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Creationism Vs Evolution Debate

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Creationism vs. evolution: exploring perspectives on the origins of life, the creationism perspective, the evolutionary perspective, societal implications and education, harmony or conflict, conclusion: bridging the gap.

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Creationism vs. Evolution

Creationism or Intelligent Design is the belief that life and the universe were created by a supernatural being (an "intelligent designer"), an omnipotent, benevolent God. Evolution is the process by which different kinds of living organisms developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the Earth. The theory of evolution purports that life on earth evolved from one universal common ancestor about 3.8 billion years ago. It is a "theory" in the scientific sense of the word , which means it is supported by evidence and accepted as fact by the scientific community. The intelligent design hypothesis is not supported by evidence. Since 1929, the term “creationism” in the US has been associated with Christian fundamentalism, and specifically with a disbelief in evolution and a belief in a young earth .

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The points of view.

Evolutionary theory holds that living organisms that do not adapt to their environment fail to survive. Genetic variations are introduced in species through random DNA mutation. These mutations manifest themselves in different phenotypes , or physical characteristics, in living organisms. Organisms whose characteristics are better suited for the surrounding environment survive and reproduce, passing on their mutated DNA to subsequent generations. This is often called "survival of the fittest", and it is not a random process. As the surviving organisms reproduce, and this process repeats over several generations, the species evolves.

There are many flavors of the creationist worldview. Young Earth Creationism and Gap Creationism believe that humanity was created by God, but while Young Earth Creationism claims the Earth is less than 10,000 years old and was reshaped by the flood, Gap Creationism claims the world is the scientifically accepted age. Progressive creationism believes humanity was directly created by God, based on primate anatomy , while intelligent design and theistic evolution include a variety of beliefs based on the idea that divine intervention led to something that may appear like evolution.

Types of evolution

Divergent evolution occurs when one species separates into two species, for example if they become separated geographically and have to adapt to different environments to survive. Parallel evolution, on the other hand, occurs when two or more species develop similar traits, such as growing wings, to survive the same environment. Finally, convergent evolution occurs when two or more species develop similar traits in different environments.

The Evidence

Evolution relies on evidence from fossil records, similarities between life forms, the geographic distribution of species, and recorded changes in species. Since the 1920s, for example, hundreds of fossils have been found of creatures in the intermediate stages between monkeys, apes, and humans , and fossil records in general suggest that multi-celled organisms only appeared after single-celled ones, and that complex animals were preceded by simpler ones. Geographic evidence includes the fact that, before humans arrived in Australia 60-40,000 years ago, the country had more than 100 species of kangaroo , koalas and marsupials, but no placental land mammals like dogs, cats , bears and horses. Islands like Hawaii and New Zealand also lacked these mammals, and had plant, insect and bird species not found elsewhere on Earth.

Creationism is typically based on a literal interpretation of the Book of Genesis in the Bible . Supporters of Intelligent Design argue that either God created the conditions for evolution or point to patterns occuring in nature as evidence that the universe is not random but created by an intelligent being.

Here is a video of a debate between evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and cardinal George Pell , a Catholic priest. They discuss evolution, creation, Adam and Eve and the first humans, as well as the existence of God. A question specifically about evolution is at around 28:40.

A basic tenet of science is the scientific method , which states that

To be termed scientific, a method of inquiry must be based on empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning.

This mans that scientific hypotheses must be testable. Critics of intelligent design argue that the creationist hypothesis is not testable i.e., the existence of God cannot be proved . Although science cannot test issues of faith, scientific studies have disproved many elements of Creationism, including the age of the Earth , its geological history , and the relationships of living organisms. Anthropology , geology and planetary science reveal that the Earth is approximately 4.5 billion years old, disputing Creationist claims that the Earth was created 6000 years ago. Creationism has also been criticized by several religious organizations , as they maintain that the Christian faith does not conflict with the science of evolution.

Many Creationists argue that evolution is a “theory” and not fact and so should be taught as such. However, this is based on a misunderstanding of the scientific use of “theory,” which does not mean “possibility,” as it does in common usage, but “a scientifically acceptable general principle to explain phenomena.” Creationists also claim that supernatural explanations should not be excluded, and accuse of evolution of also being a religion , not a science. Creationism also criticizes the idea of “common descent” – the theory that creatures with similarities in their genes must have evolved from a common ancestor -- by arguing that such similarities suggest that the creatures shared a common designer, aka God .

