From a Christian perspective, the theory of evolution is NOT entirely false. Evolution is not totally incompatible with intelligent design or creationism. There are aspects of evolution that are true, and aspects that are not true. In order for Christians to properly respond to evolution, we must first understand it.
This article attempts to cut through all the terminology and give Christians an idea of what is evolution, what is the science behind it, and how to respond to its claims in a way that the layman can understand.
Main Points
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- Christians do not understand evolution. We must understand something before we reject it.
- Micro-evolution is true, macro-evolution is false (fake science).
- Scientists use dishonest methods to “prove” evolution.
- Evolution = Evidence + Imagination
- Evolution is a very clever theory, but it is more pop-fiction than actual science.
- Christians do not understand evolution. We must understand something before we reject it.
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Evolution has nothing to do with entropy
Unfortunately a lot of Christians attempt to refute the theory of evolution without properly understanding it or science as a whole, and they end up embarrassing themselves. I am sure you have heard the so-called entropy argument. Christian apologists typically say that the theory of evolution is false because it violates the second law of thermodynamics. They think the second law of thermodynamics teaches that things will always become more chaotic over time, while evolution teaches the opposite. But they are wrong – embarrassingly wrong.
I am a university professor of mechanical engineering. I know a little bit about thermodynamics. As the word thermo would suggest, it only deals with thermal systems. It has NOTHING to do with evolution. Evolution and thermodynamics are chalk and cheese. The entropy argument does not apply to evolution.
The theory of evolution – the process vs the event
Terminology is a major communication barrier when it comes to evolution because Christians and non-Christians use different terminologies to refer to the same thing, and the same terminology to refer to different things. One area where terminology is an issue is with the term, the theory of evolution.
Christians automatically assume that the theory of evolution is the belief that man came from monkeys. They speak of evolution as an EVENT. Yet when scientists refer to the theory of evolution, they often refer to the PROCESS via which monkeys evolved to humans. How many intermediate species were there? How long did it take? Their focus is the process of evolution rather than the event. So from a scientific point of view, the event called evolution is not really a theory, but a taken-for-granted assumption. Their real question is not IF monkeys evolved to humans, but HOW. As a result, there are actually many theories of evolution.
Theory vs fact
Atheists often say that scientific theories are proven facts. That cannot be further from the truth. Their ignorance of science could not be any more profound. Scientific theories are NOT proven facts. In fact, scientific theories do not have to be proven at all. They can be validated experimentally, but they do not have to be proven. In fact, one fundamental criterion of a scientific theory is that it must be falsifiable – meaning that it leaves open the possibility of being DISPROVEN.
They don’t have to be proven to be accepted. But they have to be disproven to be rejected.
Scientific theories attempt to provide a natural explanation for observed phenomena, and once it gains consensus among the scientific community, it is accepted as the prevailing theory. They don’t have to be proven. But theories must also be falsifiable. This means that the conditions for disproving it are clearly laid out. If we find such and such, we must reject theory XYZ. That’s how it works. Facts cannot be disproven, therefore scientific theories really and truly do not deal with facts, only evidence and interpretation of evidence.
This is why scientists reject creationism (or intelligent design) as a scientific theory. Creationism teaches that God created man in His image and likeness in the Garden of Eden. It is not a scientific theory because it does not propose a natural explanation, and there is no way to disprove it. Intelligent design is more of a statement of faith rather than a scientific theory.
It is still true, but outside the realm of science. We consider it a fact that God created man. However, science cannot verify or deny that. Science only deals with HOW man came into being – what natural processes were involved.
Micro vs macro evolution
Christians speak of micro-evolution and macro-evolution, whereas non-Christians just speak of evolution.
Adaptation or micro-evolution
Micro-evolution is small scale adaptations that occur during a relatively short timeframe. Micro-evolution is a fact. You move from a tropical country to a temperate one, your blood thickens to help you deal with the cold weather. If you go in the sun, your skin gets tan to help protect you from UV rays. When you exercise, you build muscles. That’s your body adapting to a new environment. This adaption occurs within a timeframe of days.
Microevolution is when these adaptations reinforced through cycles of reproduction produce changes within a species. Bugs and bacteria often develop immunities to insecticides and antibiotics. This is micro-evolution occurring within the timeframe of months. Micro-evolution is the reason we have different human races, different dog breeds and Covid variants. In this case, the only difference is the timescale – decades and centuries rather than days and months.
Speciation or Macro-evolution
Macro-evolution, on the other hand, is the evolution from one species to another. For example, the belief that chimps evolved to humans is macro-evolution (or speciation). Scientists believe that this process occurred over a period of millions of years.
Christian theologians make the distinction between micro and macro evolution. Non-Christian scientists do not. As far as they are concerned, they are exactly the same, the only difference being the time scale. They believe that macro-evolution is simply micro-evolution occurring over a long period of time (millions of years). They believe that given enough time, creatures will go through so many small adaptations, that they will add up over time such that over several generations and reproductive cycles, they can gradually become a different species. That’s what Christians call macro-evolution, and scientists call speciation.
