If you have not already, please read my post "Nature vs. Scripture" before continuing.
In Part 1 of this series, I showed some basic evidence about the Big Bang theory. In Part 2, I separated the Big Bang from Evolution. In Part 3, I showed how the Bible is compatible with billions of years and answered a couple objections. In Part 4, I'm going to go more into the theory of Evolution.
Okay first, I need to define a couple terms: "evolution" (little-e), and "Evolution" (big-E).
Simply put, "evolution" is a change with respect to time. And "Evolution" is the theory that states that all life changed over time from simple to complex.
Little-e evolution is pretty much a no-brainer. These types of changes are extremely small changes within a species that allow the species advantages. This level is well established scientifically. An example would be a change in camouflage or Darwin's finches. It does take place via random gene mutations that natural selection acts upon. Keep in mind that the overwhelmingly vast majority of random mutations are harmful to the organism. It is rare that they actually help- but it does happen. "Natural selection" is really a fancy scientific phrase for explaining the process by which organisms are eliminated (killed) because of the disadvantage of a random mutation. This level of evolution does not lead to new species nor does it have any form of genuine creative power. If I refer to it again, it will be called "microevolution" (meaning- small scale). Microevolution is also referred to as "adaptation".
Big-E Evolution is where things get hairy and must not be confused with microevolution. There are two kinds: Naturalistic and Theistic.
Naturalistic Evolution relies totally on nature. There are three components responsible for complex life: Common Ancestry, Random Mutation, and Natural Selection.
Both Naturalistic and Theistic Evolutionists accept microevolution. However, Theistic Evolutionists accept only one of the three portions of Naturalistic Evolution to explain life's changes beyond what microevolution's limits. That is Common Ancestry. Theistic Evolution states that God intervened to do what Naturalistic Evolutionists rely on random mutation and natural selection to accomplish.
Dr. Michael Behe puts together a pretty solid case against random mutation and natural selection for being responsible for complex life in his book The Edge of Evolution. Behe does support common ancestry, so he would fall under the category of Theistic Evolutionist. He provides some evidence, such as common genes, common "junk DNA" and common anatomical features. Behe believes, though, that a Designer is responsible for the precise mutations and jumps that natural mutations cannot do in order for life to arrive at its current level of complexity.
Dr. Fazale Rana pointed out in his book "Who Was Adam" that the problem with common genes being evidence for common ancestry is that even though humans are "98% ape" (we share 98% of our genes with the great apes), we are also 30% daffadil (we share 30% of our genes with the daffodil). Unless you are willing to admit that you are one-third flower, this means nothing. Dr. Rana goes into detail of some of the "Junk DNA" in his book "The Cell's Design"; in there he points out that scientists are actually finding uses for "junk DNA". Dr. Rana argues that these and common anatomical features can also be explained via "common design". He also explains that the fossil record actually shows that life was complex from the beginning; and shows "explosions" of speciation rather than a "gradual climb from relatively simple to complex". Dr. Rana argues that these "explosions" would be expected if a God was creating animals already in their complete form.
In his book "Creation as Science", Dr. Hugh Ross shows that the fossil record actually goes against any form of Evolution (naturalistic or theistic). So, Evolution loses that piece of evidence. Creation gains it. Now granted Common Descent has not lost all its evidence, but the evidence can be explained by Creation also. So, Creation is ahead of Evolution when it comes to the evidence.
Microevolution has been argued as part of God's great design to allow for variety and changing environments for His creatures. An animal's ability to adapt to a changing environment is perfectly compatible with God's nature. Much like engineers make certain designs optimal for multiple conditions, the Designer of the creation did the same.
What is not supported by the evidence is Macroevolution (Naturalistic or Theistic). We are left only with Creation.
Dr. Fazale Rana was recently interviewed on Stand to Reason with Greg Koukl. The name of the show is "What Darwin Didn't Know". Here is the complete recording (about 2 hours); Dr. Rana's interview starts about halfway through.
So to conclude this series: Based on the physical evidence and the Biblical evidence, it is safe to conclude that God created the universe about 14 billion years ago, and did not rely on mutations to "create" His creatures. Biblical inerrency is upheld and our observations of nature are verified to be accurate. We maintain consistency throughout the theory.