Contemporary beliefs

According to a Gallup poll, 46% of US citizens believed in creationism in 2012, including 52% of those with only a high-school education or less and 25% of those with post graduate education. 25% of those who do not attend church believe in creationism, while 67% of those who attend church weekly believe. Outside of the US, most contemporary Christian leaders believe that Genesis is allegorical and support evolution.

Notable supporters of Evolution

Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins is a notable and vociferous critic of creationism.

The Catholic church 's unofficial position is an example of theistic evolution, also known as evolutionary creation, stating that faith and scientific findings regarding human evolution are not in conflict. Moreover, the Church teaches that the process of evolution is a planned and purpose-driven natural process, guided by God. Catholics regard the creation descriptions in the Bible as parables written to provide moral instruction rather than as literal history, and therefore see no conflict between these accounts and the Theory of Evolution. The Church has deferred to scientists on matters such as the age of the earth and the authenticity of the fossil record. Papal pronouncements, along with commentaries by cardinals, have accepted the findings of scientists on the gradual appearance of life. The Church's stance is that any such gradual appearance must have been guided in some way by God, but the Church has thus far declined to define in what way that may be. [1]

Notable supporters of Creationism

Many Protestant, and particularly Evangelical, churches, on the other hand, reject Evolution in favor of a literal, rather than figurative, interpretation of the book of Genesis. However, it is typically not specified which version of the creation account is being considered divinely inspired and hence "literally true". This is problematic since there are two such accounts in the Bible (Gen1:1 - Gen2:3 vs. Gen2:4 - Gen50:26) , and they contradict each other in numerous ways. For instance, order in which Adam vs. the Beasts were created differs [2] [3] between the two accounts.

• The Evidence of Evolution
• Wikipedia:Creationism
• Wikipedia:Evolution
• Wikipedia:Creation-evolution controversy

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Comments: Creationism vs Evolution

Anonymous comments (4).

April 12, 2013, 7:40pm Intelligent Design is not testable. Any conceivable evidence that could be gathered for a theory other than Intelligent Design could be claimed to be evidence for Intelligent Design as well, by just claiming that "for reasons unknown to us, the designer chose to design it that way". Likewise, any evidence against Intelligent Design could likewise be dismissed with a similar claim. There is no experiment that could be created, even in principle, that could prove definitively that Intelligent Design is false, since an intelligent designer might have anticipated the experiment and manipulated the results to pass the test. Therefore, Intelligent Design fails the "falsifiability" criteria which are required for a scientific hypothesis or theory. Furthermore, proponents of Intelligent Design have tended to focus their arguments on attacking Evolutionary Theory rather than on demonstrating via experiment the truth of their own claims, essentially relying on the "false dualism" argument that if Evolution were false (which has not been demonstrated), then Intelligent Design must therefore be true, and ignoring the possibility that other theories could exist as well. — 67.✗.✗.30

November 28, 2013, 6:56pm When you actually take the time to study the 2 it becomes obvious to any rational thinking person comes to the clear conclusion that Evolution by Natural Selection is a factual factor of life here on Earth regardless of the existence or non-existence of any supernatural being. But still I feel like this comparison has been slightly unfair in that it doesn't take into account that there is a difference between Creationism and Intelligent Design. Personally I find both of them a bit fictitious since they both operate under the assumption that a designer is required for any piece of the puzzle but at least ID takes reality into consideration even if those who employ it clearly don't have a full understanding of just how much mankind knows about these things in the modern day. Everything in the known universe thus far has been quantifiable and reducible, even the eye which creationists have constantly claimed cannot possibly be. Anyone who's spent a considerable amount of time watching both sides will also notice that much of the time those on the religious side of things tend to argue about things like the Big Bang when at some point in the conversation it becomes clear they don't even know what the Big Bang actually was. In the end it comes down to faith vs fact. There's enough faith to go around today and facts can't be refuted by anything other than contrary facts, which faith cannot provide if it refuses to enter the realm of tangible reality. If any actual evidence was found proving any deity's existence then science will be the first to jump on the band-wagon because science is the search for truth. We're still waiting. — 68.✗.✗.119

March 20, 2013, 6:37pm "Intelligent" design is not testable. That's because it is a fantasy. Fact. — 62.✗.✗.133

