29Dec12
Evolution Karina Altman
Outline
Evolution
Science and Religion
Problems with Evolution Gaps in the Fossil Record/Transitional Forms Origin of Genetic Material Science and Natural Laws
Proofs of Evolution – Refuted Heredity Biogenetic Law Missing Links Vestigial Organs Evolution in Action
1 29Dec12
Outline
Evolution
Science and Religion
Problems with Evolution Gaps in the Fossil Record/Transitional Forms Origin of Genetic Material Science and Natural Laws
Proofs of Evolution – Refuted Heredity Biogenetic Law Missing Links Vestigial Organs Evolution in Action
Evolution
Evolution has a variety of definitions, ranging from “change” to “the natural process by which all life on earth derived from a single ancestor”
Referred to alternatively as a hypothesis, theory, law, or fact
Used ambiguously to imply that the processes we can observe in the present “prove” that processes we cannot observe in the past must have happened too
2 29Dec12
Evolution
Scientifically, evolution means the change or addition of genetic material between generations, or “descent with modification”
These changes are attributed to mutations and natural selection, which are examples of operations science and can be shown to occur
Mutations and natural selection are NOT evolution!!!
Evolution
The other aspect of evolution is the belief that all animals descended from one original ancestor
Evolutionists claim this “fact” is established in the fossil record and genetic evidence
However, any evidence involving origins science is subject to interpretational bias Remember the difference between operations and origins science
3 29Dec12
Evolution
Mutations are often cited as a source of heritable traits from one generation to another
While mutations do cause changes in the genome, this process is not capable of changing one kind of animal into another Mutations have either no noticeable effect or cause degeneration
Evolution
Evolutionists claim that since one can observe natural selection, then descent from a common ancestor must be true
However, this assumes that the current processes we observe could cause the origin of completely novel structures
This is contrary to the laws of nature
4 29Dec12
Outline
Evolution
Science and Religion
Problems with Evolution Gaps in the Fossil Record/Transitional Forms Origin of Genetic Material Science and Natural Laws
Proofs of Evolution – Refuted Heredity Biogenetic Law Missing Links Vestigial Organs Evolution in Action
Science and Religion
The root meaning of science is “knowledge” Theology once was considered the “queen of sciences”
Now, “science” has come to mean a “method of knowing”
Remember Operations vs. Origins science
Present day observations help us consider possible causes of past events, but they cannot tell us exactly what happened in the past
5 29Dec12
Science and Religion
The Bible provides an eyewitness account of Creation Week
Evolution is a belief about the past based on anti-biblical assumptions
Creation vs. Evolution is not a battle of religion vs. science, but rather a conflict between worldviews
We must examine every claimed truth against Scripture and look for faulty logic or false assumptions
Outline
Evolution
Science and Religion
Problems with Evolution Gaps in the Fossil Record/Transitional Forms Origin of Genetic Material Science and Natural Laws
Proofs of Evolution – Refuted Heredity Biogenetic Law Missing Links Vestigial Organs Evolution in Action
6 29Dec12
Gaps in the Fossil Record
The most glaring problem with the idea of common ancestry is the lack of fossil evidence of the millions of transitional forms needed
This argument is often dismissed by: Agreeing with the lack of a complete fossil record Problems in identifying what is transitional
Gaps in the Fossil Record
However, this does not diminish the problem since the blatant changes evolution requires would be expected to provide numerous examples in every layer of the geologic record
Instead, most of the geologic record is better explained by the catastrophic processes during Noah’s Flood and the following localized catastrophes
Furthermore, the amazing design of most animals make transitional forms impossible
7 29Dec12
Transitional Forms
Transitional Forms
8 29Dec12
Transitional Forms
Origin of Genetic Material
According to evolutionists, all genetic information arose spontaneously, not only with the first living organism, but continuously throughout life history
Evolution requires that the information for new structures must have been added to the genome over and over through mutations
This is basically a series of miracles! The spontaneous generation of complex information has never been observed
9 29Dec12
Origin of Genetic Material
Information can only come from an intelligent source It not only requires bits of data, but also the ability to decode and understand that data
Without both the data and the understanding, information is useless
Therefore, living systems could not have arisen through genetic mistakes and must have been created to function as complete systems
Science and Natural Laws
Evolution fails as a framework because it violates several known laws of the universe
In order for evolution and abiogenesis to occur, several “miracles” (violations of natural law) would had to have occurred
This undermines the very premise of naturalism!
10 29Dec12
Science and Natural Laws
CREATION EVOLUTION
1st Law of YES NO Thermodynamics 2nd Law of YES NO Thermodynamics Law of Cause and YES NO Effect Law of Biogenesis YES NO
Outline
Evolution
Science and Religion
Problems with Evolution Gaps in the Fossil Record/Transitional Forms Origin of Genetic Material Science and Natural Laws
Proofs of Evolution – Refuted Heredity Biogenetic Law Missing Links Vestigial Organs Evolution in Action
11 29Dec12
Heredity
Evolution is claimed to occur through inherited alterations of traits via genetic changes
Natural selection then acts upon these changes by selecting for those that improve the overall fitness of a species
However, these processes are insufficient to give rise to the various kinds of animals found in the fossil record and today
Heredity
While such changes may cause characteristics to fluctuate, they are not capable of the mass changes evolutionists claim happened since life first appeared
Mutations cannot add the information needed for original structures to appear; they are a LOSS of genetic information
They do play a part in revealing and controlling the variation within each kind of animals and also in a number of diseases (aspect of the Curse)
12 29Dec12
Heredity
Heredity
The observed evidence in the present concerning genetic changes supports Genesis, which says that God created all animal kinds and human kind during Creation Week
God gave the animal kinds a robust enough genetic foundation to form numerous species and to adapt to changing environments
No observed processes can ever cause one kind of animal to transform into another kind
13 29Dec12
What is a Kind?
