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[_ Old Earth _] Evidence

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Well if you want more evidence, there is lways the fossil record, divergence of species in isolated ecosystems (the Galapagos obviously being the most infamous, but only one out of many), the selection for beneficial trends in insects and rats for resistence to poisons, in diseases of many kind for resistence to antibiotics and of observed speciation in fruit flies.

And the already-mentioned genetic link. Chimps are our closest biological ancestors in the animal kingdom, and they are very much alike in structure and genetics, and even (compared to young children) in intelligence. Chimps have been taught to communicate in sign language among other things.
 
First of all victor, Chimps being similar means nothing. Lots of things look similar but are not related.

Also, you aren't showing me evolution anywhere. Where are the frogs turning into horses or something? Transitional fossils? Living evolving forms? You are doing a poor job.

Evolution is the changing of one species to another or something along those means, correct? If that is right, you have shown 0 evidence.

Becoming resistant to antibiotics or pesticides is not evolution.
Mutatation is not evolution.

You give me some documented transitional forms, fossils, or whatever else you can find.

Also, why is the world being here and being extremely complex not good evidence of God? No one has really explained that to me.
How does randomness produce a complex, orderly world?

_________

Explain, then I will give my side. kthx[/list]
 
droopfeather said:
First of all victor, Chimps being similar means nothing. Lots of things look similar but are not related.

Also, you aren't showing me evolution anywhere. Where are the frogs turning into horses or something? Transitional fossils? Living evolving forms? You are doing a poor job.

No. Chimps 'being similar' does indeed mean little.

-But chimps being almost identical on the genetic scale certainly does mean something. -Or are you implying that god just mesed with our DNA to allow chimps for a laugh when he was feeling lazy?

I listed several transitional fossils in the 'textbooks' thread. Go and have a look, by all means.
Living evolving forms? again, look up the Galapogos and lake Tanganika (I really must look up that spelling) isolated ecosystems and their progeny.
Look up the evolved resistence to antibiotics and insecticides of common diseases and bugs.

Evolution is the changing of one species to another or something along those means, correct? If that is right, you have shown 0 evidence.

The speciation of fruit flies has been observed in controlled circumstances and many other speciation events have been recorded.

I do hate cut-and-pasting, but here are some events you may investigate at your leisure:

---------------------------------------

Evening Primrose (Oenothera gigas)
While studying the genetics of the evening primrose, Oenothera lamarckiana, de Vries (1905) found an unusual variant among his plants. O. lamarckiana has a chromosome number of 2N = 14. The variant had a chromosome number of 2N = 28. He found that he was unable to breed this variant with O. lamarckiana. He named this new species O. gigas.

Stephanomeira malheurensis Gottlieb (1973) documented the speciation of Stephanomeira malheurensis. He found a single small population (< 250 plants) among a much larger population (> 25,000 plants) of S. exigua in Harney Co., Oregon. Both species are diploid and have the same number of chromosomes (N = 8). S. exigua is an obligate outcrosser exhibiting sporophytic self-incompatibility. S. malheurensis exhibits no self- incompatibility and self-pollinates. Though the two species look very similar, Gottlieb was able to document morphological differences in five characters plus chromosomal differences. F1 hybrids between the species produces only 50% of the seeds and 24% of the pollen that conspecific crosses produced. F2 hybrids showed various developmental abnormalities.

Drosophila paulistorum Dobzhansky and Pavlovsky (1971) reported a speciation event that occurred in a laboratory culture of Drosophila paulistorum sometime between 1958 and 1963. The culture was descended from a single inseminated female that was captured in the Llanos of Colombia. In 1958 this strain produced fertile hybrids when crossed with conspecifics of different strains from Orinocan. From 1963 onward crosses with Orinocan strains produced only sterile males. Initially no assortative mating or behavioral isolation was seen between the Llanos strain and the Orinocan strains. Later on Dobzhansky produced assortative mating (Dobzhansky 1972).

^A fruit fly speciation event. Plants and fruit flies tend to get experimented on regarding speciation a fair bit.

