Creationism vs. Evolutionism.

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

Courchaine

Chris Courchaine

Professor Ibrani

English 126

December 12, 2002

Creationism vs. Evolutionism

The merits of the arguments between the theory of evolution and the belief in creationism are a topic that has sparked an interest in societies all across the world. An example of this is the Christian fish that emphasizes a creationist view found on the back of many cars. In contradiction, there is a growing response to this emblem by people who publicize their evolutionist views by posting a fish with “Darwin” written on the inside and feet on the bottom. This strikes me as an interesting controversy that everyone can and should know more about. I have acquired basic opinions on the topic that have come from both viewpoints, which leaves me with the struggle of establishing my own belief.

Sources that have influenced me before I began investigating the topic include Christian religion, school, my parents, media, and my peers. When I began investigating the subject, I found extensive information full of particular evidence. However, the viewpoints are generally conservative and are strictly either for evolution or for creationism. This inquiry will illustrate an overview of the ongoing debate.

Most people view the theory of evolution as being a feasible explanation of how life became what is today. Evolution is the idea that all organisms are descended from others that lived in earlier times and that the differences are due to inherited changes that occurred due to environmental conditions over many generations. It must be realized that, just as creationism, evolution is a theory and cannot be considered a fact. Even though the roots of evolution are from Greek anatomists, the theory of evolution became known in 1859 when Charles Darwin published his book The Origin of Species, which dealt with natural selection. Since then, scientists have been continually searching for proof for the theory through research and experimentation. Some of the topics that are associated with proving the theory are fossil records, carbon-14 dating, and DNA testing. These are also noted as part of phylogenetic systematics, which is the term used for classifying and understanding the relationships and history among species of the past and present.

Natural selection, or “survival of the fittest”, is the mechanics of evolution. Natural selection deals with the dying of weaker offspring of an organism, and the survival of the stronger offspring. When a strong organism survives, its dominant genes are passed on to its offspring. Over time, these genes will lead to mutations, which allow a species to adapt as they slowly move to different environments or other natural change. This is a broad interpretation of how evolutionists explain, for instance, sea creatures becoming land creatures. Evolutionists believe that life began on earth when chemicals combined to produce the first cell. Throughout the course of millions of years, single cell organisms arose to life as it known today. Fundamentally, evolution is based on scientific reasoning and experimentation. As with most sciences, inaccuracies do occur through new discoveries and the theory of evolution must be rethought.

Creationism deals with the theory that the world was created in a brief amount of time by a higher being. Creationism has been the way humans explain the making of the earth and the inhabitants on it for thousands of years. This has been depicted through ancient hieroglyphs, stories, and popular mythology. Although almost every culture, ethnicity, and religion that has ever believed in a higher being has its own creation story,

this paper will be focusing on the popular fundamentalist Christian version. These creationists believe that the entire cosmos, the Earth and all its creatures, were created by God ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

this paper will be focusing on the popular fundamentalist Christian version. These creationists believe that the entire cosmos, the Earth and all its creatures, were created by God in six days between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago as described in the old testament's book of Genesis. (The Bible: God’s Holy Word).

Most creationists disagree with a majority of the scientific theories used to prove evolution. They believe that life was presented all at once in nearly the same complex forms that are seen today. That is to say, that there were no changes from simplistic to more advanced life forms as suggested by evolution. Furthermore, it is believed that fossils of pre-historic species that no longer exist are just examples of extinction and not the ancestors of an evolved species. Creationists generally use what they believe is common sense to disprove science and present their theory. More extreme creationists believe that those who believe in evolution hate God. Creationism is the fundamental belief that most people have accepted until recent scientific discoveries.

There are many reasons for evolutionists and creationists to be in conflict with each other. Many creationists hold a sense of loyalty to their holy doctrines and fear that abandoning belief in them would prove that their religion is false. Conflict is inevitable because it has been impossible for science to come up with indisputable evidence for evolution or creationism. Or possibly, it is complete ignorance on the creationist standpoint that creates conflict since undeniable scientific evidence is accepted as reality in all other questionable areas of life. It could be that creationists are uneducated and simply refuse to accept new, contradicting evidence because their fundamentalist belief shuts the door on science in exchange for faith in a supreme being power. Perhaps science needs to recognize that a supreme being was indeed partly or wholly responsible

for the creation of life and earth, but this will never happen as science cannot prove or disprove the existence of a higher power. Conflict will continue until society can grasp coherence between the two beliefs or science can prove either theory.