If you would like me to go into more detail about any specific topic discussed in this series, email me.
For more information, refer to the books, DVDs, and websites linked to throughout the series.
God's Existence, Science and Faith, Suffering and Evil, Jesus' Resurrection, and Book Reviews
Showing posts with label Book- The Cell's Design. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book- The Cell's Design. Show all posts
Movie Review- "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed"
I know I'm a little behind on this, but I watched Expelled for the first time last night. I expected it to be something different from what all the hype was saying, and I was right.
The purpose of the film was not to convince the viewer that intelligent design (ID) is a valid scientific theory (as the hype would have you believe). It focused on convincing the viewer that there is discrimination against people who hold this view throughout the academy and the media. Ben Stein spent way too much time "crying" about discrimination, when he should have spent more time explaining why ID should not be discriminated against. I mean, flat-earthers are discriminated against in the scientific community too, but you don't hear anyone crying about that. The reason is because there is NO evidence that the earth is flat. If someone was to attempt to change the paradigm, they would need to convince scientists that there is evidence- not just cry about not being heard. No one cares that you aren't being heard, unless you can convince them that what is not being heard has credible evidence. Also, parading in person after person who says that there is evidence for ID is different from actually presenting the evidence for ID.
Ben Stein did take about five minutes to put forth one argument for design (the complexity of the cell), but it was not very convincing. Ben Stein was also successful at making naturalists look like morons. If Ben wants to be heard by the institution and not just the public, he needs to stop trying to make them look like idiots and instead have an intelligent conversation about the evidence. Ben Stein was too focused on a negative argument against evolution, rather than a positive argument for his position. If you tell someone that their plan sucks, they will most likely ask you if you have a better one. If you can't provide a better plan, they will stick with the one they had originally, no matter how flawed it is. This is the approach taken in this movie.
Ben Stein did go off on a tangent near the end of the movie. He decided to talk about the implications of naturalistic Evolution. This is probably the most useful part of the film. He was really playing on the audience's emotions here. It really doesn't matter if someone likes the implications of a worldview or not, what matters is if the worldview is true or not. Don't get me wrong, when I argue against naturalistic Evolution or atheism, I will bring up the implications. But I include facts in my argument, because if the facts are not there, the implications can be discarded immediately (no matter how emotional).
Should you watch Expelled? It depends, if you believe that there is no discrimination against ID proponents, then Yes. If you are looking for credible evidence for ID, No. If you're interested in "Evolution bashing", Yes. If you want an intelligent conversation with evidence, No. If you want to see the implications of Naturalistic Evolution or atheism, Yes. If you want the facts before you consider the implications, No.
Here are the resources I recommend for credible evidence:
Websites:
Reasons to Believe
Reasonable Faith
Lee Strobel
Podcasts:
Science News Flash
Defenders
I Didn't Know That
DVDs:
Biology:
Unlocking the Mystery of Life (Netflix Online Rental) (Clip on YouTube)
Astronomy:
Journey Toward Creation (Netflix or Blockbuster Online Rentals)
Cosmic Fingerprints
Why Is the Big Bang Evidence That God Created the Universe
Can The Biblical Account of Creation be Reconciled with Scientific Evidence Today?
Both:
The Case For A Creator (Netflix or Blockbuster Online Rentals)
Books:
Biology:
Darwin's Black Box- Dr. Michael Behe
The Edge of Evolution- Dr. Michael Behe
The Cell's Design- Dr. Fazale Rana
Origins of Life- Dr. Fazale Rana and Dr. Hugh Ross
Astronomy:
The Creator and the Cosmos- Dr. Hugh Ross
Why The Universe Is The Way It Is- Dr. Hugh Ross
Lights In The Sky and Little Green Men- Dr. Hugh Ross, Kenneth Samples, Mark Clark
Both:
Creation As Science- Dr. Hugh Ross
The Case For A Creator- Lee Strobel
The purpose of the film was not to convince the viewer that intelligent design (ID) is a valid scientific theory (as the hype would have you believe). It focused on convincing the viewer that there is discrimination against people who hold this view throughout the academy and the media. Ben Stein spent way too much time "crying" about discrimination, when he should have spent more time explaining why ID should not be discriminated against. I mean, flat-earthers are discriminated against in the scientific community too, but you don't hear anyone crying about that. The reason is because there is NO evidence that the earth is flat. If someone was to attempt to change the paradigm, they would need to convince scientists that there is evidence- not just cry about not being heard. No one cares that you aren't being heard, unless you can convince them that what is not being heard has credible evidence. Also, parading in person after person who says that there is evidence for ID is different from actually presenting the evidence for ID.
