Download Evolution vs. Creation

Evolution vs. Creation
Is there a possibility of Intelligent Design?
Your Task
• Create a three column chart in your notebook. It may be prudent to turn
your paper horizontally as to have more space to write.
EVOLUTION
CREATION
INTELLIGENT DESIGN
Continued…
• Prepare to take a stance on this debate at the end of the week, as we will be
holding a Socratic Seminar/ debriefing.
• Please make sure to reference all articles, theories, and thinkers you feel will
support your position. Also, you are more than welcome to find your own
evidence to support your claim, but make sure it’s reputable.
• You will be divided based on your position. Score will be kept for strong
claims made. Yes, there will be a winner. Yes, there will be a reward.
Evolution
• Evolution- the transformation over a long period of time from one species
into another.
• This is considered a fact--as well-established as any other fact in the world of science.
• The theory for how that transformation occurs, remains a matter of some dispute.
Evolution:
• Evolution is the central theory of biology. It is a powerful tool for
explaining the presence of millions of fossils and other evidence (such as the
fact that over 98% of the DNA of chimpanzees and humans is
identical) about the origin of life forms.
EVOLUTIONIST:
• An evolutionist accepts the Darwinian argument that natural selection and
environmental factors combine to explain the diversity of life we see on
earth.
• Evolutionists divide into various camps
• PUNCTUALISTS (who believe that evolution usually occurs sporadically, in relatively
short bursts, as the result of major environmental change)
• GRADUALISTS (who are more inclined to believe that evolution occurs more evenly,
over longer periods of time). The PUNCTUALISTS seem now to be winning the
argument.
Evolution: Thinkers
• Richard Dawkins: introduced the influential concept that effects of a gene
are not necessarily limited to an organism's body, but can stretch far into the
environment, including the bodies of other organisms.
• Charles Darwin: English Naturalist and geologist who made large
contributions to the theory of evolution by proposing that all species have
descended over time from common ancestors.
• Many of those who advocate for the theory of evolution have mainstream scientific
credentials, which creationists often lack.
Creation:
• The belief that the universe and living organisms originate from specific acts
of divine creation, as in the biblical account, rather than by natural processes
such as evolution.
• “The fact that the human mind is capable of rational thought and that our senses can
reliably probe the universe makes sense given that God created the human mind and
sensory organs” (Genesis 1:27; Proverbs 20:12).
A CREATIONIST:
• A creationist is a person who rejects the theory of evolution and believes
instead that the each species on earth was put here by a Divine Being.
• A Creationist might accept "micro-evolution" (changes in the form of a
species over time based on natural selection), but rejects the notion that one
species can-- over time-- become another species.
Creation: Thinkers
• Galileo Galilei
• Leonardo DaVinci
• Johannes Kepler
• All mentioned were devout Christians and/ or Catholics and believed deeply in God’s
divine power. DaVinci wrote about creation in his personal accounts, as did Galilei.
• Although it’s not reported true, it can be assumed that Michaelangelo was a creationist
as expressed through his painting “The Creation of Adam”.
INTELLIGENT DESIGN:
• An Intelligent Design (ID) might or might not reject the theory of
evolution.
• At a minimum, the ID proponent rejects that evolution is randomly driven or
that natural law and chance alone can explain the diversity of life on
earth. Instead, the ID proponent argues--often from statistics--that the
diversity of life is the result of a purposeful scheme of some higher power
(who may or may not be the God of the Bible).
Do you accept this data?
Important Definitions
• Natural Selection: Proposed by Darwin, Natural selection is the gradual
process by which biological traits become either more or less common in
a population as a function of the effect of inherited traits on the differential
reproductive success of organisms interacting with their environment. It is a
key mechanism of evolution.
“Survival of the Fittest” --Darwin