The Evolution Dialogues:

1. The Evolution Dialogues: Science, Christianity, and the Quest for Understanding The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion

2. The American Association for the Advancement of Science • World’s oldest general scientific society • World’s largest general scientific society • Represents some 10 million scientists worldwide • Publisher of Science • Founded in 1880 by Thomas Edison • One million readers per week

3. AAAS Mission • To advance science and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all people

4. AAAS Program of Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) • Contributes to the level of scientific understanding in religious communities • Promotes multidisciplinary education and scholarship of the ethical and religious implications of advances in science and technology

5. DoSER also seeks to: • Increase scientific engagement in the dialogue on science, ethics, and religion • Facilitate collaboration among scientists, ethicists, and religion scholars and leaders • Further public understanding of the dialogue on science, ethics, and religion

6. History of evolutionary theory • Relationship between Christianity and evolution • The nature of science and Christian ways of knowing • The history of life

7. Science in Darwin’s Time

8. A Period of Unprecedented Scientific Discovery • In the late 18th century: • Fossils discovered in Russia, Europe, and North America • Overseas travel revealed unfamiliar plants and animals • Patterns uncovered in layers of rocks

9. Rethinking the Age of the Earth • Biblical writings: 6000 years old • Estimated time based on lineages • Compte de Buffon: 75,000 years old • Data on heating and cooling of iron and other materials • James Hutton: Millions of years old • Observed weathering and erosion • Charles Lyell: Millions of years old • Studied rock layers

10. Fossils of non-existent species Evolution (change over time) was occurring Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Transmutation: the change from less perfect into more perfect Pondering the Succession of Life

11. Darwin Makes His Contribution • Articulated the mechanism of evolution: • Individuals with traits more adaptive in their particular environment would be more successful • This mechanism is natural selection

12. Christianity in Darwin’s Time

13. The Seamless Blending of all Knowledge • Western understanding of the world based on the bible, nature, and history • In 1650, Archbishop James Ussher dated the creation of the world to 4004 B.C.

14. The World as inferred from the Bible • Special Creation • God created each living thing in its ideal form or “kind” • Humans created in God’s image • The Great Chain of Being • All creatures ordered from worms to human beings, through angels, to God.

15. An Evolving Sense of History • Geologists: • Evidence suggested a much older Earth • Religious thinkers: • How to interpret the first chapter of Genesis • Day-Age theory • Gap theory • More generally: • Shift towards importance of empirical evidence to scientific pursuits

16. Darwin’s Religious Views • Best described as agnostic • Did not believe the world was a result of the evolutionary process alone • But could not trust the human mind to grasp the true nature of existence

17. The Theory of Evolution

18. Evolution in Action • All species related through a common ancestor • Distinct species result from incremental changes to traits over millions of years

19. Natural Selection • Process itself is not random • Response to environmental conditions • Changes to DNA is random • Mutation: changes to DNA • Occasionally causes beneficial changes in traits • Increased reproductive success • Trait endures through subsequent generations

20. Other Evolutionary Mechanisms • Sexual selection • Females prefer to mate with most impressive male • Genetic drift • The genetic structure of a population changes randomly over time.

21. Microevolution and Macroevolution • Microevolution • The small-scale, observable change over time that occurs within a species • Macroevolution • The production of new species through evolutionary processes

22. Evidence for Evolution • Homologies • Anatomical structures that are similar across species • Transitional fossils • Records in stone of the change within species, across species and across lines that separate one type of body plan from another

23. Focus on Current Research • Biological evolution • Widely accepted by scientists • However: • Details are still debated • Questions remain in relation to evolution • When did the various species first evolve? • How much is the evolution of one species related to the evolution of another? • How did life originate?