Selection on Courtship Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster Crossley (1974) was able to produce changes in mating behavior in two mutant strains of D. melanogaster. Four treatments were used. In each treatment, 55 virgin males and 55 virgin females of both ebony body mutant flies and vestigial wing mutant flies (220 flies total) were put into a jar and allowed to mate for 20 hours. The females were collected and each was put into a separate vial. The phenotypes of the offspring were recorded. Wild type offspring were hybrids between the mutants. In two of the four treatments, mating was carried out in the light. In one of these treatments all hybrid offspring were destroyed. This was repeated for 40 generations. Mating was carried out in the dark in the other two treatments. Again, in one of these all hybrids were destroyed. This was repeated for 49 generations. Crossley ran mate choice tests and observed mating behavior. Positive assortative mating was found in the treatment which had mated in the light and had been subject to strong selection against hybridization. The basis of this was changes in the courtship behaviors of both sexes. Similar experiments, without observation of mating behavior, were performed by Knight, et al. (1956).

Flour Beetles (Tribolium castaneum) Halliburton and Gall (1981) established a population of flour beetles collected in Davis, California. In each generation they selected the 8 lightest and the 8 heaviest pupae of each sex. When these 32 beetles had emerged, they were placed together and allowed to mate for 24 hours. Eggs were collected for 48 hours. The pupae that developed from these eggs were weighed at 19 days. This was repeated for 15 generations. The results of mate choice tests between heavy and light beetles was compared to tests among control lines derived from randomly chosen pupae. Positive assortative mating on the basis of size was found in 2 out of 4 experimental lines.

-------------------------------------------


Becoming resistant to antibiotics or pesticides is not evolution.

If it occurs via natural selection in a breeding population exposed to such treatment, of course it is! Natural selection is the very bedrock of volutionary process, and the creation of dominant populations resistent to certain chemicals (and thus of altered internal metabolism) over unresistent populations is a prime example of natural selection. As shown in a couple of the above examples, such natural selection can then lead to speciation; the creation of separate breeeding populations. Evolution in action.

It is worth noting that speciation caused by behavioural or physiological factors preventing successful mating between populations is every bit as effective as speciation via incompatible genetic structure (producing infertile young) between populations. the result is the same; diverging separate population groups, which is demonstrative of evolution once more.

Mutatation is not evolution.

Of course not, but natural selection of certain mutations in specific environmental conditions in a separate population within a species is.

You give me some documented transitional forms, fossils, or whatever else you can find.

Done. Look here and in the thread mentioned earlier.

Also, why is the world being here and being extremely complex not good evidence of God? No one has really explained that to me.
How does randomness produce a complex, orderly world?

_________

Explain, then I will give my side. kthx

Evolution by natural selection produces excessive complexity because it possesses a great many factors encouraging the development (or rather, established developments) of certain genetic sequences but has very few mechanisms for 'slimming out' or reducing the complexity of the genetic code or, in many cases, useless organs.

A person's appendix is an evolutionary remnant of a formerly useful organ, for example. Since it has become useless, it has receded (due to no natural selection favouring it's growth or continued working order), but has not vanished entirely. A designer would have removed such an unnecessary (and potentially lethal) organ, but the evolutionary process is largely blind.

In the same way, ceteceans (whales) have vestigal, useless, fingers and many animals have vestigal tails they have no use for. In both cases, a designer would simplify the design for extra reliability.

Our genetic code, DNA and RNA both, is chock-full of deactivated and useless genes. Such excess complexity is prevalent in an evolutionary system, where there is no major advantage to getting rid of unwanted genes if they are 'turned off' or made useless in some other way. As a result, there is no selection criteria favouring their disappearance, and they stay.

A designer would opt for simplicity and would not throw in unnecessary rubbish. Your car engine is not full of loose nuts, bolts and gravel in odd corners, is it?




Now by all means present the direct evidence for creationism by an omnipotent being. I don't want this to be a one-sided debate.

-Try to avoid pseudoscience like sun-shrinking etc. I'm sure you don't need telling, but you'd be surprised how many people use it.
 
But the animals and plants are still what they are!

I think you are talking of a different "evolution" than I am.

Yes, of course stronger species are going to live better than weaker ones(natural selection). Duh. :roll:

That was lame "proof".

If animals and humans really were changing, actually changing,not just adapting better or becoming resistant to chemicals, or mutating. etc, then everyone would have no choice but to believe evolution. But that wouldn't rule out God still.

I don't believe you explained how matter comes to exist though?
If you did, wouldya point it out? I musta missed it.

And woulsn't that contradict: "matter can neither be created or destroyed."?

Once again, chimps may have 98% gene sameness, but they aren't humans relatives or vice versa.

_____

Oh, never mind. lets just stop this, now. I am not going to convince you of anything, and vice versa. So, we can call it quits here.

If you ever do find 100% infallible proof however, please, by all means let me know.

