...Reflection on Why Evolution is True by Jerry Coyne The textbook Why Evolution is True was an extremely easy read with lots of whimsical thoughts thrown in to keep you attentive. My decision to take an evolution class as an elective was one that I had to truly take some thought and time to finally enroll. While my religious ties are very deep, I needed to open my mind to the possibility of different explanations into the creation of the creatures that inhabit the earth. My fears and tension were calmed when I read the preface to the book Mr. Coyne stated it so well and to the point: Accepting evolution needn’t turn you into a despairing nihilist or rob your life of purpose and meaning. It won’t make you immoral or give you the sentiments of a Stalin or Hitler. Nor need it promote atheism, for enlightened religion has always found a way to accommodate the advances of science. In fact, understanding evolution should surely deepen and enrich our appreciation of the living world and our place in it. (Coyne, 2009, p. xx) With this introduction to the text and Mr. Coyne’s calming of my fears that I would not burn in hell or be betraying my religion by opening my mind and heart to the information that is being provided. Why not open my mind to the possibility that the Theory of Evolution has some truth that is proven by scientific facts, I believe in medicine and that is based on scientific facts and research. The journey through each of the chapters covered in, Is Evolution True? Your...
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...April 24th, 2014 Why Creationism Should be Taught in Schools Evolution is believed to have been scientifically proven, but really it’s not. It is only a theory. If Evolution is only a theory, why is it the only theory being taught in our schools today? Creationism is another theory about how the world was created. It is just as valid as an idea as evolution, so why is only one theory being taught in our classrooms? Creationism should be taught alongside Evolution because students should be able to think on their own and decide what theory to believe. Both theories cannot be proven, so why not teach different perspectives? Evolution is not a fact, just theory and hypothesis. It is a belief. Some may even say, a faith. It might seem that people claim that creationism is religious doctrine, and it is, but evolution is just as religious as creationism. Both cannot be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. Both take faith to believe them to be true. So creationism is just as valid as Evolution. Creationism came from religious views, but not everyone believes in the same religions. Evolution is a worldwide concept that many people have come to believe but they may not been exposed to these religions. “Dr. Bergman then went on to add, ‘If schools are to be a place where students can debate important questions, it would seem that eliminating religious questions would shelter students from an important area of debate which is crucial for living a well-rounded life.’” (Edwords...
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...being taught in schools. Although we are known as a Christian country, religious ideas in public places are frowned upon or replaced. Now, scientific theories- evolution and the big bang- are being taught as fact to students across the nation. This is a growing problem because evolution is not a fact, only a weak theory based on misinterpreted evidence. There are two types of evolution being taught. One type, also known as natural selection or species adaptation, is when specific changes occur in one species. According to Roger Patterson, author of Evolution Exposed, natural selection is how a species changes, or evolves, in short periods of time. For example, one breed of dog evolved slightly to create the many different breeds of dogs we have now. This makes sense. Why? All dogs are similar to each other. You could say the same for birds, fish, cats, or any other animal. However, the theory of evolution says every living thing on the earth- plants, humans, animals and microscopic organisms- originated from only one organism. This is unrealistic. Natural selection can be tested and observed. On the other hand, the theory of evolution should not be taught as logical, evident factual information because it has not been scientifically proven as most of the non-Christian scientific world would tell you. Along with evolution, a theory for the origin of life, we have the Big Bang Theory, a theory for the origin of our universe. According to Dr. Jason Lisle, author of The Ultimate...
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...I find McCloskey to be presumptuous when he implies that evolution has displaced the need for a designer. For the sake of argument we will assume that the theory of evolution is true. Evans and Manis argue that even if evolution is true, it does not necessarily displace the idea of God as the designer behind the creation of the universe. They make the statement that evolution is a process by which God realizes His purposes (6). Evans and Manis point out that the laws of nature and physical constants seem to be contingent. They could have occurred differently, but yet they did not. It does not seem rational to believe that the laws of nature are governed by chance. The laws of nature remain unchanged. If it were true that nature was governing...
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...Issues in Science and Religion April 12, 2012 Science or God? I thought if we question Gods authority in a religious school that we would be shunned, but the first question that was asked in the beginning of class was “Is there a God”? I smiled with relief; because that is the question I have been wondering almost my whole life. Coming from a religious background I was expected to believe that there is a God and we never question if he exists or not because the bible is all the proof we need. Since I was 16 years old I always wondered if there was really a God and if so, where is he when you need Him the most and what is the big deal with this Evolution thing? I always had more reason to believe that Evolution makes more sense and has more concrete evidence than believing in a God you cannot see or do not have much or any other evidence that he really existed other than the Bible. Argument: Is there a God? Personally I think there isn’t, and the Bible makes it sounds like if you do not believe in him you automatically go to hell! However, a good person who does the right thing most of their lives but does not believe that God exists makes them what Christians call: “Devil Worshippers”, and is sentenced to hell forever? That doesn’t sound like a God who cares much about his people on earth, but more about himself, to have a lot of people sent to the burning pits of hell because they do not believe in him although they may do the same thing as what a Christian may do...
