What About Evolution? A Christian Outlook
Uploaded by Gotskillz on Jul 05, 2004
The Theory of Evolution can be divided into two parts, micro-evolution and macro-evolution. Micro-evolution deals with small changes within a species which adapt that species to be better suited to its environment. This process is well supported with scientific evidence and doesn't conflict with a Christian understanding of reality.
Macro-evolution claims that through major genetic mutations one species can evolve into another, so over a long period of time fish could evolve into insects, birds and mammals. From this concept it's suggested that all life could have evolved from simple chemical structures, thus life could have resulted from natural processes without the need for a creator.
Macro-evolution is highly contentious and its more extreme interpretations challenge conventional Christian thinking. It's sometimes suggested that God chose to create life through evolution, however, there's now a weighty and growing body of both scientific and philosophical evidence that discredits macro-evolution. This article very briefly surveys that evidence.
Firstly, there's the question of how life itself originally got started. The theory of macro-evolution suggests how to develop from one species to another, but it can't explain how to jump from no life to life or from unconscious to conscious.
There are two questions in this area that macro-evolution can't answer. Firstly, the DNA molecules which store the genetic code for living beings are extremely complex even for the most basic forms of life. Where did the original injection of the genetic information for life come from?
The second question centres around an issue termed irreducible complexity. Even in the simplest life forms there are a number of different and complex components which must all be in place for life to occur. Take any of the components away and you no longer have life. The building blocks of living beings are complex and are not independent. How can these components have been assembled separately apart from pre-existent life?
A second serious challenge to macro-evolution comes in the forms of fossils. The theory suggests that through genetic mutations over a long period of time, species gradually evolve into new species. If this were the case, you'd expect to find a whole spectrum of species within the fossil record at different stages of evolution.
However, the fossil records do not show life evolving from one species to another. On the contrary, there's a notable absence of any fossils of species at intermediate stages of evolution. Further, there aren't obvious intermediate species around today. The...