Chapter 8

1. Chapter 8 The History of Life

2. Chapter 8A Worldviews and the History of Life

3. Worldview • The frame of reference that a person uses to interpret and understand the world around him • Everyone has a worldview, and this worldview affects every choice he makes.

4. The Christian Worldview • Creation (“ex nihilo”) • The Fall • Redemption

5. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” I Peter 3:15

6. Key point 1 Creation and evolution do not mix.

7. Key point 2 The earth is NOT billions or even millions of years old.

8. Key point 3 The Bible and science do not disagree.

9. “It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8

10. Key point 4 Noah’s flood is a significant catastrophe.

11. Key point 5 The genetic basis of biological evolution is statistically impossible.

12. A belief about all the changes that have transformed life on the earth from its earliest beginnings to the diversity that characterizes it today Evolution

13. Change over time toward greater complexity Evolution

14. Results of Believing Evolutionary Theory

15. Results of Believing Evolutionary Theory • God does not exist. • Man is not responsible to God. • Man no longer needs a Savior.

16. Results of Believing Evolutionary Theory • Man is a highly evolved animal. • Man’s religion should be scientism. • the belief that science is the only path to truth

17. “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.” Psalm 53:1

18. A Matter of Viewpoint

19. A Matter of Viewpoint • A person either accepts the Bible or not. • Many are unwilling to admit that there is a God to whom they are accountable. • Based on faith, not science

20. Evolutionary Beliefs & the Word of God

21. Is there proof for evolution & against the Bible? • Science cannot prove. • Both creationists and evolutionists have the same physical evidence. • It is our interpretations of that evidence that differ.

22. Is there proof for evolution & against the Bible? • Any accurate observation of God’s creation could not contradict the revealed Word of God.

23. How Should a Christian View Biology? • A Proper Balance • A Proper Motivation • A Proper Perspective

24. Chapter 8B Biological Evolution

25. Jean Lamarck • Theory of need • Theory of use and disuse • Theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics

26. Analysis of Lamarck’s Theory • Basic problem: passing on acquired characteristics to future generations

27. Theory of natural selection Charles Darwin The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859)

28. Artificial Selection Vs. Natural Selection

29. Descent with Modification • Proposed that all living things descended from a single common ancestor

30. Survival of the Fittest • peppered moth

31. Analysis of Darwin’s Theory There is not always overpopulation.

32. The “fittest” do not always survive and reproduce. Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

33. An organism must have the gene for a certain characteristic in order for it to be produced. Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

34. The theory does not allow for the formation of new characteristics. It only selects for already existing traits. Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

35. Natural selection regroupsexisting characteristics. Nonewgenetic information is created. Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

36. Later Developments in Evolutionary Theory

37. Hugo De Vries Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation

38. Mutation-Selection Theory (Neo-Darwinism) • Blending of Darwin’s theory of natural selection & De Vries’ theory of mutations • Mutations supply the variations, and natural selection determines which variations survive.

39. Mutation-Selection Theory (Neo-Darwinism) • For evolution to occur, new genes must form. • Mutations are the only known way for this to happen. • However, mutations have not been shown to increase the amount of genetic information.

40. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • Mutations are random. • Scientists cannot control or predict which genes mutations will affect.

41. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • Mutations are rare. • It is estimated that uncorrected mutations occur once in 10 million cell divisions.

42. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • To be passed on, mutations must occur in the germ cells. • Mutations in somatic cells will not affect the organism’s offspring.

43. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • Requires “good mutations” • Must be beneficial • Mutations are either neutral or harmful.

44. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • Requires “good mutations” happening repeatedly • In many, many organisms all over the world • Not just unlikely . . . impossible!

45. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • Too many mutations will kill an organism. • Genetic load

46. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • The mutation theory of evolution is statistically impossible. • Mathematicians have proved that it could not have occurred, even given billions of years.

47. Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution • What about the missing links?

48. Punctuated EquilibriumStephen Jay Gould The view that evolution occurred in periods or leaps of time, while at other times, no or very little evolution took place

49. Chapter 8C Biblical Creationism

50. The Short-Day Theory • A literal interpretation • Each day (morning and evening) was a 24-hour period.