Ben Stein did take about five minutes to put forth one argument for design (the complexity of the cell), but it was not very convincing. Ben Stein was also successful at making naturalists look like morons. If Ben wants to be heard by the institution and not just the public, he needs to stop trying to make them look like idiots and instead have an intelligent conversation about the evidence. Ben Stein was too focused on a negative argument against evolution, rather than a positive argument for his position. If you tell someone that their plan sucks, they will most likely ask you if you have a better one. If you can't provide a better plan, they will stick with the one they had originally, no matter how flawed it is. This is the approach taken in this movie.
Ben Stein did go off on a tangent near the end of the movie. He decided to talk about the implications of naturalistic Evolution. This is probably the most useful part of the film. He was really playing on the audience's emotions here. It really doesn't matter if someone likes the implications of a worldview or not, what matters is if the worldview is true or not. Don't get me wrong, when I argue against naturalistic Evolution or atheism, I will bring up the implications. But I include facts in my argument, because if the facts are not there, the implications can be discarded immediately (no matter how emotional).
Should you watch Expelled? It depends, if you believe that there is no discrimination against ID proponents, then Yes. If you are looking for credible evidence for ID, No. If you're interested in "Evolution bashing", Yes. If you want an intelligent conversation with evidence, No. If you want to see the implications of Naturalistic Evolution or atheism, Yes. If you want the facts before you consider the implications, No.
Here are the resources I recommend for credible evidence:
Websites:
Reasons to Believe
Reasonable Faith
Lee Strobel
Podcasts:
Science News Flash
Defenders
I Didn't Know That
DVDs:
Biology:
Unlocking the Mystery of Life (Netflix Online Rental) (Clip on YouTube)
Astronomy:
Journey Toward Creation (Netflix or Blockbuster Online Rentals)
Cosmic Fingerprints
Why Is the Big Bang Evidence That God Created the Universe
Can The Biblical Account of Creation be Reconciled with Scientific Evidence Today?
Both:
The Case For A Creator (Netflix or Blockbuster Online Rentals)
Books:
Biology:
Darwin's Black Box- Dr. Michael Behe
The Edge of Evolution- Dr. Michael Behe
The Cell's Design- Dr. Fazale Rana
Origins of Life- Dr. Fazale Rana and Dr. Hugh Ross
Astronomy:
The Creator and the Cosmos- Dr. Hugh Ross
Why The Universe Is The Way It Is- Dr. Hugh Ross
Lights In The Sky and Little Green Men- Dr. Hugh Ross, Kenneth Samples, Mark Clark
Both:
Creation As Science- Dr. Hugh Ross
The Case For A Creator- Lee Strobel
How Did It All Begin? Part 2- Big Bang = Evolution?
If you have not already, please read my post "Nature vs. Scripture" before continuing.
In Part 1, I talked a little bit about how the Big Bang theory is a theory that is compatible with the Bible. In Part 2, I will tackle one of the Christian objections to the Big Bang:
Does accepting the Big Bang as fact mean that you concede any ground to evolution or naturalism? The major concern among Christians about the Big Bang is that it states that the universe is billions of years old; and these Christians believe that this is enough time for evolution to explain life naturalistically- doing away with God.
