The Battle of Evolution and Creationism

Controversy about the origin of human beings continues to rage even today, nearly 150 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species. Darwin introduced the idea of “Evolution”, that species change over time through natural processes and that different species share common ancestors. In contrast, Genesis's account of Creation claims that God created the known universe and its inhabitants in a seven-day period; which has coined the term “Creationism” or special creation around the 1880s based in reaction to the theory of Evolution. If anything, the controversy has grown in both size and intensity. In the last decade, debates over how evolution should be taught in schools have been heard in school boards, town councils and legislatures in more than half the states. Fossil evidence showing a smooth progression of skeletal structures, Vestigial structures indicating the modern progression of adaptation in species, and Homologous structures by virtue of their similarity, suggest species connection to a common ancestor are substantial physical evidence that supports the theory of evolution and refutes the central tenets of creation theory.

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Fossil Evidence

Fossils provide solid evidence that organisms from the past are not the same as those today, and fossils show a progression of evolution. This supports Darwin's theory of evolution, which states that simple life forms gradually evolved into more complex ones. Evidence for early forms of life comes from fossils. By studying fossils, scientists can learn how much (or how little) organisms have changed as life developed on Earth. This refutes creationism because a crucial prediction made by the theory of evolution is that one should find a general progression of increasingly diverse and complex life forms when one examines the fossils in progressively higher strata of sedimentary rock. While creationists should expect the oldest strata of sedimentary rock to yield fossils of very complex life forms (like mammals), since Genesis states all life was created within a short period of time, evolutionists specifically expect the fossil record not to. Yet, when we look at the fossil record, we find the one sequence of life forms that evolution predicts, complex life forms in earlier strata and simple single-celled organisms in older ones. Another prediction made by the theory of evolution is that the fossil record should yield transitional forms, Fossils or organisms that show the intermediate states between an ancestral form and that of its descendants. Special creation, on the other hand, predicts a complete absence of transitional forms. As it turns out, transitional forms do exist, despite the attempts of creationists to deny them out of existence with wishful thinking. Archaeopteryx lithographica, displaying a distinct blend of major characteristics of birds and reptiles and highly resembling the theropod reptiles of its time, is unquestionably a transitional form.

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Vestigial Structures

Vestigial structures provide evidence for evolution because they suggest that an organism changed from using the structure to not using the structure, or using it for a different purpose. Some of the most interesting kinds of evidence for evolution are body parts that have lost their use. For example, most birds need their wings to fly, But the wings of an ostrich have lost their original use. Penguins do not use their wings, known as flippers, to fly in the air. However, they do use them to move in the water. The theory of evolution suggests that penguins evolved to use their wings for a different purpose. Vestigial alone means lacking function or use and can apply to behaviors, chemical pathways, and other aspects of an organism’s existence that are not directly physical. However, these useless aspects are also controlled by the genome and have become vestigial because of a mutation or a change in the environment. The mutation, although advantageous to the population, has not removed a trait or behavior entirely. That is why vestigial structures, behaviors, and pathways are still present. Vestigial structures disprove Special Creation that all living things were specially created by God and that these species don’t change over time. Vestigial structures can be observed at the structural, developmental, and genetic level, They are a manifestation of change through time.

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Homologous Structures

Evidence for evolution is provided by homologous and analogous structures as well. These are structures shared by related organisms that were inherited from a common ancestor or that unrelated organisms share because they evolved for the same function. A common example of homologous structures in evolutionary biology is the wings of bats and the arms of primates. Although these two structures do not look similar or have the same function, genetically, they come from the same structure as the last common ancestor. Homologous traits of organisms are therefore explained by descent from a common ancestor. The opposite of homologous structures is analogous structures, which are physically similar structures between two species that evolved separately (rather than being present in the last common ancestor). Bat wings and bird wings evolved independently and are considered analogous structures. Genetically, a batwing and a bird wing have very little in common; the last common ancestor of bats and birds did not have wings like either bats or birds. Wings evolved independently in each lineage after diverging from ancestors with forelimbs that were not used as wings. If two or more species share a unique physical feature, such as a complex bone structure or a body plan, they may all have inherited this feature from a common ancestor. Physical features shared due to evolutionary history. This contradicts the phenomenon that biological life did not develop by natural processes from inanimate systems but was specially and supernaturally created by the Creator because it proves that species have changed over time.

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Did modern life on Earth evolve over millions of years, or was it created in the blink of an eye by God? That's the gist of the debate between scientists and creationists, which has been ongoing ever since Charles Darwin published his theory in 1859. The scientific evidence is clear: The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and all life evolved from primitive, single-celled organisms. As we’ve seen fossil evidence showing a smooth progression of skeletal structures, Vestigial structures indicating the modern progression of adaptation in species, and Homologous structures by virtue of their similarity, suggest species connection to a common ancestor are substantial physical evidence that supports the theory of evolution and refutes the central tenets of creation theory. Scientists are often challenged about their ‘belief’ in evolution. Many creationists try to convince people that evolution is more of a ‘faith-based’ position or belief system than ‘real science’. Evolution is no longer just a theory; it has been proven true beyond a reasonable doubt. Human beings did not just appear at the top of the evolutionary ladder to reap the benefits of those millions of years of evolution without having to live through it. Despite this evidence, many Americans refuse to believe in evolution because they hold tightly to religious beliefs, most of which are taught in childhood well before young people learn of evolution. In the words of Albert Einstein: A man should look for what is and not for what he thinks should be.