March 17, 2013, 5:30pm Who wrote this nonsense? Intelligent design is very different from creationism, with the only similarity being that they both posit at least some involvement of a creator (thought ID makes no assumptions about its identity or characteristics other than intelligence) in life and/or the universe. That's where the similarity starts and ends. Beyond that, intelligent design is an evidence-based, testable scientific theory. Anything but a "biblical version of truth". I suggest some honest reading up on ID, and keeping this article to actual Creationism. Additionally, the author's understanding of testability and how both evolution and ID hold up to the notion seems shaky at best. Suggested homework in this regard: http://www.arn.org/docs/dembski/wd_isidtestable.htm — 198.✗.✗.50

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• Book Review
• Open access
• Published: 18 March 2010

Thirteen Essays on Evolution and Creationism in Modern Debates

Stephen C. Barton and David Wilkinson (eds): Reading Genesis after Darwin. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009. pp. xiv + 254. S/b $24.95

• Kim Paffenroth 1  

Evolution: Education and Outreach volume  3 ,  pages 297–299 ( 2010 ) Cite this article

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This anthology consists of 13 essays written by professors trained in biblical studies or theology, writing on the interpretation of Genesis (by which they almost exclusively mean the first chapter of Genesis) since Darwin’s Origin of Species (1859). After a brief Introduction by the editors, the book is then divided into three parts: “Engaging again with the Scriptures,” “Understanding the History,” and “Exploring the Contemporary Relevance.” It includes an index of modern authors and a subject index. References of works cited are included in the notes for each chapter, though a bibliography at the end would’ve been a welcome addition.

Section 1, “Engaging again with the Scriptures,” includes four essays. In “How Should One Read the Early Chapters of Genesis?” Walter Moberly discusses the implications of taking Genesis as “a literary phenomenon.” His conclusion is probably unremarkable to anyone trained in modern, liberal biblical criticism, and it will recur in similar terms in several of the other essays: Moberly challenges us to see in Genesis biblical ideas such as “wonder and delight of the world, creaturely contingency, creaturely responsibility, the gift of relationship between creature and Creator, and the difficulty that humans have in genuinely trusting God as a wise Creator and living accordingly”. I think he is quite correct that this view maintains the text’s meaning and relevance, without insisting on a literal reading of it.

Francis Watson takes the history of controversy much further back, in his essay, “Genesis before Darwin: Why Scripture Needed Liberating from Science.” He traces what he calls the “annexation” of the Bible by astronomy and geology in the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries: harmonization of the biblical account with scientific findings (e.g. the “days as eons” solution) was done to the detriment or obfuscation of both. Darwin put forth his theory with no reference to Genesis, and according to Watson, this shows a more fruitful and beneficial relationship between Genesis and science—separation or liberation from one another.

In “The Six Days of Creation according to the Greek Fathers,” Andrew Louth discusses the interpretation of Genesis by Theophilos of Antioch and Basil. Louth’s conclusions echo Moberly’s, in that he counsels some of the same attitudes toward creation, showing how ancient theologians regarded the created world with “wonder” and “humility” and were convinced of its “interconnectedness”.

In “The Hermeneutics of Reading Genesis after Darwin,” Richard S. Briggs examines the comparison of Genesis with other ancient Near Eastern texts (a method of biblical study that was coming into vogue contemporaneously with Darwin), concluding that the process and implications of such “triangulating” are similar, whether one is comparing Genesis to the Enuma Elish or to Darwin.

Section 2, “Understanding the History,” includes three essays. It starts with John Rogerson’s “What Difference Did Darwin Make?: The Interpretation of Genesis in the Nineteenth Century,” which examines some biblical commentaries published shortly before and shortly after Darwin’s work, to see what effect (if any) it had on their interpretation of the Genesis text. The examination does a good job of showing there was no unanimity among interpreters as to the meaning of Genesis, and a range of interpretations were advocated, both before and after Darwin. Perhaps even more interestingly, even within the group that rejected his theory, interpretations of Genesis often differed.

John Headley Brooke, in “Genesis and the Scientists: Dissonance among the Harmonizers,” returns to some of the scientific controversies already examined in Watson’s essay, concluding similarly that Darwin’s theory may be more amenable to Christianity than attempts at harmonizing Genesis with current scientific theories, since Darwin “purged it [Christianity] of a semi-deistic position”. This is an important distinction for those who would “defend” the Bible, who too often seem to be defending a deistic position that God created the universe and let it go on its own subsequently, rather than defending the idea of a God who wishes to be in communion with humans (the more narrowly biblical concept of God, in either Jewish or Christian interpretation). He also speaks in terms similar to Moberly and Louth, counseling a “nonliteral reading of the text”, and focusing on the text’s primary relevance to “our human existential condition”. David Brown concludes the section with a discussion of some paintings in his essay, “Science and Religion in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Landscape Art.” The most familiar of these to readers is probably Dali’s “The Sacrament of the Last Supper.”