This is the major point of contention that Christians have. We do not agree that we can change species.
Can scientists demonstrate speciation in the lab?
Scientists must demonstrate that creatures can indeed evolve to another species, but before they can do that, they must precisely define what a new species is. This is where it gets interesting. This is how scientists recognize when speciation has occurred.
If two creatures have a common ancestor but are not reproductively compatible with each other, then they are different species.
A black human and a white human can mate, therefore they are not different species, merely different races. However, a human and a chimp cannot mate, therefore they are different species. A poodle and a pitbull can mate (I’m guessing), therefore they are not different species, merely different breeds. However, a poodle and a wolf most likely will not mate, therefore they are different species.
It is difficult to demonstrate speciation with humans because our evolution supposedly takes place over millions of years. To get around this, scientists conduct lab experiments with flies – which have a life span of 28 days. This allows them to observe several generations of reproductive cycles in a short space of time.
Experiments with Flies
They divide the flies into two groups and place them in a maze so that they are separated from each other. This way they can reproduce without co-mingling. After several months, they take the flies from the two different groups and place them together. They observe that after a certain number of cycles, the flies from one group do not mate with the flies from the other group. They only mate with flies from their own group.
The scientists then conclude that the flies have evolved to two different species. They initially came from the same fly ancestor, but now won’t mate or reproduce with each other. So to the naked eye, they look like flies, they sound like flies, and they act like flies. But they are different species. And hence scientists claim to have demonstrated speciation in the lab and validated the theory of evolution.
They then tell us that in a similar manner over millions and billions of years, fish developed legs and the ability to breathe outside of water and became land animals, who eventually grew wings and became birds.
Convenient Definitions
I am not making this up. This is how scientists validate the theory of evolution or speciation. Tell me, doesn’t that require more faith to accept than Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (creationism or intelligent design)?
It is a very convenient definition that scientists use. I am sure you will agree that there are many more differences between a human and a chimp than the fact that they do not mate with each other. But this is the difference that scientists use in differentiating between species.
Scientists are simply using convenient definitions to prove what they want to prove. The flies look no different from each other, but we have to accept by faith that they are different species because of a convenient definition that scientists choose to work with.
Intermediate species
Now that scientists have validated evolution (in their own minds), they then seek to learn more about how apes evolved to humans. Scientists look for any fossils that provide clues about intermediate species so they can understand the the theory of evolution (the process). It’s not just human evolution that interests them, but evolution of dinosaurs as well.
The fossils are essentially bone and tooth fragments that are found and dated. And it’s never an entire skeleton, but usually a single bone or tooth. When they find a bone, they must decide which stage of evolution it is from. Here is how the thought process goes:
Based on the ABC theory of evolution, this tooth is most likely from intermediate species XYZ and dates to the time period PQR.
With a little bit of imagination, they reconstruct what the rest of the creature looked like – even though they don’t have anywhere near a complete skeleton. Then these findings are passed on to the public as though they were scientific fact.
Evolution = Evidence + Imagination
It is important to note that A LOT of imagination goes into the reconstruction process. Also, the fossils are interpreted based on whatever theory of evolution presently exists. The bone and tooth fragments themselves are meaningless. They must be interpreted using some existing theory.
That part is crucial. The theory of evolution is used to interpret the evidence which is used to corroborate the theory of evolution. It is unbelievable how dishonest and circular the system is. It’s a classic case of tunnel vision academics where the conclusions are already decided before any evidence is found. Only if something really unusual is found, that they would question (or falsify) the theory of evolution.
It starts off with an assumed theory which never has to be proven, then it interprets new evidence using that theory, then it refines the theory, and is presented as fact. Wow. And they act as though we are so stupid for believing in Adam and Eve.
But most people don’t know how scientific theories work. They just know that smart people say such and such, and they believe it. Basically, if you say something loud enough for long enough, it becomes true. Even better if you get a celebrity endorsement.
Conclusion
Evolution is a very clever theory. But it is not a proven fact. Scientific theories do not answer the question of what is truth. They simply seek to provide a natural explanation of what we see around us. Also the theory of evolution skews the interpretation of any evidence in its favor, and then passes off the findings to the public as fact.
The truth is what it is. If God created man supernaturally (intelligent design or creationism), then there is no way science can prove or disprove that. That is beyond the realm of science. There is no way science can refute God if God operates supernaturally. Science only deals with natural phenomena.
The Bible teaches that God created man in His image and likeness. It is either you accept that as truth by faith, or you do not. It is a faith issue. But ironically, what most people don’t realize is that a lot of scientific findings also require faith to accept – faith in the scientists’ definitions and reasoning processes. Scientific theory are not necessarily fact or truth.
My belief is that God used intelligent design or creationism in the initial miraculous creation, but since then species have been allowed to (micro) evolve without actually changing species.
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