Charles Darwin first proposed his theory of evolution in 1859. In his theory Darwin noted that there were biological variations among individuals of a species. At the time Darwin didnt know what caused these variations, since that time we have learned that that such variations were caused by mutations, or physical changes in a gene or chromosome. Darwin noted that within a situation which presented limited resources and a continued growth of a species populous, there would emerge competition for resources, and in this competition, members of the species with useful mutations would be more likely to survive and reproduce than those without.
This may seem like common sense to us now, its fairly obvious that, lets say, a cheetah which is faster then all the other cheetahs will be more likely to catch its pray, and by catching this pray, it will further its life span and be more likely to reproduce and pass on its genes.
The mutations that cause this variation can be split up into 3 groups; useful, neutral and harmful. Most mutations are neutral, with useful and harmful mutations often being dictated by there surroundings.
This is simple stuff.
Darwins theory of evolution caused a major stir when it introduced in England in 1859. Opponents of the theory included many religious groups. At the time, a large number of people throughout the English-speaking world believed that the word of noted church theologian Bishop Ussher, who had determined through rigorous study of the bible that the exact date of the creation of the Earth was October 22, 4004 B.C. By Usshers calculations our world was approximately 6,000 years old. Needless to say Darwins theory was in direct conflict with the bishops date, as his evolution could only take place on grand scales of millions of years. The inevitable happened and within a short period a war of the words began between those who believed Darwin, and those that didnt.
Lets take America as a model, mostly because the evolution/creationism debate has received the most press there. Up to the 1960s the creationism belief was the most predominant one, with practically no biology textbooks even mentioning evolution. The best example of this predominant belief structure being the famous Scopes trial, where a teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution in the classroom. However, the space race changed all this, in the early 1960s the American government believed that the Soviets were beating America in the space race because of better schooling in science and technology. A long, hard look was taken at textbooks, and biology instruction was changed to firmly embrace evolution.
As the government continued to bar religion in classrooms Evangelical Christians switched tactics. For years they had objected to teaching evolution because they considered it a scientific religion, a part of secular humanism that stood directly opposed to organised faith. Instead of attacking science, the fundamentalists became part of it. A number of theologians and scientists started promoting a concept they called creation science, in which they challenged the basic principles of evolution as being unproven and improvable. The creation scientists offered their own version of how life began on earth using the old testament as their only source book. In the debates that followed, Fundamentalists argued that the evidence that they presented proved that evolution was false. They asked that teachers only be able to present Darwins theory of evolution only if it was clearly labelled a theory, and nothing more. More importantly they demanded that if evolution was to be taught in schools, their viewpoint, creationism should be taught as well.
Despite the fact that creationism was largely ridiculed and rejected throughout most of the western world, American began to adopt it again, and it was embraced by a large section of the American Population.
The American battle between creationism and evolution came to a boil in the late 1990s when the state school board of Kansas rewrote the science education policy. Students would no longer be tested on their knowledge of evolution, and as subjects that werent tested werent taught, Evolution dropped out of sight in Kansas. As you can imagine this led to a storm of protest across the country, people throughout the state complained that Kansas had become the laughing stock of the country. As Kansas received flak from collage professors to late-night comedians, the Evangelical Christians, who had pushed for the change, accused everyone of attacking their beliefs. Creationists claimed that liberal politicians and big media players were out to quash viewpoints different from their own. Viewpoints, that creationists claimed were obviously true to anyone with common sense.
Thankfully the voting public made their view known, Kansas had its evolution bad rescinded. However none of the old arguments were settled and neither side backed down.
Everything stands or falls with Darwins theory. If god created everything at one time and god created everything in his own image man is already perfect as god intended. Mutations in humans would demonstrate that man wasnt perfect when he was created. Moreover, the notion of humanity evolving upward into an even greater species suggests that one species can evolve into another, a claim that creationists say is absolutely impossible.
The main thrust of creationism is an attack on the theory of evolution. If the theory is not true, the creationists declare, then any conclusions drawn from it are equally tainted. Proving evolution not true would be a cataclysmic event in the history of modern science and technology. Much of our understanding of the physical and biological world relies on concepts derived from the theory of evolution. Creationists argue that because it would cause so much disruption, scientists are willing to go to any lengths to falsify data to prove evolution.
Unfortunately for the creationists, though they have found evidence of fake fossils and other deceitful activities by a small number of people aiming to make fast cash, theyve yet to find a single hard fact that proves Darwin wrong. Despite all of their trying, the protestors are forced to use hyperbole, oftentimes inaccurate and misleading information, and arguments based on obvious material to make their case. Creationist rely too much on facts they claim are obvious but cant be proved.
Theory is a word that generates much debate when brought up with evolution. Other theories, like the theory of general relativity, the laws governing electricity and the 3 laws of thermodynamics have been proven so many times that no one doubts them. Evolution is a theory that has been proven time and time again. A vast majority of the worlds scientists believe it is true, as do most religious leaders and theologians. In 1996, the pope released a formal statement to the Pontifical Academy of Science stating that Fresh knowledge leads to the recognition of the theory of evolution as more then just a hypothesis.
Any other theory with such overwhelming support would be considered true in an instant. Only the theory of evolution, which according to fundamentalists contradicts the unalterable truth of the Bible, has faced so many challenged for 140 years.
Scientists who utterly reject Evolution may be one of out fastest-growing controversial minorities, proclaim numerous internet sites. Not mentioned anywhere on these sites is the Gallup pole that shows that 95% of scientists in the U.S. believe that evolution is fact. Surveys taken from scientific groups around the world place the number of scientists believing in evolution at 99%.
Creation scientists not only believe that god created the world in 4004 B.C, but, by implication, that he created the entire universe at the same instant, locating distant galaxies millions of light years away from earth so that they would correspond with modern relative theory and astronomy. Millions of years of fossil remains are described as residue from one big flood taking place only several thousands of years ago, while carbon dating is dismissed as totally false and inaccurate. In other words, the accept only the data that fit their conclusions and dismiss any information that contradicts their belief.
In the 140 years since the theory of evolution was proposed, no real challenge to its validity has been proven. The theory of evolution fits with every other scientific discovery weve made about the universe. Consider this evidence.
Darwin predicted that the ancestors of trilobites would be found in pre-Silurian age rocks. His predictions turned out to be true, as they were later found.
In 1859, Darwin said the total lack of Precambrian age fossils was unexplainable and that the lack could be a strong argument against his theory. However, such fossils were discovered in 1953. They had been around all along, just too small to be seen by microscope.
Evolutions predicted that animals on far islands will be related to animals on the closest mainland; that the older and more the distant the island, the more distant the relationship. This has been shown numerous times to be true.
And finally I shall finish on the biggest nail in the coffin. When detailed results of the Human Genome Project were announced at the 2001 meeting of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, data tied human organisms to earlier forms of life, going back as far as primitive bacteria.
These fundamental lies of creationism will only serve to destroy the scientific community. Feel free to argue, please fight back at PM me for contact info.
At least it was when I took it...