Section 3, “Exploring the Contemporary Relevance,” includes six essays. David Wilkinson’s “Reading Genesis 1-3 in the Light of Modern Science” gives perhaps the fullest summary of the interpretive issues, compared to the other essays in this collection. He puts Darwin in the context of other, sometimes more fundamental and intractable controversies with the Bible; he briefly describes the creationist alternative (pp. 132-135); he traces the various attempts at harmonization, with their pros and cons; and he lays out possible points where Genesis may still speak to the human condition and understanding. Echoing previous essays in the volume, his conclusion is that a primarily literary approach is needed to understand or appreciate the text, and this will yield an interpretation that does not address cosmogonic or biological data, but rather our “unique conscious intimacy with God”.

In “All God’s Creatures: Reading Genesis on Human and Nonhuman Animals,” David Clough argues that in light of evolution (and other observations of animal consciousness and rationality), Christians should abandon anthropocentric readings of Genesis (what he calls “human-separatist” readings throughout). Jeff Astley argues in “Evolution and Evil: The Difference Darwinism Makes in Theology and Spirituality” that evolution exacerbates the problems of theodicy by making suffering (and large amounts of it) intrinsic to creation.

In “’Male and Female He Created Them’ (Genesis 1:27): Interpreting Gender after Darwin,” Stephen C. Barton examines constructions of gender in the classical world, in the Bible, and in subsequent biblical interpretation, contrasting these with modern and postmodern analyses. Ellen F. Davis looks at how organisms fit into their environment in her essay, “Propriety and Trespass: The Drama of Eating,” drawing some conclusions for our current environmental situation and its (un)sustainability. Finally, Mathew Guest’s essay, “The Plausibility of Creationism: A Sociological Comment,” examines the current popularity of creationism in the USA (and to a much lesser degree in the UK), suggesting some sociological forces that may contribute to its acceptance, despite its logical or factual shortcomings.

Although I was excited when I first began reading this volume, this wore off in the course of study. I would single out three essays for praise. Moberly’s is a very helpful look at how believers could still maintain the importance and sacredness of the biblical text, without interpreting it literally. Rogerson’s is a wonderful and suggestive illustration of how Christian belief and interpretation are never monolithic, and never a matter of “good guys” versus “bad guys.” Wilkinson’s is a thorough and accessible discussion of the issues at stake. But overall, I was struck by how little the book deals with Darwin: it could be entitled “Reading Genesis in the Modern World” with little loss of focus. Several of the essays make only the barest nod toward Darwin before moving on to some topic only tangential to his work. The suggestions for the future interpretation of Genesis (literary criticism, a reading that encourages a sense of wonder and humility, the acknowledgment of human incompleteness and contingency, etc.), while sober and encouraging, are repeated by several contributors without much expansion or specificity (Moberly, Louth, Brooke, Wilkinson); such heuristic suggestions are also commonplace in biblical studies, so I found little new here that couldn’t be found in many introductory classes or texts on Genesis.

Several essays were much more deficient, in my estimation. Briggs’s idea that comparing Genesis to other, contemporaneous myths, and comparing it to a scientific treatise written 2,500 years later, are somehow similar comparisons, and the two interpretive acts can shed light on one another, struck me as odd, if not misleading. It overlooks the more fundamental difference in genre: comparing Genesis to other myths (contemporary with it or not) is probably more helpful to understanding it, than comparing it to scientific writings (from whatever time period, though especially a work that eschews teleological questions, and therefore has a completely different outlook than Genesis). Brown’s essay has little to do with the topic of this collection and barely mentions Darwin or Genesis: its observations would make a fine beginning to a chat about “art and spirituality,” but it has no place here. Clough’s essay doesn’t deal with “stewardship,” which many interpreters today would see as the crucial way to understand the biblical teaching on how humans differ from, and yet are immersed in, the created order. Neither Clough’s nor Barton’s essay deals with the differences between Genesis 1 and 2, again a crucial interpretive issue for understanding the text’s ambiguities (and discrepancies) on anthropocentrism and gender.

