[_ Old Earth _] The Cambrian Explosion: Evidence Against Evolution?

[azlan88]

The cambrian explosion was the sudden arrival of complex species over a short period of time. According to Darwin, evolution is a gradual process, which can be illustrated as a long series of little zig-zag lines on a graph. However, the cambrian explosion appears as a single giant spike upward on that graph! To this day, evolutionists cannot provide an explanation for this phenomenon, which some of them describe as almost "miraculous." Creationists say that this defies evolution entirely and even disproves the theory. Your thoughts?

 

[kenan]

Evolution doesn't try to explain how the creatures came to be - anyone with half a brain knows that there was either nothing, which can only create nothing, or there was something from which all was created.

However, the Cambrian explosion doesn't provide us with evidence against evolution: there was life before the Cambrian explosion, albeit very simple life, but it was there. The Cambrian explosion was simply a time where the conditions for sustainable life basically became perfect, and this led to an explosion in the sheer quantity of life on earth. Since genetic mutation is a natural occurrence, and because the environment naturally changes due to minute but significant variables, the variation in species increased dramatically in a relatively short geological scale of time. When you say short time, remember that this still equates to hundreds of thousands or even millions of years, which is completely adequate for the process of evolution to occur.

As miraculous as it may have been, it doesn't disprove evolution, because evolution doesn't claim to explain where life came from, only how it has changed over the millions of years that life has been present on earth.

 

[Barbarian]

There was complex multicellular life long before the Cambrian. The Ediacaran fauna is found worldwide and existed long before. The "Cambrian Explosion" (which occured over tens of millions of years) seems to have occurred because the evolution of hard body parts made a diversity of new niches available,and living things rapidly evolved to fill them.

To this day, evolutionists cannot provide an explanation for this phenomenon, which some of them describe as almost "miraculous."

I mentioned one theory, that seems most reasonable. The beginning of the Cambrian is marked by the appearance of fully-armored bodies. There are all sorts of fossils of partially-covered organisms in the late Precambrian.

 

[Crying Rock]

Evolution doesn't try to explain how the creatures came to be - anyone with half a brain knows that there was either nothing, which can only create nothing, or there was something from which all was created.

However, the Cambrian explosion doesn't provide us with evidence against evolution: there was life before the Cambrian explosion, albeit very simple life, but it was there. The Cambrian explosion was simply a time where the conditions for sustainable life basically became perfect, and this led to an explosion in the sheer quantity of life on earth. Since genetic mutation is a natural occurrence, and because the environment naturally changes due to minute but significant variables, the variation in species increased dramatically in a relatively short geological scale of time. When you say short time, remember that this still equates to hundreds of thousands or even millions of years, which is completely adequate for the process of evolution to occur.

As miraculous as it may have been, it doesn't disprove evolution, because evolution doesn't claim to explain where life came from, only how it has changed over the millions of years that life has been present on earth.

 

[Crying Rock]

There was complex multicellular life long before the Cambrian. The Ediacaran fauna is found worldwide and existed long before. The "Cambrian Explosion" (which occured over tens of millions of years) seems to have occurred because the evolution of hard body parts made a diversity of new niches available,and living things rapidly evolved to fill them.

To this day, evolutionists cannot provide an explanation for this phenomenon, which some of them describe as almost "miraculous."

I mentioned one theory, that seems most reasonable. The beginning of the Cambrian is marked by the appearance of fully-armored bodies. There are all sorts of fossils of partially-covered organisms in the late Precambrian.

 

[kenan]

Oh?

 

[lordkalvan]

Oh?

I think it's a substitute for argument. :dunno

 

[kenan]

That's the impression I got.

 

[Crying Rock]

That's the impression I got.

Correct. It's not even worth arguing.

The Barbarian wrote: The "Cambrian Explosion" (which occurred over tens of millions of years) seems to have occurred because the evolution of hard body parts made a diversity of new niches available,and living things rapidly evolved to fill them.

kenan wrote:

The Cambrian explosion was simply a time where the conditions for sustainable life basically became perfect, and this led to an explosion in the sheer quantity of life on earth. Since genetic mutation is a natural occurrence, and because the environment naturally changes due to minute but significant variables, the variation in species increased dramatically in a relatively short geological scale of time.

 

[kenan]

Crying Rock, please present an argument or kindly leave. Ad hominem attacks and simply dismissing an argument because "it's not worth arguing" do nothing for your cause, nor is posting this little fella --> .

 

[kenan]

Also, according to a mate on another forum:

The "cambrian explosion" actualy happened over an extremly long period of time, just under 100 million years, so it really wasn't that much of an 'explosion'. Recent research has overthrown the once popular idea that disparity (the range of different organism "designs" or "ways of life") was exceptionally high throughout the Cambrian. Infact, there is evidence that moderately complex animals (triploblastic bilaterians) existed possibly long before the start of the Cambrian.
The 'Ordovician radiation' which occured about 40 million years later actualy gave rise to the diversity we see today because there was a mass extinction at the Cambrian/Ordovician boundary.

 

[jasoncran]

crying rock,please either post a response that defends you position or dont post, i hate to warn you. as you know the rules here.

 

[lordkalvan]

Crying Rock, please present an argument or kindly leave. Ad hominem attacks and simply dismissing an argument because "it's not worth arguing" do nothing for your cause, nor is posting this little fella --> .

All of which would seem to suggest that there is no argument that is able to be made. An apparently telling admission.

 

[Crying Rock]

crying rock,please either post a response that defends you position or dont post, i hate to warn you. as you know the rules here.

My position is evolution is not supported by science.

 

[jasoncran]

ok then please dont use the smilies alone and just state why you dont believe or dont use the smilie at all, makes us that dont believe in evolution look better.

 

[Crying Rock]

ok then please dont use the smilies alone and just state why you dont believe or dont use the smilie at all, makes us that dont believe in evolution look better.

Roger that.

Thanks Jason,

CR

 

[kenan]

My position is evolution is not supported by science.

Not supported by science eh? I agree that for it to be reconciled with the Bible, a different interpretation to the YEC approach is necessary (this interpretation is however completely sound and doesn't take away from the glory of God - it advances it IMO), but to say that it's not supported by science...well, what sort of support or evidence do you have to make that claim?

 

[RND]

Evolution doesn't try to explain how the creatures came to be

That's because it can't. Evolution just "assumes" it just happened.

- anyone with half a brain knows that there was either nothing, which can only create nothing, or there was something from which all was created.

Where did the "something" come from?

 

[RND]

My position is evolution is not supported by science.

Not supported by science eh? I agree that for it to be reconciled with the Bible, a different interpretation to the YEC approach is necessary (this interpretation is however completely sound and doesn't take away from the glory of God - it advances it IMO), but to say that it's not supported by science...well, what sort of support or evidence do you have to make that claim?

What type of evidence do you have to support the notion that life on earth evolved?

 

[lordkalvan]

Evolution doesn't try to explain how the creatures came to be

That's because it can't. Evolution just "assumes" it just happened.

Regardless of whether or not your statement is correct, it remains the fact that it has been pointed out to you several times that evolutionary theory is not directly concerned with the origin of life, but only with how that life develops. There are a number of scientific hypotheses that explore ideas for how life may have begun, so even though 'evolution' is not concerned with these origins, science most certainly is.

[quote:1gmvow5m]- anyone with half a brain knows that there was either nothing, which can only create nothing, or there was something from which all was created.

Where did the "something" come from?[/quote:1gmvow5m]
A question that is not immediately relevant as to whether or not evolutionary theory is evidentially supported.