Don’t Monkey Around in Class
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). Words of this nature have been questioned for thousands of years—by naturalists, materialists, humanists, etc.—and, in more recent times, have led to court cases, heated arguments, and public debates. The major debate intended to be covered in this piece is that of whether or not evolution should be taught in classrooms. Also, if it is to be taught, should it be taught as fact or theory? It is also intended to present enough evidence to disprove evolution altogether and, as a result, make it much less than a theory, but actually the vain opinions of a man who chose not to accept the truth.
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Organisms either appeared on the earth fully developed or they did not. If they did not, they must have developed from preexisting species by some form of modification. If they did appear in a fully developed state, they must indeed have been created by some omnipotent intelligence” (qtd. in Gish).
Furthermore, if evolution were true, “there would be countless fossils of transitional forms…., millions of fossils showing various stages in the gradual transition of kinds of organisms into different kinds…., and ‘missing links’” (Parker, et al, 367). “Charles Darwin himself recognized this problem: ‘The number of intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed, must be truly enormous. Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps is the most obvious and serious objection to the theory” (Parker, et al, 367). Darwin’s doubts, however, do not stop there: ”To suppose that the eye…could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree” (Parker, et al, 381). Also, with respect to transitional forms and the fact that the animal must be alive and fully functional during any change, he says, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which by numerous, successive modifications, my theory would absolutely break down. Gregory Parker’s text also
Every since the publication of the Origins of Species in 1859, the theory of evolution has been generally accepted by scientists around the world, that is, until 1996 when Michael Behe published his book Darwin's Black Box, calling the theory of evolution into question. The theory of evolution states that individual single point mutations in DNA give rise to the development of new characteristics in species. If these new characteristics are advantageous for survival, then the genes are passed down to new generations. As these characteristics are accumulated, new species develop. However, while most scientists have accepted evolution as a scientific fact, they have yet to answer some basic fundamental questions about the process itself. Michael Behe points to this and proposes that the reason scientists do not yet have all the answers regarding the processes behind evolution is because they have failed to see the intelligent design that lies within it. The author asserts that the "data of biochemistry argues strongly that many molecular machines in the cell could not have arisen through a step-by-step process of natural selection"¦much of the molecular machinery in the cell is irreducibly complex." (Bohlin, 2000, p. 103)
Since the beginning of the human race there has been a lingering question as to the origins of man and how all living things acquired their characteristics. The two main theories that arose over time were Creationism and Evolution, both of which provided very distinct answers to this question. Creationism based its answer on the idea of a supernatural power or being that created the entire universe, man and the numerous other organisms that live within it. While, Evolution theorizes that all living things have the potential to change and grow over time into something new and different. So in other words, one theory suggests that humans and all the organisms on Earth are the result of divine design, while the other indicates that they
The question as to whether or not creationism should be taught in public schools is a very emotional and complex question. It can be looked at from several different angles, its validity being one of them. Despite the lack of evidence to support the fundamentalist idea of creationism, that in itself is not enough to warrant its exclusion from the curriculum of public schools in the United States. The question is far more involved and complex.
The theory of creationism versus the theory of evolution is a controversial topic worldwide. The topic delves further into whether creationism should or should not be taught in public schools. While evolution is a theory that says modern plants and animals evolved by a natural process over time, creationism is the belief that the universe and living organisms originated from specific acts of divine creation. Because evolution and creationism are both theories, creationism should be taught with as much validity as the teaching of evolution in public school. Since the early 1990’s creationism has become more and more a plausible theory. The historical events of creationism dates back all the way to the creation of mankind and the universe. Various evidence, such as the universe, point towards an intelligent designer and should therefore be taught in public schools.
Since the Age of the Enlightenment, the institution of religion has had to contend with the opposition of science regarding the issues of the origins of the world and of the human species. Up until around the end of the 17th century, the church was the authority on how the world and everything in it had come to be. However, with the great intellectual revolution came thinkers such as Galileo, Copernicus, Bacon, Descartes, and many others who challenged the biblical assumptions with empirically deduced scientific theories. The Catholic Church had a nasty habit of persecuting such ideological dissent toward creationism, calling it heresy and thereby somewhat suppressing a complete upheaval of the Scriptures. For many centuries to come,
The definition of Evolution is ¨the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth,¨ (Dictionary.com, 2018). Although, the actual definition is hard to comprehend. Some consider Evolution to be a somewhat ridiculous topic that is far from true. Though others believe that, ¨Evolution by natural selection is one of the best substantiated theories in the history of science, supported by evidence from a wide variety of scientific disciplines, including paleontology, geology, genetics and developmental biology,¨ (Than, 2018). The main idea of Biological Evolution is that all life on Earth share a common ancestor. The term is a way of understanding life.
