Evolution is often promoted as a scientific theory but in actuality it is more properly described as a hypothesis of natural history. The term "theory" is usually connected to the experimental sciences such as chemistry, biology and physics. A theory must be confirmed or falsified by experimentation. Evolution has to do with alleged events that occurred in the distant past which cannot be observed or experimented upon in the present.
Evolution is not biology. Evolution is an hypothesis of the history of biology. It's important to make that distinction.
The term "hypothesis" relates to the soft sciences such as criminology, anthropology, sociology and history. Evolution has to do with natural history and therefore is soft science.
Natural history is also called a forensic science. Forensic science is a science of history that attempts to discover what occurred in the past. It is the type of science that a police detective uses to investigate a crime that occurred in the past. A detective uses forensic, investigative science to formulate a historical hypothesis that will stand up in a court of law.
Forensic science by its very nature is an inexact science. You cannot recreate history in a test tube whether it's the history of a crime or an aspect of natural history.
In a field of experimental science such as chemistry you can analyze a chemical reaction that occurs over and over again. You can do experiments to establish a scientific theory that can be either falsified or verified with great precision. Experimental science is very precise and conclusive while forensic science is inexact and tentative.
Forensic science merely suggests, implies or infers a conclusion. More and more scientists are coming to the conclusion that forensic analysis of the fossil record shows flaws in the Darwinian evolution hypothesis.
Evolution is claimed to have occurred in the past. The evolutionist will make a large part of his or her case based on comparative anatomy. The evolutionist points out that a giraffe and a dog have the same basic skeletal structure. Both have vertebra, ribs, similar leg bones, etc. The evolutionist claims that this "proves" that giraffes and dogs have a common ancestor that lived in the distant past.
A creationist looks at a giraffe skeleton and a dog skeleton and says that this is not proof of a common ancestor but rather is proof of a common designer. A creationist says that God designed them both in the past. The creationist also says that similarity of function is the reason for similarity of design. God designed a giraffe leg similar to a dog's leg because of similarity of function. But the foregoing is also a hypothesis. The creationist can't absolutely prove that creation occurred operating in the realm of forensic science alone. I believe that creation has the stronger case from a forensic standpoint. Yet the creation vs. evolution controversy can't be absolutely resolved by forensic analysis alone.
To resolve the controversy we must shift the debate to that limited realm of the study of living things that can be analyzed by experimental science where firm conclusions can be drawn. It is the realm of natural history called proto-evolution that can be subjected to rigorous experimental and probability analysis.
Proto-evolution is the science of life origins which is the study of how life allegedly sprang from nonliving chemicals. Microbiologists with electron microscopes and biochemists with sophisticated chemical experimentation have discovered irrefutable evidence for the utter complexity of single celled life. Chemistry and biology which are hard, experimental sciences enter the creation vs evolution debate at this point. Probability analysis, a precise branch of mathematics also enters the fray.
A "simple" cell is composed of a minimum of 200 different kinds of proteins (according to Francis Crick) and each protein comprises an average of 446 amino acids arranged in precise order. Darwin and Huxley didn't know this! Computer driven probability analysis has proven it couldn't form by chance.
Even the components of a cell; the proteins, the DNA, RNA, etc., are so complex as to not form randomly if the whole universe were primordial soup and 20 billion years were to elapse. (I refer you to the work of molecular biologist Harold Morowitz.) Therefore there must be an intelligent designer of life. The intelligent designer of life is God.
The precise conclusions of experimental science overwhelm and refute the tentative conclusions of the forensic science used to support evolution.
The Christian faith is not an irrational faith. God has given us His inspired book, the Bible. God has also given evidence of His existence in the complexity and wonder of the natural world. Our faith is in God not science. Yet science, when properly understood, does not contradict the Bible.
The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
- Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
- Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
- Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
- Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA
(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given
Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
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DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES
Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.
The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.
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