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...“Creationism, as told in genesis is the better theory of explaining human life than evolution”. Today I am here to defend my Christian position on the creation of life in opposition to evolutionary scientific theory. I will like to begin by explaining that As a Christian we are compelled by faith by the exterior force that created life. We refer to this force as God and his son Jesus Christ who is our Lord and Savior. We rebuke scientific evolutionary theory fabricated by man. For us Christians we seek for the truth in the word of God, which is the Bible, and the ultimate source of truth and knowledge. The opening statement of the book of Genesis 1:1 reads as follow ” In the Beginning God created the heaven and Earth” (King). Here is evidence that prove that the Supreme Being, which is God, is the only and unique basis of the creation of universe. It does not emphasize on the beginning of God, as there is not beginning or end to the existence of God. But, rather it tells us about the beginning of time and the creation of earth, as well as the environment in which we live. The book of Genesis explains in specific details how the sequence of events developed. The word of God is not a fictional source of entertainment like Charles Darwin’s book “ On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection”. Although evolutionary theory is an opposition of the biblical account of creation we believe the Bible provides an accurate account that explains the creation of the earth and...
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...Is Evolution True? Alden Vasquez EVOLUTION – Your Inner Fish Professor Michael Wilder 16 August 2015 Is Evolution True? I’m a raised catholic brought up in the faith that God created all heaven and earth, and on earth he placed us (humans) created perfect as His reflection. To add more skepticism about evolution, I’m pursuing a degree in finance/accounting subjects that have nothing to do with biology, science, or geology. Then why did I take this class you might ask? An easy answer will be that my student advisor recommended it and I didn’t think about it and just enrolled in it; but I look at things differently and always trying to find the positive side, I believe that it was meant for me to take this class, I needed to be exposed out of my comfort zone to a subject that if it wouldn’t have been this way I would have probably remained ignorant all my life. With that being said, I will venture on this essay to explain what I’ve learned about evolution, talk about evidence that we have found on the rocks including documented changes through the evolution of species like vestiges, embryos and bad designs. I will talk about the engine of evolution, given that some variations are heritable and that they can be passed from parents to offspring in the process of reproduction, including evolution by natural selection. While talking about reproduction, I’ll explain how sex drives evolution going back to the origin of species and ending in the present time with...
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...Can Evolutionism and Creationism Co-exist? Is the teaching of evolution really corrupting the minds of children? Can you really talk about the two theories without cutting off the others head? These are questions that come to mind when thinking about the topic at hand. Evolutionism and creationism can be taught together in classes without any controversy because evolutionism can be tied into creationism in many ways. Almost everyone wonders if the world was really made and how it was made. Students everywhere also ask, “How did the human originate?” This is a huge controversy that has been fought for many years. Although there are many ideas, people mainly argue over two of them. The first theory is that people was created by God during his creation of the world; this is the idea of creationism. It is backed up by many religious people and religion itself. There is much turmoil on the broad topic of creationism and its place in American society. The big controversy of creationism versus evolutionism is a very large topic, something that has been made increasingly evident by the numerous books printed on the subject. Most evolutionist and creationist spend their time attempting to prove the other’s theory wrong; in one way or another, prove that theirs is the correct answer to the origins of life as we know it. I have no intent of diving into that raging battle, but would rather take a very different approach. Being raised in a religious household, I naturally have...
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...Science or Spiritual? How did we become to be? What is our purpose here? Many humans may ask these questions at some point in their lives. The answers to these questions can be very controversial. This is where creationism and evolution comes into par. Some people may say that a higher and greater power created the universe and the people in it. Others may give reasons that are scientific for our existence. An example would be the Big Bang; the only purpose for living is being able to survive. Both evolution and creationism may not be true, that is why this topic is very controversial. Evolution is the theory that all loving organisms can be traced back to a common ancestor, which came into being from non living elements, by natural laws. Darwin contributed to this theory by the mechanism by which species would evolve; in this case it would be natural selection. This method says that in certain factors an organism’s environment can create a change from one generation to another. There are reasons why plants, animals, and everything else is the way it is. For example humans, we evolved from primates so that we could survive. This was a slow process, which made little changes at a time. The big bang is the theory that a massive explosion created all matter in the universe. Certain species died because they were not as powerful and could not change. While there were others who could change, in which they adapted to the environment to survive best. To completely...
