Beliefs about the origins & development of species, etc.

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Indicators 13 to 17 that evolution of
the species didn't happen, with rebuttals

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Indicator 13:

A group of scientists proved in 1836 that spontaneous generation does not occur. Spontaneous generation or abiogenesis is an "ancient theory holding that certain lower forms of life, especially the insects, reproduced by physicochemical agencies from inorganic substances." ₁ i.e. that living matter came from non-living matter. Since this cannot happen, it is impossible for an elementary life form to appear on a lifeless earth. Thus, evolution of the species cannot even get started.

Rebuttal 13: Actually, it was a series of scientists, from Redi in 1668 to Franz Schulze in 1836 who did the preliminary work to disprove abiogenesis. It was not until Louis Pasteur's more sophisticated experiments in 1861 that the theory was finally laid to rest. ₂ But the studies only proved that, over a period of perhaps several months, sterile broth which is isolated from bacteria and dust in the air, will remain sterile. No bacteria will be spontaneously generated inside the broth and multiply. The main fallacy here is that the time interval from the coalescing of the earth to the appearance of the first primitive life forms took about 1 billion years. A lot of developments can occur in a billion years that are not possible in a few weeks.

"All living organisms on our planet are made of carbon, C, hydrogen, H, nitrogen, N, and oxygen, O. Living organisms also contain phosphorous, P, sulfur, S, and other metals and nonmetals. DNA contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorous." ₃ All of these elements were present on the primitive earth 3.5 billion years ago. The challenge facing scientists is to try to figure out how these elements came together as the first simple life form. amino acids (building blocks of life) can be created from simple chemicals believed to be common on Earth 3+ billion years ago. Some progress has been made in this direction. In 1953, Stanley L. Miller and Harold C. Urey, working at the University of Chicago, conducted what is now called the "Miller-Urey Experiment." They attempted to recreate the atmosphere of the early earth (methane, ammonia, and hydrogen), placed the gasses in a glass vessel along with water to simulate the oceans. They used electrical sparks to simulate lightning discharges. At the time, scientists had estimated that the chances of molecules like amino acids forming was so remote as to be impossible. The experiment was a success. About 12% of the carbon had formed organic compounds. Two percent of the carbon had formed amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. Amino acids are not forms of life. However, the experiment proved that simple base elements can spontaneously generate amino acids. A lot of work needs to be done before scientists will be able to figure out how life came into existence; it will probably take decades. _4,5

Indicator 14:

Referring to the second law of thermodynamics, Henry Morris wrote:

"All processes manifest a tendency toward decay and disintegration, with a net increase in what is called the entropy, or state of randomness or disorder, of the system." ₆

Evolution teaches the opposite: that entropy decreases and complexity and order increases. Evolution is impossible because it violates the universally accepted second law of thermodynamics.

Rebuttal 14: Creation Scientists often do not quote the full text of the Second Law of Thermodynamics. In fact, Morris' conclusion is incorrect. All processes do not exhibit a tendency towards decay and disintegration. It is only the overall entropy (disorder) of the universe which increases. K.R. Miller, in the book "Finding Darwin's God," writes:

"This means that some parts of a system may indeed become more orderly and complex so long as this increase in order is balanced by an equal or greater decrease in order elsewhere. This, of course, is exactly what living things do -- as they grow and evolve they use enormous amounts of energy (usually in the form of food), producing a thermodynamic balance in the system as a whole. The second law no more forbids evolution than it forbids a tiny seed from growing into a larger, more complex tree. Both processes require energy to proceed, and both are in perfect accordance with the laws of thermodynamics."₇

There are many examples on earth in which entropy decreases and order increases:

	The formation of snowflakes.
	Formation of salt crystals.
	Seeds becoming plants.
	Eggs becoming Chickens.

Evolution of species of life is one more example. Evolution of plant and animal species on earth was and is made possible by the rise in entropy in the sun. That is, the heat and illumination from the sun makes life on earth possible; it makes it possible for seeds to grow into trees, and for simple organisms to evolve into more complex species. But the sun can only accomplish this by gradually running itself down. Billions of years from now, the sun's entropy will win out and the sun will fail.  Talk.Origins has a full treatment of this topic online. ₈

The workings of the Second Law of Thermodynamics is so well known among physicists, engineers and others that the credibility of those creation scientists who still promote Morris' statement is being damaged

Indicator 15:

The full geological column is not present anywhere: If evolution of the species really happened, then there should be evidence of it in the rocks. Why is it that there is no place on earth where the complete geologic column appears?

