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(This is an inquiry that I wrote for a high school composition class - use it for reference, but I wouldn't recommend or appreciate it being submitted into a professor. ) The merits of the arguments between the theory of evolution and the belief in creationism is a topic that has bestirred an interest in me for several years. I think that most people have an opinion on the topic or are trying to form one. 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 hopefully 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 a theory that the various organisms are descended from others that lived in earlier times and that the differences are due to inherited changes that occurred over many generations. It must be realized that evolution is a theory and cannot be considered a fact. Even though its roots are from Greek anatomists, the theory of evolution came to light 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, I 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. They believe that geological records were laid down as a result of a worldwide flood.
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 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 wrestled with in the past and is still a very strong force today. 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 feasible because it has been implausible for science to come up with indisputable evidence for evolution. Or possibly, it is complete ignorance on the creationist standpoint that creates conflict. 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 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. Conflict will continue until society can grasp a coherence among the two beliefs. 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. In the July 1998 issue of The Herald of Christs Kingdom, an article titled The Creation-Evolution Controversy argues that the Genesis story stands up well against the Darwinian theory. The article questions Darwin's theory that all species grew from a single cell through mutation and natural selection.
It points 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 development of embryos, the article concedes that five digits develop on human fingers, birds wings, and fish fins; but all come from different types of cells and develop at different rates for entirely different uses. The Herald attributes these differences to a divine creator. Natural selection or the survival of the fittest is characterized in this article as the ability to survive without any upward progression or genetic changing. Natural selection is likened to a function of the environment in which a species lives. In the final analysis, the article purposes that the body is a very complex organism with many separate and difficult processes which could only be attributed to Gods intelligence in creating life.
The Citizens for the Ten Commandments published an essay entitled Evolution is Wrong and Deceptive. They state 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. The article suggests 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.
The authors state that there is no proof in evolution and they dismiss the theory that humans evolved from ape-like beings. Species are the way that they are because God made them that way. These creationists state the similarities in creatures are simply just similarities and have nothing to do with evolution. 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. In his article Science Teaching, and the Search for Origins, Kenneth R. Miller states that evolution can be compatible with traditional religious beliefs.
In fact, most western religions...
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Research essay sample on The Evolution Vs Creationism Conflict