I say all this from the perspective of a biblical scholar of a decidedly liberal Protestant bent, for whom these issues are well-worn. Perhaps if I try to step outside of this context (and many of the essays in this collection properly remind us of how much context determines meaning), I might better see where some of these essays could fit into a useful discussion. I’d say that for someone who thinks (as many of my atheist and agnostic friends do) that all Christians are creationists, that all Christians immediately opposed Darwin’s ideas and continue to do so today, or that there is only one way to interpret Genesis—for a reader with such impressions, the better written, more thorough of these essays would prove enlightening, and might promote a dialogue that goes beyond secularists versus Biblicists, those who would discard the text versus those who cling to a literal interpretation of it. Such a dialogue might even become a mutual search for truth, conducted with real exchange, understanding, and respect.

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Creationism vs. Evolution: 6 Big Battles

Creationism and Evolution

Did modern life on Earth evolve over millions of years, or was it created in the blink of an eye by God?

That's the gist of the debate between scientists and creationists, which has been ongoing ever since Charles Darwin published his theory in 1859. The scientific evidence is clear: The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and all life evolved from primitive, single-celled organisms.

Nevertheless, Biblical literalists reject this evidence and operate from the viewpoint that the Bible's Book of Genesis is a historical account of creation. Here's how the battle has played out.

The Birth of the Battle

Strictly defined, creationism is based on a literal reading of the Bible's Book of Genesis, which describes the creation of the world and all the life in it over a period of six days. There are many flavors of creationists. Young-Earth creationists, including the Australian-born Ham, interpret the Bible to mean that the Earth was created more or less in its present state about 6,000 years old (In fact, it's about 4.5 billion years old). Other creationists believe in an older Earth, with species still created separately by God. Finally, believers in Intelligent Design hold that evolution might occur, but that a deity started or guides the process. [ Top 10 Intelligent Designs (and Creation Myths) ]

Advances in geology in the 1700s and 1800s shook the foundations of young-Earth creationism spread by preachers who interpreted the Bible literally. Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species," published in 1859, complicated matters further. Now, science was not only shooting holes in the Biblical tale of a young Earth created in mere days, it was suggesting that God didn't even create all animals and plants.

The Scopes Monkey Trial

p> Perhaps no battle in the creationism versus evolution war is more famous than the Scopes Monkey Trial . In 1925, Tennessee schoolteacher John Scopes incriminated himself for teaching evolution in a classroom, purposefully challenging a state law prohibiting evolution from being taught.

The trial was intended to generate publicity, and it worked like a charm. The cast was star-studded: Famous attorney Clarence Darrow defended Scopes, while the three-time populist Presidential candidate Williams Jennings Bryan prosecuted. Americans listened to the court proceedings over the radio.

In the end, Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. The Tennessee Supreme Court later overturned the verdict on a technicality, but upheld the law preventing evolution from being taught. [ 7 Theories on the Origin of Life ]

After the trial, other states enacted their own anti-evolution laws. But gradually, the anti-evolution movement lost steam, and evolution snuck back into textbooks.

U.S. Gets Serious About Science

The teaching of evolution versus creationism was spotty until 1958. The Soviet Union had just launched the Sputnik satellite, and the United States was facing a shortage of mathematicians. Fearing that the Soviet Union was beating the United States in science literacy, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Congress passed the National Defense Education Act, a funding bill designed to improve science education . The teaching of evolution got a shot in the arm from new textbooks, authored by scientists, made possible by the Act.

Court Battles Continue

For all its drama, the Scopes Trial did not settle the issue of whether prohibiting evolution education in schools was unconstitutional. In 1968, the Supreme Court finally weighed in. In 1968, the Court, in the case Epperson v. Arkansas, determined that such bans violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment , which prohibits the government from establishing religion.

In 1987, the Supreme Court made another strike against creationism , using the same argument in Edwards v. Aguillard, which centered around a Louisiana law requiring that if evolution were taught, "creation science" must be taught alongside it. 

All Eyes on Dover

As creationism lost in court, opponents of evolution turned toward arguing for "intelligent design," the idea that a creator guides the process of evolution. In 2005, a local school board in Dover, Penn., required teachers to kick off their biology classes by reading a statement about intelligent design. Parents took the district to court. In the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover, the judge ruled that the school board's rule was, in fact, unconstitutional. Intelligent design, the decision argued, is a religious theory, not a science. 

