...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 Inner...
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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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...When I started the Evolution class, I was a little skeptic about whether or not I would believe in the theory of evolution were to be true. I was raised in a Baptist home where we were taught the God created the Heavens and the Earth in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 1 states that in the beginning the earth was without form and was dark. God divided the light from the darkness and created night from day. Throughout all that I was taught, I always wonder if there was something there before the earth became in darkness. The scientist through the studies of fossils have proven that there were in fact dinosaurs that roamed the face of the earth and that something suddenly happen to cause them to all die. Through the fossil, scientist are able to show us that there are many animals that evolved into other animals to change with the changing earth in order to survive. This at first was very hard for me to get. I was taught that God created everything. In the book of Genesis 1: 10 – 12, 20 – 22, 24-25, God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters he called the Seas. And God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so and it was done. God said, “Let the waters bring forth abundantly of moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales, and every living...
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...Title: Evolution and Intelligent Design: Which Is True? Introduction: * Controversial subject * Full into beliefs * Very political * Connection between Intelligent Design & Creationism I. Background A. Evolution is the scientific theory that all life forms on Earth today are descended from a single cell organism 1. Charles Darwin & Natural Selection 2. Genes carry the DNA codes for a evolutionary trait to be passed to the next generation B. Creationists feel the need to attack the evolution theory to “free God from its shackles” 1. Evolution provides a meaningful explanation of the relationship of the Creator to man & animals 2. We are formed, by the Creator, from the dust of the Earth C. Evolution is metaphysics 1. Something transforms into other things, but the process is unexplained 2. Breathing air, wings & fins are excellent examples II. First Side- Evolution A. Does not prove there is no God 1. May not be able to prove there is a higher power, can prove that a fish grew leg & walked on land 2. Provides the basis for the Creator’s work, macro to micro B. Historical trials & their outcomes 1. Wesley Roberts-“A Struggle in Tennessee” 2. John Scopes- trial of religion & science III. Second Side- Intelligent Design A. The theory by Mr. Charles Darwin 1. No sufficient evidence to prove that one organism evolves into another 2. Evolution & Alchemy go hand-in-hand;...
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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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...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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...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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...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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...Senator Rubio, a possible contender in the 2016 Republican presidential race, gave the following answer: “I’m not a scientist, man. I can tell you what recorded history says, I can tell you what the Bible says, but I think that’s a dispute amongst theologians.” He went on: “At the end of the day, I think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created, and I think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. I think parents should be able to teach their kids what their faith says, what science says. “Whether the earth was created in seven days, or seven actual eras, I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to answer that. It’s one of the great mysteries.” It may have been a mystery back in the 17th century, when Archbishop James Ussher calculated from the age of the patriarchs and other sources that Earth was created on Oct. 22, 4004 B.C. Today’s best estimate for the age of Earth, based on the radiometric dating of meteorites, is 4.54 billion years. The real mystery is how a highly intelligent politician got himself into the position of suggesting that the two estimates are of equal value, or that theologians are still the best interpreters of the physical world. Catholics and Jews have always emphasized their priests’ interpretations of the Bible, not the text itself; Protestants, starting with Martin Luther, insisted the Bible was the literal truth and the sole dependable source of divine knowledge, a belief the...
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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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...(The Big Bang vs. Six-Day Creation) TANITKA C. SMITH PHSC210_A24_201240 Debora Ladner December 3, 2012 INTRODUCTION The Big-Bang Theory, accepted widely by atheists and many scientists, simply says this: between 10 and 20 billion years ago a “bang” or explosion occurred from a single point in nothingness and with the scattering of googles of atoms, the earth came into being. An eruption of sorts occurred, haphazardly distributing the smallest particles of matter that miraculously adjoined themselves to create living, breathing organisms and every other object on the earth. Every word of the Bible is true. Every day, creation scientists are finding more and more evidence to support the six days of creation. There is nothing wrong with science, but in the end it is the fallible word of man. YOUNG EARTH At its simplest, evolution is a hypothesis which claims that all life has descended with modification from a primitive single celled organism in the remote past. The development has been one of increasing complexity. Originally, the first cell evolved from a preexisting organic “soup” in a primeval ocean, which in turn developed from chance conglomerations of inorganic chemicals. Ultimately, these chemicals themselves were produced by the “Big Bang” origin of the actual universe. Against overwhelming evidence it is said that the Big Bang happened billions of years ago, and gives argument that the earth and the universe are only 6,000 - 10,000 years old...
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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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...if the world was created from evolution or by God, who created Adam and Eve. Evolution says, that life evolved from species, while the creation method says that God created Adam and Eve, mother and father to us all. In our society today, we are split in the thought process of how the world and mankind came about. Was it by the all-powerful God, or does science effectively explain these answers? Truth is, no one knows for sure how anything came to be about. We have scientific evidence to back evolution, and the biblical text to back the creation myths. In the ever-going argument of evolution vs creation, it is by far more plausible to say that man derived from evolution rather...
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...What is your stance on the issue? Are you on the side of the evolutionist or the creationist? In 1859 Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution. It took seven years to translate the Hebrew Christian Bible to English, that is known as the King James Bible today. (Lang). These two very different theories on how everything came to be have been controversial topics for hundreds of years. Science highlights the belief in evolution, making us doubt the true and preserved word of God which states that humans were created in the beginning on the sixth day ("King James Bible Quick Facts"). Religion is defined as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation...
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