How can science reconcile itself with the long history of creationism and become an accepted theory of the origin of life and earth? This question is important to the continued acceptance of research advances in science and to the validation of religious beliefs in the face of new scientific discoveries. Some people will argue that the Genesis story of the Bible stands up well against the Darwinian theory of evolution. They question Darwin’s theory that all species grew from a single cell through mutation and natural selection. They will point out that if all species were to grow from a single living cell, then science is yet to produce fossils showing links between the species such as from reptiles to birds. Even when looking at the development of embryos, one concedes that five digits develop on human fingers, bird’s wings, and fish fins; but all come from different types of cells and develop at different rates for entirely different uses. (Citizens for the Ten Commandments 2).

Creationists believe that the evolution theory is a massively deceptive fable seeking to describe the creation of this world and its inhabitants. “Evolution is a strange, broad, irrational, and disconnected conjecture made up from a mind full of hatred for God.” They suggest that most things in life go downhill without human interaction, but evolution suggests that things arrange themselves for the better and create a stable unity between everything. They also state that there is no proof in evolution and they dismiss the theory that humans evolved from ape-like beings believing that species are the way that they are because it was God’s will. (Citizens for the Ten Commandments).

Creationists attribute these differences to a divine creator. Natural selection or, “the survival of the fittest,” is characterized as the ability to survive with upward progression or genetic changing over a length of time determined by Natural selection is likened to a function of the environment in which a species lives. Ultimately, creationists propose that the body is a very complex organism with many separate and difficult processes, which could only be attributed to God’s infinite wisdom and knowledge.

(The Herald 23). These creationists state the similarities in creatures are simply just similarities and have nothing to do with evolution believing that the goal of evolution is to clear away evidence of a divine creation and replace it with a ludicrous alternative, which dishonors God with its deception.

Evolutionists will state that evolution can be compatible with traditional religious beliefs. In fact, most western religions have long since accommodated the Darwinian theory within their views of human and biological origins. Nonetheless, many religious people still feel that the findings of evolution are hostile to religion. A typical argument is that evolution is too unpredictable and involves an element of chance, which a loving creator could not have used in creating our species. Evolutionists refute that the unpredictability of evolution results from the contingent nature of any historical process and unpredictable forces on human and natural affairs was an essential feature of any creation by a loving God. (Miller).

Due to the scientific basis of evolution, evolutionists think it should be included in public education, but creationism should not. Consequently, the word God and other religious words have been omitted from some schools curriculum. Lacking scientific evidence to support their story, creationists resort to subterfuge to promote their theory of life. They suppress competitive ideas and camouflage theology as a pseudo science. Creationists argue that if evidence for evolution is taught, then the evidence against it should also be taught. The problem with this is there is no scientific evidence against evolution. (Anderson, Scott 31)

Creationism demands that the logic of the scientific method be abandoned in favor of whatever logic one might be able to scrape out of the Bible. Creationism suggests that all planetary, biological, historical, and astronomical evidence that coincides with evolutionary theory have been misinterpreted. Creationists still have to prove that science is wrong before they can begin postulating how the errors persisted for so long. To replace evolution with creationism would mean throwing away all data about the age of the universe, psychological testing data, anthropology, archaeology, and biology.

The Bible does not make any reference to evolution or any other fundamentals in understanding nature and science. This science would not have any meaning to the writers in a society two to three thousand years ago. Evolutionists pose the idea that creationist’s deity magically created everything, but is not intelligent enough to conceive anything as complex as evolution. Creationists are entitled to their views, but should not expect to have them taken seriously with all the scientific evidence to prove and disprove their theory. (Williams, Barry)

The probability of evolutionists and creationists coming to an agreement any time soon is not great. Even if one of the theories is proven correct, extremists will still argue over their position. The only people who do think there can be coexistence are those who are less educated on the topic. A popular opinion that I share with these people is that evolution has and is happening, as scientists believe, but at the fate of a higher being. An example of this belief is that when non-organic chemicals came together to form the first living cell, as scientists give credence to, there was a deity involved. One way that evolution might gain more acceptances is the decline of religion in society. Since creationism is based off religion, which is declining in participation from generation to generation, more people might turn to science. Creationism would require a supernatural occurrence to turn evolutionists over to accepting it as fact.