Chapter 8

Chapter 8The History

of Life

Chapter 8AWorldviews

and the History of Life

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.

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

I Peter 3:15“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.”

Creation and evolution do not mix.

Key point 1

The earth is NOT billions or even

millions of years old.

Key point 2

The Bible and science do not disagree.

Key point 3

Psalm 118:8“It is better to trust in the

LORD than to put confidence in man.”

Noah’s flood is a significant catastrophe.

Key point 4

The genetic basis of biological evolution is

statistically impossible.

Key point 5

EvolutionA belief about all the changes that have

transformed life on the earth from its earliest

beginnings to the diversity that characterizes it today

Change over time toward greater complexity

Evolution

Results of Believing

Evolutionary Theory

Results of Believing Evolutionary Theory

• God does not exist.• Man is not responsible

to God.• Man no longer needs a

Savior.

• Man is a highly evolved animal.

• Man’s religion should be scientism.– the belief that science is

the only path to truth

Results of Believing Evolutionary Theory

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

A Matter of Viewpoint

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

Evolutionary Beliefs & the Word of God

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.

Is there proof for evolution & against the Bible?

• Any accurate observation of God’s creation could not contradict the revealed Word of God.

How Should a Christian View Biology?

• A Proper Balance• A Proper Motivation• A Proper Perspective

Chapter 8BBiological Evolution

Jean Lamarck• Theory of need• Theory of use and

disuse• Theory of inheritance of

acquired characteristics

Analysis of Lamarck’s Theory• Basic problem: passing

on acquired characteristics to future generations

Charles Darwin

The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

(1859)

Theory of natural selection

Artificial Selection

Vs.Natural

Selection

Descent with Modification

• Proposed that all living things descended from a single common ancestor

Survival of the Fittest

• peppered moth

Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

There is not always overpopulation.

The “fittest” do not always survive and

reproduce.

Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

An organism must have the gene for a certain characteristic in order for it to be

produced.

Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

The theory does not allow for the formation of new

characteristics. It only selects for already existing

traits.

Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

Natural selection regroups existing characteristics.

No new genetic information is created.

Analysis of Darwin’s Theory

Later Developments in

Evolutionary Theory

Hugo De Vries

Species and Varieties, Their Origin by

Mutation

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.

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.

Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution

• Mutations are random.– Scientists cannot control or

predict which genes mutations will affect.

Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution

• Mutations are rare.– It is estimated that

uncorrected mutations occur once in 10 million cell divisions.

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.

Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution

• Requires “good mutations”– Must be beneficial – Mutations are either

neutral or harmful.

• Requires “good mutations” happening repeatedly– In many, many organisms

all over the world– Not just unlikely . . .

impossible!

Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution

• Too many mutations will kill an organism.– Genetic load

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.

Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution

• What about the missing links?

Problems with the Mutation Theory of Evolution

Punctuated Equilibrium

Stephen Jay Gould

The view that evolution occurred in periods or leaps of time, while at other times,

no or very little evolution took place

Chapter 8CBiblical

Creationism

The Short-Day Theory• A literal interpretation• Each day (morning and

evening) was a 24-hour period.

• “Morning and evening”• Use of the Hebrew word

“yom”• Exodus 20:9-11

The Short-Day Theory

Nonliteral Interpretations

of Creation

Theistic Evolution• A mixture of the Bible and

evolution• Tries to interpret biblical

statements to support evolution as God’s method of creation

Day-Age Theory(Long-Day Theory)

• Holds that the seven days in Genesis 1 were long periods of time or ages

Progressive Creationism

• Holds that the earth is millions of years old and that at particular moments in time, God created new creatures

Framework Hypothesis

• Tries to interpret Genesis in a literary light

The Gap Theory• Holds that there was a

long period of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2

• First creation fall of Satan new creation

Arguments Against The Gap Theory

• 1 Corinthians 15:45• Romans 5:14• Romans 5:12• Exodus 20:11

Noah’s Flood & Fossils

Noah’s Flood • Antediluvian

– The earth before the flood • Postdiluvian

– The earth after the flood

Reasons for a Universal Flood

• God’s revelation to Noah– Purpose of the flood– Genesis 6:13, 17

• Confirmation in the New Testament– Luke 17:27– 2 Peter 2:5 and 3:6

Reasons for a Universal Flood

• The covenant of the rainbow– Genesis 9:11-15

• The continental shelves and seamounts

Reasons for a Universal Flood

• Universality of the fossil record– The waters covered the

mountains to over 20 feet.– Fossils have been found

on mountaintops.

Reasons for a Universal Flood

• The duration of the Flood was over a year.

• If the Flood was local, the ark would have been unnecessary.

Reasons for a Universal Flood

FossilLasting evidence of a once-living organism

FossilizationThe formation

of fossils

Types of Fossils• Preservation of parts• Preservation of carbon (coal)• Preservation of forms• Preservation of tracks• Petrification• Freezing

The Deluge & Fossilization

• The Flood described in Genesis 6-9 is referred to as the deluge.

The Deluge & Fossilization

• Sedimentation – laying down of materials

• Sedimentary rock – layers of rock deposits

The Deluge & Fossilization

• Evolutionists propose fossil formation by many smaller catastrophes.– Suggest that fossils are a

progressive record

Support for the Deluge-Fossilization Theory

• Abundant fossilization is not taking place today.

• Fossil arrangement & abundance– Polystrate fossils

• Fossilization must be rapid.

• Most fossils required water for formation.

Support for the Deluge-Fossilization Theory