Help in Debating Evolution in School
We're having a creation/evolution debate in school, can you help?You'll have to do some reading on this subject to build your case. On the web, I'd try http://www.answersingenesis.org http://www.origins.org, http://www.reasons.org and http://www.wwcw.org/qa.html. I also recommend the books, "Bones of Contention" by Gary Habermas (about human evolution) and "Defeating Darwinism" by Phillip Johnson. These can probably be found in your local Christian Bookstore. A few quick comments on this subject: 1. The fossil record does not support Darwinian Evolution (slow, gradual change). The fossil record is just too full of sudden jumps without much in the way of transitions. The fossil record should MOSTLY have transitional fossils if Darwinian Evolution was true, and it should have millions of them. The few fossils that are considered transitional by some are of fully functional creatures. There are no creatures with half-formed vestiges. The problem is so bad that even people with Ph.D.s in paleontology are admitting the fossil record does not prove Darwinian evolution. Some evolutionists have proposed Punctuated Equilibrium as a replacement for gradual change. But that theory sounds like it supports creation events (sudden appearance of creatures). Some say we just haven't found the transitionals. The transitionals should be 99%+ of what we do find. We have found fossils, so 99%+ should be transitionals. They are saying we only find non-transitionals for some strange reason. The odds of that are so remote as to be considered impossible. 2. Adaptation (sometimes called micro-evolution) does not mean bigger changes (macro-evolution) in creatures have happened. Adaptation (small changes in creatures to better survive in their environment) is a fact. Macro-evolution does not logically follow from micro-evolution. There is no proof that it does. And if it did, you'd see it in the fossil record. 3. Don't try to defend some creationist's 6,000 year old universe theories. The people on the other side of the argument are going to expect you to. It is not easy to defend and many creationists believe the universe is as old as science tells us. I would defend that position instead. Check the web site of a Ph.D. astronomer for more info on this at: http://www.reasons.org 4. Philosophy and science are showing us more and more that God exists. If we ignore the evidence, then we could be missing out on scientific truth. See http://www.wwcw.org/god_exists.html for more on this. There's a lot more on this subject but I hope I've given you a good start. Please e-mail me with any questions you may have. Good luck, and if you are not a Christian, you might take this opportunity to think about it. Editor's Update: The student that asked this question has just informed the WWCW that those arguing for creationism won an overwhelming victory in the creation/evolution debate by vote of the class. The student also mentioned that those arguing for creationism received a 100% grade on their case brief. The WWCW is glad to help!
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