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Transcript
Session 1 – Introduction to Evolution In this first session we will be looking at the history of evolution, how the theory came about, and the founder of modern day Evolution, Charles Darwin We will also look at the position that many Christians take today of theistic evolution, and the problems with compromising on this topic Biblically History of Evolution Charles Darwin He lived from the year 1809 – 1882 Although some of the ideas can be traced back further, he is without a doubt the “God father” of biological evolution We will take a moment to look at his life He was born February 12th (1809) in Shrewsbury, England, to his mother Susannah and father Robert Darwin WE was the fifth child (out of six) and was raised in a wealth family His father had an Anglican leaning, while his mother was Unitarian. His father had him Baptized in the Anglican church after being born, but he attended the Unitarian church with his mom In his elementary days, after his mother had passed away, he started attending an Anglican school with his brother In his teen years he starts apprenticing under his father (who’s a doctor) and Darwin eventually goes to medical school to follow in his fathers footsteps, but he ends up no liking it (and bounces around quite a bit in school and what he’s studying) His father eventually sends him to a Christian college to become part of the Anglican Church Darwin became more interested in life sciences, and he starts collecting beetles and communicating with difference scientists on various topics Understand that we are skimming over his early life, and don’t have time to go into much detail (but we have a lot of info) The Voyage that changed “science” Darwin took a two year voyage on the HMS Beagle starting 27 December 1831 While on this voyage Charles Darwin is given a copy of the book Principles of Geology by Charles Lyell Lyell Argued for Uniformitarianism Lyell was influential in the ideas that underlie the modern day view of the Geologic Column and millions of years separating the different layers of sediments Charles Darwin buys into his theories presented in Principles of Geology, and get’s in the mindset of long ages They were contemporaries, and will meet later on in Darwin's life Darwin eventually get’s sick and takes some time off from his studies And he eventually gets married to his cousin Emma, who was a dedicated Unitarian and thought they might have struggles because of their different beliefs One event that really wrecks Darwin’s faith in God is the death of his 10 year old daughter Annie, who suffered a painful death from a disease The most common observation (and most impactful) that Darwin made on his voyage was the finches of the Galapagos Islands Darwin observed multiple (13-15) different species of finches, and noticed some differences in their beak thickness and length Darwin concluded they all had a common ancestor Darwin was correct that they all came from a “ancestor” finch, and that these differences had evolved and come about over time The problem is, Darwin thought that it could work on the large scale of everything alive Darwin thought that if these finches could have evolved these differences in a short time, imagine what they could do if you give them millions of years of these changes This is the difference between what has been called Micro and Macro Evolution Micro Evolution – evolutionary change within a species or small group of organisms, especially over a short period. This would be things like eye color, height, skin color, blood type, etc. This idea is not debated by either side of the Creation Evolution debate, both sides accept these minor changes This is in contrast to Macroevolution, which is major evolutionary change. The term applies mainly to the evolution of whole taxonomic groups over long periods of time. It is in this theory that dinosaurs can change into birds over the course of millions of years When we use the term evolution throughout this class, this is the theory (Microevolution) that we are referring to unless stated otherwise How does evolution work? 1. Organisms produce more offspring than actually survive. 2. Every organism must struggle to survive. 3. There is variation within a species. 4. Some variations allow members of a species to survive and reproduce better than others. 5. Organisms that survive and reproduce pass their traits to their offspring, and the helpful traits gradually appear in more and more of the population. These new traits would come about from mutations inside these organisms, which gives them the ability to survive and reproduce more than those who did not get the new trait (mutation) This whole process happens by what is called Natural Selection Darwin did not originate the idea of common decent but contributed the idea of natural selection, which drive the theory Natural selection is also referred to as survival of the fittest This is the idea that the weak die off and the strong (with new traits) move forward Timeframe in Evolutionary History The Universe comes into existence 14.75 billion years ago in the Big Bang 4.6 Billion years ago our solar system (sun) forms from a gas cloud 4.5 billion years ago our earth forms, and is hot and molten for the first several hundred million years of it’s existence Around 3.5-3.7 billion years ago, life arose on planet earth from non living material (or from aliens or something else in space) Life starts off in a simple form, single cell organisms exist alone for about 1.5 billion years After a few hundred million years photosynthesis is evolved and utilized by these simple cells for energy For the last two billion years complex Eukaryotes have existed on the planet Life forms as we know them today start coming about around 500 million years ago with the introduction of fish From those we have amphibians evolve and enter the tree of life, then reptiles and then finally mammals around 200 m/y ago Human’s come on the scene in the past few million