Thanks for participating.
-droopfeather(Featherbop)
 
where do you think the term 'i'll be a monkey's uncle' came from? now theres your proof. :wink:
 
4runner said:
where do you think the term 'i'll be a monkey's uncle' came from? now theres your proof. :wink:

Actually, you would more likely be a monkey's nephew.
 
what about people who favor their pets? now thats undeniable proof is it not? i know someone who actually looks just like lassie.....no joke, serious as a heart attack! i'm sure some evolution took place in the family tree somewhere. and uga the university of Georgia bulldog mascot...know a man who is a dead ringer for that dog. whew now thats deep stuff!! cant nobody deny all this evidence im bringing forth.
 
Do you know that some children are still born with small tails?

Everybody has a vestigial tail at the end of their spine, but some actually have larger ones.
 
droopfeather said:
But the animals and plants are still what they are!

I think you are talking of a different "evolution" than I am.

Nope. They speciated; separating into serparate breeding populations. This is all that is necessary for species evolution; merely a larger timescale is necessary for more 'visible' changes.
Same process, I'm afraid. Speciation is the factor that needs to be demonstrated to prove it, and it has been.

Yes, of course stronger species are going to live better than weaker ones(natural selection). Duh. :roll:

That was lame "proof".

As opposed to your nonexistent 'proof'.





NOTE: It is worth noting that 'proofs' are not a concept applicable outside mathematics, so neither of us should really be using such a phrase.

If animals and humans really were changing, actually changing,not just adapting better or becoming resistant to chemicals, or mutating. etc, then everyone would have no choice but to believe evolution.

They are. I have demonstrated (and more exist) examples of speciation involving significant genetic changes, changes in metabolism and/ or changes in physiology. When a species splits into two populations incapable of breeding with each other, that is a significant change.
Further non-directely observed evidence exists by observation of isolated ecosystems and in the fossil record.

But that wouldn't rule out God still.

God is an untestable concept.

Creationism (as in literal creationism, here), however, can be tested against and current scientific knowledge contradicts it.

I don't believe you explained how matter comes to exist though?
If you did, wouldya point it out? I musta missed it.

You asked about evolution. Why should you be surprised I didn't mention the big bang or cosmology?

And woulsn't that contradict: "matter can neither be created or destroyed."?

Yup, but so would a creator-being creating matter and energy.

-Oh, and it is energy that is conserved, not matter. Matter is easy to destroy.

Once again, chimps may have 98% gene sameness, but they aren't humans relatives or vice versa.

We are descended, according to all available evidence, from a common ancestor.

Are you willing to argue against this by ways other than simple assertion?

_____

Oh, never mind. lets just stop this, now. I am not going to convince you of anything, and vice versa. So, we can call it quits here.

If you ever do find 100% infallible proof however, please, by all means let me know.

Thanks for participating.
-droopfeather(Featherbop)

Hah! What a copout! You start a thread offering to compare evidence for creationism and evolution and shirk away from showing the evidence to back up your own point of view once I have done so myself.

If you really have that little to stand on then concede in a graceful fashion. Otherwise, show me what you've got.
 
True speciation has never been observed. Anyone who claims it has is either misinformed or lying.
 
I gave you several examples. Are you willing to back your statement up?
 
droop - you need a bio class - you posted that mutation etc isn't evolution but mutation is a big part of it. there are 6 main factor if i remember correctly and mutation was one of them.
anyways, maybe we should specify what's being discussed here. i don't think any reasonable person can claim microevolution is not occuring. speciation is macroevolution and that is what christians have a problem with. i'm a christian but i still have no problems with macroevolution except when referring to homo sapiens (us) which i don't think evolved from anything. we may be morphologically different than we were 1000 years ago as a species but that's about it.
 
I'm talking the big evolution.

Not micro, I'm not careing about that.

Animals and humans are not and never have been changing from what they truly are. small changes are different.

Victor is using the wrong kind of example.

And *coughstupidarguementscough*.

I mean come on here, he was saying the world is too complex so God wouldn't want to make it that complex. What the cheerios was he thinkin'?

Evolutionism is nothing new or logical.

Noone will argue that baby flies can be made from mudslime, but evolutionists say thats how life came to be.

What are they smokin' anyways?

Oh wait , I was done here........
 
speciation technically occurs when two animals cannot produce viable offspring. since you can't mate fossils it is mostly based on morphology. since the earth is changing it only makes sense that its inhabitants would also change to a degree. saying an animal cannot become something else sounds like you think evolution is an elephant turning into a crocodile or something.
i don't see the theological problem in evolution among animals.
 
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