God created a number of animals with much capacity for variation within limits Kinds would today be represented by families or genera Species and breeds have descended from these original kinds
A common way to describe kinds is any group of organisms that can interbreed, produce fertile offspring, and do not mate with other species
What is a Kind?
“And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.’ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ’Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ And there was evening, and there was morning – the fifth day. And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:20-25
14 29Dec12
What is a Kind?
What is a Kind?
15 29Dec12
What is a Kind?
What is a Kind?
16 29Dec12
What is a Kind?
What is a Kind?
17 29Dec12
What is a Kind?
Biogenetic Law
In 1868, a German evolutionist named Ernst Haeckel popularized the idea that an organism’s early embryonic development supposedly retraces its evolutionary history
18 29Dec12
Biogenetic Law
Within months of publication, zoologist L. Rutimeyer and comparative embryologist W. His Sr. showed it to be fraudulent
Haeckel modified his drawings to make them look more alike and even printed the same woodcut several times to make the embryos look identical
Recently, it has been discovered that Haeckel’s embryos bear very little resemblance to the actual embryos
Despite Haeckel’s exposure, these pictures are still in textbooks today!
Biogenetic Law
Evolutionist George Simpson said in 1965, “It is now firmly established that ontogeny does not repeat phylogeny.”
Evolutionist Keith Thompson said, “Surely the biogenetic law is dead as a doornail.”
However, this is still presented in textbooks as conclusive evidence for evolution!!!
Dedicated atheist Carl Sagan, in support of abortion, often references Haeckel’s embryos
19 29Dec12
Missing Links
The fossil record does not show transition
It only reveals characteristics about animals, some of which have to be inferred from the analysis of the fossil
Biases and beliefs play an important role in interpreting where fossils fit in the history of life
Transitional fossils are often claimed without all of the evidence and are sometimes based on only one specimen
Many supposed “missing links” have been abandoned since new evidence has come to light
Tiktaalik
20 29Dec12
Tiktaalik
Tiktaalik is a FISH
In Nature, fish evolution experts Ahlberg and Clack concede that “Tiktaalik is a straightforward fish: it has small pelvic fins, retains fin rays in its paired appendages, and has well-developed gill arches, suggesting that this animal remained mostly aquatic.”
Without an evolutionist’s bias, there is no reason to assume that Tiktaalik was anything other than aquatic
Tiktaalik
Most fish, including Tiktaalik, have small pelvic fins relative to their pectoral fins
The legs of tetrapods are just the opposite – the hind limbs attached to the pelvic girdle are always more robust than the fore limbs attached to the pectoral girdle
Fish pelvic fins are not only small, but they’re not even attached to the axial skeleton, and therefore cannot bear weight on land!
21 29Dec12
Ape-Men
Many believe that the ancestry of man has been mapped completely
They’ve heard about all the “missing links” and regard them as scientific proof of man’s evolution
However, no ancestor for man has ever been convincingly documented
“Missing links” are still missing
Ape-Men
Neandertals: “cave-men” humans who were fully able to speak, were artistic, and practiced religion Stooped posture due to rickets from lack of sunlight
Ramapithecus: regarded as ancestor to humans extinct orangutan
Piltdown Man: publicized as a missing link for 40 years hoax based on a human skull cap and an orangutan jaw
22 29Dec12
Ape-Men
Nebraska Man: based on a single tooth of a pig now living only in Paraguay
Java Man: now considered an actual human
Australopithecus: promoted as “the” missing link ape no longer considered transitional
Peking Man: now reclassified as an actual human
Ape-Men
Lucy: studies have indicated that she is not part-human, and is most likely a bonobo or pygmy chimpanzee
Homo habilis: promoted as “the clear link” between apes and humans now considered a “junk” category and is now an invalid taxon
Homo erectus: fully human
23 29Dec12
Ape-Men
There is no clear fossil evidence that man evolved from apes
Many were artistic renderings based only off a couple of bones
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7
Considering the history of defunct ape-men, all new claims should be treated skeptically
Vestigial Organs
Evolutionists often argue that supposedly useless organs are “leftovers from evolution”
It is impossible to prove that an organ is useless Over 100 formerly vestigial organs in humans are now known to be essential
Even if the alleged vestigial organs were no longer useful, it proves devolution, not evolution
24 29Dec12
Wings on Flightless Birds
Balance while running, cooling in hot weather, warmth in cold weather, protection of the ribcage in case of falls, mating rituals, scaring predators, sheltering chicks
If the wings are useless, why are the muscles functional?
Rabbit Digestive Systems
Evolutionists claim that rabbits eat their feces because their digestive systems function so poorly
Rabbits are one of the most successful species on earth!
They have a special pouch called a caecum that contains bacteria made to digest soft pellets in order to enrich them “The rabbit, though it chews the cud, does not have a divided hoof; it is unclean for you.” Leviticus 11:6
25 29Dec12
Human Appendix
Contains lymphatic tissue, controls bacteria entering intestines, functions like tonsils at the alimentary canal
Evolution in Action
Many observed examples of natural selection are often claimed as evidence for “evolution in action” According to their logic, since one can see natural selection, it proves that one animal kind can change into another
However, these claims are simply evidence of natural selection, a loss of genetic information which is incapable of causing the major transformations required for common descent
26 29Dec12
Darwin’s Finch Beaks
Natural selection, NOT evolution
Kettlewell’s Peppered Moths
Natural selection, NOT evolution
27 29Dec12
Antibiotic Resistance
Natural selection, NOT evolution
Questions?
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