years The theory of evolution is what everyone in public school and universities are being taught about life's history It’s a theory that has resulted in the death of millions of people, although that in itself does not make it right or wrong Some who believed in evolution asked the question “Which human race is the more evolved” and then in attempts to keep less evolved genes out, they killed people Theistic Evolution The belief that God used the process of evolution to bring about mankind and all living life forms Proof: Science says it’s true Claims of Theistic Evolution… 1 - Genesis is not historical narrative, but is instead metaphoric 2 – Adam and Eve are metaphoric and did not actually exist Theistic Evolution has God take a seat Evolution = matter + evolutionary factors (chance and necessity + mutation + selection + isolation + death) + very long time periods. Theistic evolution = matter + evolutionary factors (chance and necessity + mutation + selection + isolation + death) + very long time periods + God. Problems with Theistic Evolution Problem 1: Misrepresentation of the Nature of God The Bible reveals God to us as our Father in Heaven, who is absolutely perfect, holy, and omnipotent Isaiah 6:3: “And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Jeremiah 32:17: “ ‘Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” The Apostle John tells us that ‘God is love’, ‘light’, and ‘life’ When this God creates something, His work is described as ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31) and ‘perfect’. Problem 2: It gives us a “God of the Gaps” The Bible states that God is the Prime Cause of all things. ‘But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things… and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him’ (1 Cor 8:6). In theistic evolution God is pushed to the side and called on when something can not be explained by natural processes, which is not the picture we get in scripture Problem 3: It makes the Bible impossible to interpret with assurance The entire Bible bears witness that we are dealing with a source of truth authored by God (2 Timothy 3:16), with the Old Testament just as authoritative as the New The biblical creation account should not be regarded as a myth, a parable, or an allegory, but as a historical report for several reasons: 1. Biological, astronomical and anthropological facts are given in didactic [teaching] form. 2. In the Ten Commandments God bases the six working days and one day of rest on the same time-span as that described in the creation account 3. In the New Testament Jesus referred to facts of the creation (e.g. Matthew 19:4-5) 4. Nowhere in the Bible are there any indications that the creation account should be understood in any other way than as a factual report. Problem 4: Loss of the way for finding God The Bible describes man as being completely ensnared by sin after Adam’s fall The entire Bible is a story of God making a way for us to come back into a relationship with him after sin entered Romans 7:18-19: “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.” Only those persons who realize that they are sinful and lost will seek the Saviour who ‘came to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10). With theistic evolution sin becomes meaningless or normal to the creation, why does sin exist? Problem 5: The Biblical basis for Jesus work of redemption is mythologized The Bible teaches that the first man’s fall into sin was a real event and that this was the direct cause of sin in the world. ‘Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned’ (Romans 5:12). Why is Jesus called the last Adam? How would theistic evolution interpret this verse: Romans 5:19: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.” Problem 6: Missing the point The Bible tells us that man has a purpose in this creation Man is God’s purpose in creation (Genesis 1:27-28). Man is the purpose of God’s plan of redemption (Isaiah 53:5). Yet in evolution we’ve only been around for a small fraction of the time this world has It’s mind boggling that so many Christians today are willing to accept the theory of evolution when so many aspects of the theory go against the Bible The reason? They believe that science has proven the theory to be correct Is it possible that our understanding of science may be off then? Considering God would have been there during creation and told us evolution if that’s how it happened The next five sessions of this class will be spent on the scientific side of this debate One thing we need to do when dealing with the theory of evolution is have a proper understanding of what the theory says. There are many bad arguments that Christians use out there that they need to stop using (because the argument isn’t valid) Example: Evolutionist say we came from monkeys, why are there still monkeys? We will do our best to accurately represent their beliefs and interpretation of science, because misrepresenting someone or what they believe will destroy your reputation If you don’t even know what they believe, why should they list to what you have to say about it? That being said, what topics will we be cover in the next five sessions? We will look first at the topic of the origins of life, and the attempts evolutionists have made at explaining how life can get started from non living material We will then look at the heart of evolution, the idea of mutations and natural selection as a driving force for evolution We will look at the evidence presented (missing links / fossils) for the evolution of different species (like human( We will then switch gears and lot at the evidence for Creation within biology We will look at arguments from complexity and intelligent design We will also present evidence against the theory of evolution being able to explain the existence of life This topic is one of the most cited reasons to reject Christianity, thinking that God is no longer needed to explain life Memory Verse Romans 5:19: “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”