finches with different beaks are still finches. Darwin’s tortoises with different shells are still tortoises.
Honestly, when you look at Darwin’s natural selection, it is awfully similar to what the Bible refers to as (and what many farmers use still today…) SELECTIVE BREEDING. Natural Selection can form groups with similar characteristics, but it is not biological evolution. Selective breeding only works for traits that already exist. It does not produce NEW traits. New traits (or a change in genetic material) is needed for biological evolution to take place.
Many times, evolutionists like to point to examples of where “they say” evolution is happening. However, most of the time it can be explained through selective breeding or survival of the fittest not biological evolution. For instance, let’s talk about the peppered moths in London….
Around the 1800s, light-colored peppered moths were abundant. They would sit on lichen that grew on the trees in the area. During the Industrial Revolution, smoke from the factories killed the lichen. This made the light-colored moth easier to see and therefore many were eaten by birds. At the same time, dark-colored moths appeared. Evolutionists say the light-colored moths changed into dark colored moths because they understood there was a need for their survival. However, both types of moths existed before the Industrial Revolution, the only change was in their population. The light-colored moths were easier to see, thus, eaten by birds and lowered in population. At the same time the dark-colored moths now were easier to hide and not eaten by birds and increased in population. Moths did not evolve new traits. No new genes were formed.
As you can see, these theories are great ideas to start with when trying to prove there is no Creator, but they always end up hitting a road block in the scientific realm. In my next entry, I will speak more of the MUTATION THEORY OF EVOLUTION. I want to make sure my posts stay “relatively” short, and there is so much to discuss about mutations! I don’t want to bore you but spur you on to read more! And, we all love a good mutation story, right? So, please….keep reading!
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