[_ Old Earth _] What say ye?

[serapha]

Recently we read an article in a science magazine entitled "Instant
Evolution." The article told of a new species of miniature kangaroo that
has developed on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. It has been named the
Kalihi rock wallaby.

A pair of Australian wallabies escaped from a zoo in Hawaii in 1916.
Since that time (just about 70 years) the descendants of that first pair
have produced a population of several hundred members. But they don't
look like their Australian ancestors, and therein lies a mystery that
has somewhat baffled the zoologists studying these cute little fellows.

In less than 60 generations these small marsupials (pouched mammals)
have managed to produce a type of wallaby that is smaller, lighter in
color, and - most remarkable of all - has a different biochemical
make-up, allowing it to eat plants in Hawaii that would have been
inedible to its Australian forefathers. In human terms, it would be like
producing a completely different type of people somewhere on earth in
less than 1500 years - people who not only look different but are able
to live in an environment that is radically different from that of their
forefathers.

Given the length of time that most evolutionists believe it takes to do
what these little wallabies did in such a short time, James Laxell, the
zoologist who described them as a new species, said, "To evolve into an
entirely new species in only sixty generations . . . that's pretty
spectacular." Is this spectacular to those of us who believe that all of
the creatures in the world have diversified to what they are today in
only about 6,000 years?

For more on the Kalihi Rock Wallaby visit:
http://www.royle.abel.co.uk/slwap/animals/rockwall.htm
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/artic ... ln24a.html

Source: Glimpses of God's Love by James A. Tucker and Priscilla Tucker,
Copyright (c) 1983 by Review and Herald Publishing Association,
http://isbn.nu/0828002169

 

[Barbarian]

If that happened, you would have new vertebrate species appearing at least weekly. Yet no one thought this was worth comment, nor did they think it was worth commenting on when it ended a few thousand years ago.

That seems too incredible to believe.

 

[legamus]

isn't that kind of what happened with those finches on the galapagos islands that led darwin to his original theory? does anyone remember? anyways, i think the speed of these things happening is not a cross-species constant since the life span of different creature varies pretty dramatically. also, (i'm just trying to dig up stuff from my memory so if i'm plain wrong, correct me), this appears to me to be evolution based on geographic isolation where the hawaii population adapted to a new environment. if they stayed in australia, would they have evolved that quickly? i don't know, it's up to God i guess. my point is, the fact that a marsupial can evolve into a new species relatively quickly is interesting but i wouldn't see it as evidence for a 6000 year old earth.

 

[Bryan]

They are still Wallabies. They didn't change into Pigs or anything like that.

There is no theistic problem with accepting adaptation, or micro-evolution. It doesn't in any way provide a shred of evidence for macro-evolution.

The fact that it happened so quickly, does definitely put a nail into the "billions of years ago" fairytale that evilutionists try to spout.

 

[victorhadin]

If that happened, you would have new vertebrate species appearing at least weekly.

Well yes, if this was a normal run-of-the-mill event. Evidently it isn't.

If this is true, it is indeed a bizarre stroke of luck. Latent genetic abnormalities being selected for? A chancy mutation which happened to be useful and selected for? Who knows. I will await further input.

If true, it is however another example of speciation. Good stuff.

 

[victorhadin]

They are still Wallabies. They didn't change into Pigs or anything like that.

There is no theistic problem with accepting adaptation, or micro-evolution. It doesn't in any way provide a shred of evidence for macro-evolution.

The fact that it happened so quickly, does definitely put a nail into the "billions of years ago" fairytale that evilutionists try to spout.

I would have thought that it puts a nail into the 'speciation doesn't exist!' rubbish some creationists put out (despite the fact that this is just one observed case of speciation).

Your logic doesn't hold up. This is one species. Obviously not every species diverges at this rate, and the age of the Earth is very well founded by geology and related disciplines, which are not related to evolution at all.

Macro-evolution and micro-evolution is the same process over different timescales. What is required is speciation. This could well be such an example.

 

[legamus]

The fact that it happened so quickly, does definitely put a nail into the "billions of years ago" fairytale that evilutionists try to spout.

i would have to agree with victor that this doesn't go much in the way of proving anything as far as the age of the earth is concerned. and it isn't evolutionists that spout out the billions of year ago 'fairytale' its geologists, astronomers, physicists and biologists as well as most of science i would imagine. anyways, i find it difficult to understand how you expect non-believers to listen to the christian message when you condescendingly call what other people believe a fairytale.