Rebuttal 15: Partial examples of the geological column appears all over the earth. The column is made from sediment and thus is only formed while the land is under water. There is no place on earth where the land has been under water for 3.5 billion years continuously. Thus, you will not find the entire geological column at any one location.

Indicator 16:

Inter-species mating: If all species have evolved from one original life form, then why can't a dog mate with a cat and produce offspring with the features of both dogs and cats?

Rebuttal 16: A dog is a dog, a cat is a cat and a human is a human because of their DNA. DNA is continually changing from generation to generation. In some cases, there will be a small group of a particular species isolated from the rest of the species. Their DNA mutate in successive generations. If the group undergoes some form of environmental stress (e.g. very dry weather; high temperature, etc) then they may well become better survivors because of their different DNA. They will flourish in numbers. If they become sufficiently different from the original group, then they have become a new species whose DNA is notably different from the original species. They will be able to mate with each other and produce fertile offspring, but will not be able to mate with the original species. This sequence by which a new species evolves has been observed among fruit flies in the laboratory and among species of fish in some African lakes.

Indicator 17:

Lack of proof: Why is it that scientists have studied and studied trying to prove the truth of evolution and then finally realize it can't be done.

Rebuttal 17: This indicates a lack of understanding of science and the scientific method. No scientist wastes his or her time trying to prove that a theory is true. Every scientist knows that theories cannot be proven correct.

In reality, scientists are only able to arrive at tentative conclusions. The essence of science is that every conclusion, theory, and law has the potential of falsification -- to be disproved at some time in the future.

• One example of this is Newton's Laws concerning the movement of masses. Engineers built mechanisms and structures for centuries using these laws. They worked well. Then Einstein showed that they did not apply to very quickly moving items.
  
  
• Another conclusion held by physicians for years was that stomach ulcers were caused by the acid balance in the stomach being out of whack. They treated their patients with stress relief programs, changes to their diets, and medication to reduce stomach acid. Then an Australian doctor found that most ulcers are caused by a bacterium called H.pylori. It took him over a decade to have his theory accepted. But one of the neat features of the scientific method is that it is self correcting. If an error has been made, it will eventually be uncovered.

The scientists who investigate evolution are mostly biologists and geologists. The goal of any scientist is to develop a new theory, or to find evidence to overthrow an existing theory. Their task is not to prove the truth of a theory for all time.

In the unlikely event that a scientists is able to show that the theory of evolution is false, their discovery would be the most important scientific development of the past few centuries. As noted above, they would be a shoo-in for a Nobel prize.

Perhaps, someone in the far future will invent a time machine capable of taking observers back in time millions of years. They would be able to observe the results of evolution. Unfortunatley, time machines appear to be impossible to create with any of today's technologies.

References:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. "Spontaneous Generation," at: http://www.fwkc.com/ The page is no longer accessible.
2. Louis Pasteur, "On the Organized Particles Existing in the Air, (1862).
3. "Essays from our Physical World," at: http://www.angelfire.com
4. "Miller/Urey Experiment," at: http://www.chem.duke.edu/
5. Sean Henahan, "From Primordial Soup to the Prebiotic Beach: An interview with exobiology pioneer, Dr. Stanley L. Miller, University of California San Diego," The National Health Museum, at: http://www.accessexcellence.org/
6. Henry Morris, "The remarkable birth of planet earth," Page 14. Out of print. Read reviews or try to get a used copy safely from Amazon.com online book store.
7. Kenneth R. Miller, "Finding Darwin's God," Harper Perennial, (2007-APR-03). Read reviews or buy a copy safely from Amazon.com online book store
8. Frank Steiger, "The second law of thermodynamics, evolution and probability," Talk.Origins Archive at: http://www.talkorigins.org/ 

Copyright © 1996 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Last updated: 2010-JUL-24
Author: B.A. Robinson

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