Despite great efforts to convince the opposing side, a battle still brews amongst creationists and evolutionists over the beginning of life and the universe, but neither opinions’ palpability can be firmly upheld through scientific manners. Since science can only prove hypotheses that are testable and based on current observations, neither creation nor evolutionary concepts can be proven with irrefutable evidence. However, regardless of the inability to prove either concept, most public school systems promote evolution as a scientific fact. Many students who lack firm beliefs about the origin of life believe what they are taught without giving any personal thought to the matter. Instead of robotically absorbing biased information,
Where we come from is a question as old as mankind itself. There are countless numbers of religions, each with their own twist on the origins of earth and mankind, but one of the most highly visible debates would be creationism vs. evolution. Depending on where your beliefs lie, the Earth has been around somewhere in the neighborhood of 6,000 years to 4.5 billion years. One would tend to believe that this vast difference in time would make it impossible to have 2 “theories” that are so widely accepted. However this debate gives you just that. Each argument has its variations, however it comes down to either God created the Earth and all things in it as they are now or that life today has evolved from a
The riddle of the origin of man has been subject to many ponderings and theories for thousands of years. In America, two theories concerning this timeless question have driven a spike through the general populace. These two beliefs, Evolution and Christianity, have driven a riff through the American populace and fueled several debates and conflicts over which is the truer theory. Incidents such as the decision of the Kansas school board to ban schools from including the Evolution Theory from their curriculum are becoming a tragically frequent and threaten to escalate if not checked soon. However, there is a growing belief in America today in the possibility of believing that evolution is an inescapable fact while still
Today many scientists would have people to believe that evolution is the only reasonable explanation of the universe. Scientists, like Stephen Hawking, claim that they have proved that evolution is the correct answer to the origins of life and the universe, yet evolution is still a theory. This problem occurs because evolution is not the only answer. In fact, the creation theory offers a more feasible answer to the origins of the universe than the evolution theory does. Creation has the backings of the Bible, an extraordinarily credible book; where evolution provides a theory with many holes in it.
Are the gaps in our knowledge of the origin of species large enough to allow for intelligent design? Despite several inconsistencies, the facts seem inescapably stacked in favor of natural selection. The fossil record is a good example. Though it is incomplete, the various geographic strata contain a wealth of extinct organisms which exhibit distinct evolutionary trends. These include morphological similarities between older species and those that exist today, in both adult and embryo forms.
in no God is your faith. The belief that fish formed out of amoebas and that
People have always wondered how life originated and how so many different kinds of plants and animals arose. Stories of a supernatural creation of life developed among many peoples. The Bible, for example, tells of God's creation of humans and other higher animals over several days. Many people also believed that insects, worms, and other lower creatures spontaneously generated from mud and decay. Long after these stories became rooted in tradition, scientists began to question them.
The debate between creation and evolution has been around for a long time. For much of it, it has presented a choice between the two. Some claim that you either believe in God or evolution, not both. Others, that you have to choose young earth creationism simply because theistic evolution is not a viable option. Still more present young earth creationism as a naive understanding of both the Bible and science. However, since each position has evidence in support of it and against it, it is in no way true that any of them present us with an undeniable position of definite accuracy. Furthermore, the idea that there is only a choice between creation and evolution is false. Indeed, there are more positions than even creationism and theistic
One of the most discussed and debated phenomena in the history of education is that the hypothetical concept of evolution which can be considered as a theory of primordial history, moreover with the belief of creationism. Both have had an astounded impact in the framework of contemporary education should or should not be taught in the public classroom. Evolutionists and Creationists both have their reasons why their beliefs should be taught in the public classroom. The matter of the fact is that both of these are considered beliefs, things that are only backed by faith. Only faith, they are not supported by fact which makes them not a theory or hypothesis. Throughout history the debate between whether it is ethically right or wrong to teach these has been ongoing for too long and must come to a stop. These beliefs should not be taught in public schools due to the years of case law and disputed legislative actions, both of their belief systems, and the irrefutable facts that prove it morally wrong.