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...Tanner Pardue #16 Video 1 essay: Is it correct to say the evolution is just a theory? Is Gravity just a theory? Many people would argue about weather Evolution is a fact or theory. There are certain characteristics that make a theory a theory and a fact a fact. A theory is something that is thought to have happened or why something happens etc. but a theory is something that hasn’t been proven. When someone’s theory is proven it is considered a fact. So with knowing this I must agree that Evolution is just a theory because there is no complete proof or evidence to prove support or back up the theory of evolution. Therefore due to the definition of a fact and theory evolution must be a theory. Too me Gravity is not a theory. I believe this because gravity has laws; each law explains how gravity works. When these laws are tested in both environments with and without gravity the laws are proven to be true and work. Therefore due to the definition of a Fact in my personal opinion gravity would be a fact since the laws of it can be proven to be true. Video 2 essay: Why was Darwin considered to be a “revolutionary”? Charles Darwin is one of the most famous biologists in history. With a Theory called Natural selection he helped prove that biology makes since and how all species evolve to be designed how they are over time. As he studied the Galapagos Islands off South America he observed many different species of animals. He looked at how they reacted around each...
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...Evolution and Creation Rodger Fickel COM170 July 7th, 2013 Winifred Winstead Donnelly Evolution and Creation For several decades there has been a debate between creation and evolution, and which one should be taught in schools. While many individuals on both sides of the issue wonder why it even matters, it should not be understated how important these topics are for ideas ranging from humanities place in the world, to how antibiotics work. Evolution sits at the very heart of scientific understanding, while creation rests within the realm of humanities spiritual views. History of the debate. Evolution, at its most basic level, is the idea that tiny changes over a long period of time will eventually add up. The concept, although not called evolution, dates back to some of the earliest Greek philosophers, such as Anaximander of Miletus who proposed that life began in the ocean and eventually moved onto land. Empedocles (c. 490-430 BC), postulated that what is seen as birth and death is the joining and separating of elements which cause the countless “tribes of mortal things.” The concept of evolution took a bit of a downturn in the early middle ages, resurfacing during the renaissance and eventually leading to the observations of Charles Darwin. Since then scientists have discovered deoxyribonucleic acids, sequenced the human genome, and traced the ancestry of humanity back nearly 200,000 years to a tribe in Africa because of how they have come to understand Evolution...
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...advancing. Bush’s book (2003) is divided into eight chapters. It starts with Chapter 1, entitled “The Worldview of the Advancement”. This chapter discusses the fundamental of compare and contrast of modern view and earlier view of God, nature, history and mankind. The second chapter of Bush’s book, The Rise in the Advancement of Science, pays particular attention the development of modern science. The rise of uniformitarian thought in evolution. “The human body is related to nature, and it is similar in many respects to the body of animals” (34). This thought does not include that the Christian view that a human body is different than animals. We have a soul, whereas, animals do not. Sigmund Freud’s The Future of an Illusion, argued that religion base on wishful illusion, rather than reality. Bush’s third chapter (2003), The Advancement and the Theory of Knowledge, concentrate on how science effects and outcomes with the absence of God. The Bible promotes the idea that man was made in the image of God. However naturalistic biological evolution “explains the variety of living things as being a set of natural variations of organic matter. Every life-form, including human life, supposedly arose from the same underlying reality” (page 38). The only reality that exist is physical reality. Bush refers to this as “nature”. Chapter four, Modern Theistic...
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...Indeed, it does not supply a complete argument for the existence of God as defined by Christian; however, it does still point to a God. Something had to create or set into motion, the existence of the universe. Evans and Manis would argue that everything we see that there is no specific explanation as to why the universe even exists (Evans 69). These two authors would argue that there must be something that has always existed in order to explain why everything else exists (Evans 69). Mr. McCloskey would be somewhat correct in saying that the cosmological argument does not provide complete concrete evidence about God (Evans 77) (McCloskey 52). The issue that Mr. McCloskey does not see, is that the cosmological argument is not designed to provide 100% proof of God. It is designed to cause its reader to question the existence of God, and in doing so, seek to find more answers about this God. It is true that trying to understand an “uncaused caused” is difficult; however, it more likely that the “uncaused caused” is God instead of a big bang (McCloskey 51). Yes, the cosmological argument calls for the existence; however, it does not satisfy every question that comes from that call. Instead, this argument provokes those involved to look deeper into the claim of God (Evans...
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...“How the Bible and evolution clashes, why is the knowledge of the Doctrine of Creation is important to understand?” THEO 525 LUO (fall 2013) Systematic Theology I Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary October 11, 2013 Creation and Evolution clashes, when there are changes being made to the age of the earth and the creation of man. The structure is described in the Bible as God created it; however, it describes the earth before the six days of creation. When thinking about the integration of evolutionary principles, as far as the scientific laws are concerned, there is no difference between the origin of the earth and all of its life. Could the Big Bang theory have happened? The Gap Theory, everything made out of nothing. Is the Gap Theory real? Luther sided with the Bible and creation, is his blessing relevant today? Was the earth created out of nothing, no previous atoms did God use? God created the heavens and the earth in six days so we had the seventh day for Shabbat. The Progressive Creation explains the Genesis flood and the six days of creation. So the question is could God really have created everything in six literal days? If so, where did the origins of life come from; and what about the Law of Nature, their survival of the fittest? How big is the rift between the evolutionist and the creationist? Can we trust the Bible to tell us the truth? These are the questions that I will be looking for an answer to. In evolution and creation of religious...
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