24. Initial Responses to Darwin’s Theory

25. A Topic of Personal Interest • On the Origin of Species published in 1859 • Book quickly sold out • Challenged understanding of God as creator • Raised questions about origins of human morality • Responses varied widely

26. Rejection • Many believed: • Change in nature part of God’s plan • Darwin’s theory contradicted this • Theory of Evolution: • Lacked sufficient evidence • Conflicted with a literal reading of Genesis

27. Qualified Support • Some colleagues: • Supported old Earth theory and natural selection • But not human evolution

28. Enthusiastic Support • Some of the scientific community • Some of the Christian community • Reverend Charles Kingsley • God could work through evolution

29. Evolution of Scientific and Public Opinion • Evolution widely accepted within 15 years • Natural selection not fully accepted until the 20th century • Neither were particularly controversial (after initial hubbub) • Used by public to justify unscientific views • Labeling of poor and uneducated as “unfit”

30. Evolving Christian Responses • Initially, no major issues among Christians except Catholics • Catholic immigrants labeled “unfit” by the eugenics movement • No major issues among other religious groups • No official resistance to evolution in U.S.

31. Build-up Toward Backlash • Rise of fundamental Christianity • Stability of traditional society challenged • Rise of industrialism • After-math of civil war • Women’s suffrage • Immigration • Increase in number of children receiving public secondary education

32. Evolution on Trial • Law passed in 1925 criminalizing the teaching of evolution in Tennessee • Scopes Monkey Trial • Law stood for forty years • Four other states banned teaching of evolution in public schools • Individual districts banned teaching of human evolution

33. The Science Behind Evolution

34. What Science Is • A process through which to understand the natural world

35. Levels of Scientific Knowledge • Facts • Observations that have been confirmed again and again • Hypothesis • A tentative proposal used to explain data • Theory • An explanation of how nature works that encompasses many tested hypotheses

36. The Construction of Knowledge About Evolution • Darwin published after years of research • Studied pigeons using observations, experiments and correspondence • Hypothesized that pigeons were a single species • Bred pigeons from different breeds and produced fertile offspring.

37. Certainty and Uncertainty • Scientists must remain flexible • New data can require new hypotheses • Even theories can change • Changes to theories are accepted if they: • Fit experimental evidence gathered over years • Explain observations that conflict with previous theories • Predict further data

38. Non-scientific Interpretations of Science • Claims that science supports non-scientific worldviews • Theism • Atheism • Science is only one way of knowing.

39. Christian Worldviews

40. Foundations of Christianity • The Bible • The foundation of Christian belief • Revelation • A source of Christian knowledge • Tradition • Biblical interpretations, theology, church government, religious practices • Reason • A gift from God that leads to deeper understanding • Experience • Everyday life, observations of the world, religious experiences

41. Jesus According to the Gospels • A rabbi and healer who preached God’s love • Seen as threat to social order; arrested, tried, and crucified • Appeared in the flesh three days later and after forty days, ascended to Heaven

42. Christian Belief • Christianity • World’s largest religion (2 billion) • Jesus the Messiah, God’s chosen one • Christians are called to: • Love God and others • Follow the example of Jesus • Unity with God is possible with repentance

43. Defining Religion • The pursuit of answers to life’s “big questions • A search for reality beyond scientific exploration

44. Faith as the Starting Point • Systems of knowledge are built through: • Shared assumptions • Judgments • Experiences over time • No intentional testing of doctrine

45. Contested Knowledge • Disagreement and Controversy within Christianity • Biblical inerrancy • Bible is without error in every detail • Word “day” means 24-hours • Biblical infallibility • Bible is correct in what it teaches • Can include allegory, metaphor, and parable

46. The World as Explained by Evolution

47. Diversity Beyond Measure • 1.8 million species • Estimated actual total between 4 million and 15 million

48. One Big Family • All species contain DNA • Genes are operational units of DNA • DNA sequences similar between species • DNA differences reflect “relatedness” • Similar traits also reflect common descent • But convergent evolution also produces similar characteristics

49. Life’s Origins • The Big Bang Theory • Predominant explanation for origin of the universe • Single-celled life appeared 3.5 - 4 billion years ago • Defining a living thing • Acquires and uses energy • Membrane separates it from surroundings • Reproduces

50. The Arrival of Plants and Animals • Soil and bacteria built up on Earth’s surface • Simple plants and fungi emerged • Over next couple billion years, eukaryotes appeared • 1 billion years ago, first multi-celled animals formed eukaryotic cells • 500 million years ago, first animals with spines evolved