Big Bang cosmology states that the universe is approximately 13.7 billion years old. In order for naturalistic evolution to take place and end up with life as complex as it is now, it would take into the trillions of trillions of years (this calculation was performed by a naturalist, not a theist. I'll post the reference as soon as I can find it again). 13.7 billion years is way too short of time for naturalistic evolution to explain the complexity of life. This is why many naturalists do not accept the Big Bang. Many naturalists prefer the steady state or cyclic universe model (both are infinite in time). If they can have an infinite or near infinite universe, then evolution has enough time to explain the complexity of life. The Big Bang actually restricts the amount of time evolution has to produce the life forms we see today (and even the first life forms in the fossil record). Therefore, the Big Bang does not require or even imply a belief in evolution to explain life. But let me take this one step further:
The origin of life problem. Evolution does not even attempt to explain how life started; it only attempts to explain how the different types of life emerged. It assumes life already exists. There have been many naturalistic theories to explain how life began. Earth has been abandoned as a source for the origin of life (primordial soup theory). Naturalistic origin-of-life researchers have shifted their focus to extraterrestrial sources (that's why the media freaks out every time there is the slightest discovery on Mars or Titan). Dr. Michael Behe and Dr. Fazale Rana have both argued in their books (Darwin's Black Box and The Cell's Design, respectively) for the extreme complexity of even the simplest life. Dr. Hugh Ross and Dr. Fazale Rana argue in their coauthored book (Origins of Life) for the impossibility for the origin of life on earth (or anywhere else, for that matter) due to its irreduciblely complex requirements. Hugh Ross also argues against the current theory of aliens bringing life to earth in his book Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men. If you want one book that quickly gives an overview of all this material, check out Creation as Science by Hugh Ross.
For further investigation, I recommend checking out the list of resources from Part 1 and this blog post by Billy Pratt from the Ankerberg Theological Reasearch Institute:
Does 4.5 Billion Year Old Earth Prove Evolution is True?
Since the Big Bang has now been separated in our minds from Evolution, in Part 3 I will tackle the other Christian objection to the Big Bang's claim of billions of years. Does the Bible strictly teach a creation that took place in only 6 24hr days?
In Part 1, I talked a little bit about how the Big Bang theory is a theory that is compatible with the Bible. In Part 2, I will tackle one of the Christian objections to the Big Bang:
Does accepting the Big Bang as fact mean that you concede any ground to evolution or naturalism? The major concern among Christians about the Big Bang is that it states that the universe is billions of years old; and these Christians believe that this is enough time for evolution to explain life naturalistically- doing away with God.
Big Bang cosmology states that the universe is approximately 13.7 billion years old. In order for naturalistic evolution to take place and end up with life as complex as it is now, it would take into the trillions of trillions of years (this calculation was performed by a naturalist, not a theist. I'll post the reference as soon as I can find it again). 13.7 billion years is way too short of time for naturalistic evolution to explain the complexity of life. This is why many naturalists do not accept the Big Bang. Many naturalists prefer the steady state or cyclic universe model (both are infinite in time). If they can have an infinite or near infinite universe, then evolution has enough time to explain the complexity of life. The Big Bang actually restricts the amount of time evolution has to produce the life forms we see today (and even the first life forms in the fossil record). Therefore, the Big Bang does not require or even imply a belief in evolution to explain life. But let me take this one step further:
The origin of life problem. Evolution does not even attempt to explain how life started; it only attempts to explain how the different types of life emerged. It assumes life already exists. There have been many naturalistic theories to explain how life began. Earth has been abandoned as a source for the origin of life (primordial soup theory). Naturalistic origin-of-life researchers have shifted their focus to extraterrestrial sources (that's why the media freaks out every time there is the slightest discovery on Mars or Titan). Dr. Michael Behe and Dr. Fazale Rana have both argued in their books (Darwin's Black Box and The Cell's Design, respectively) for the extreme complexity of even the simplest life. Dr. Hugh Ross and Dr. Fazale Rana argue in their coauthored book (Origins of Life) for the impossibility for the origin of life on earth (or anywhere else, for that matter) due to its irreduciblely complex requirements. Hugh Ross also argues against the current theory of aliens bringing life to earth in his book Lights in the Sky and Little Green Men. If you want one book that quickly gives an overview of all this material, check out Creation as Science by Hugh Ross.
For further investigation, I recommend checking out the list of resources from Part 1 and this blog post by Billy Pratt from the Ankerberg Theological Reasearch Institute:
Does 4.5 Billion Year Old Earth Prove Evolution is True?
Since the Big Bang has now been separated in our minds from Evolution, in Part 3 I will tackle the other Christian objection to the Big Bang's claim of billions of years. Does the Bible strictly teach a creation that took place in only 6 24hr days?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)