Bill Nye vs. Ken Ham

In a highly hyped event, science communicator Bill Nye agreed to debate Ken Ham, the founder of Kentucky's Creation Museum and believer in a 6,000-year-old Earth. On Feb. 4, 2014, the two men went head-to-head for almost three hours. Whether or not any headway was made is up for debate, but the debate proved there's still an appetite for culture wars in the United States.

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Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

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Creationism and Evolution Essay

Introduction, the beginning of the universe as described in the bible, compatibility of the story of creation and evolution, should christians choose faith against science, works cited.

The bible in the book of Genesis describes the origin of heaven and earth and everything that is in it; God created everything. However, scientist have come up with a theory suggesting that all living creatures came from a common ancestor as opposed to the story of creation. This essay is a summary of what the bible says about the beginning of the world; a personal opinion is given on whether Christians should oppose what the science claims or not.

In the book of Genesis, God created heaven and earth and everything that is in it. The story of creation is found in the book of Genesis chapters one and two: “The earth was then formless and void, darkness was all over and the spirit of God hovered all over” (The Bible 1).

God went on and separated light and darkness and he called light a day and darkness a night. He also separated water and dry land after which He commanded land to produce seed bearing plants and trees and just by that word, there were seed bearing plants and trees. Living creatures were also created. Lastly, God created man in his own image and blessed him; he gave him power to rule over all his creation and commanded him to fill the world (Mueller 41).

Adam and Eve were later placed in the Garden of Eden and God gave them access to all fruits except fruits from the tree of knowledge of good and evil which was at the middle of the garden. Adam and Eve went against God’s command and ate the fruit they were commanded not to eat. This signified the fall of humanity and a new beginning for the human race (Mueller 40).

Christians believe in the story of creation because, according to their faith, this Supreme Being (God) is able to perform things beyond their understanding. They believe in supernatural things that God can perform and no man can explain. To Christians, the bible is a very important book as it helps them to know who they are, what they ought to do, the right choices that they ought to make and the consequences of those choices.

In addition, the teachings in the bible on the right choices that one should make have been proven to be the best choices since better consequences have been experienced. Christians believe in the bible because many prophecies that were prophesied long time ago have come to pass.

There is a conflict between scientists and Christians which has been brought about by the evolutional theory. According to the evolution theory, all living organisms descended from a common ancestor. According to Charles Darwin (the person who developed the theory), human beings developed from a common species of an animal known as ape. This contradicts the bible since the bible does not state anything close to that. I am therefore of the opinion that these two concepts, creation and evolution are not compatible.

In evolution there is no creator. In fact, we are not even told where the ape originated from. According to the bible, God is the creator of all living things. From the bible we are able to understand our origin, our purpose in life and this helps us to develop an insight as to why we should make some choices (Guenther 1).

Some geologists have also presented theories which suggest that the earth existed even before the biblical creation. I strongly believe that this is not true as there is no evidence to support this. As stated earlier, many things that were written in the bible have come to pass and therefore I have no doubt that the story of creation is true and real (Robinson 1).

The debate on evolution is a big dilemma. Some people advocate that evolution education should be taught in schools while others oppose this idea. In particular, many Christians oppose evolution theory as it contradicts what the bible says.

I am of the opinion that significant changes in species have occurred but the idea of one species evolving to other is quite questionable. However, Christians have a choice to believe or not to believe what the scientists say. They should therefore be careful as they make this decision, as they need to consider the impact it may have on their faith.

Heaven and earth with everything in them were created by God according to the bible. Through faith, Christians strongly believe that God is the owner of the universe and everything that is in it. Scientists on the other hand have come up with a theory that says otherwise and it is therefore very crucial for Christians to decide what to believe in, keeping in mind their faith. Christians should also trust the bible as it is a prophetic book whose prophecies have come to pass.

Guenther, Allen. Creation: A Hermeneutical Study in Genesis 1:1-2:3 . Direction Journals, 1977. Web.

Mueller, John. Saint Mary’s Press Theological Foundation Concepts and Methods for Understanding Christian Faith. New York, NY: 2007. Print.

Robinson, Alex. A brief history of the conflict between evolution and creation science . Religious Tolerance, 2005. Web.

The Bible. The Holy Bible. New International Version . New York, NY: Zondervan. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2024, January 29). Creationism and Evolution. https://ivypanda.com/essays/creationism-and-evolution/

"Creationism and Evolution." IvyPanda , 29 Jan. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/creationism-and-evolution/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Creationism and Evolution'. 29 January.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Creationism and Evolution." January 29, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/creationism-and-evolution/.

1. IvyPanda . "Creationism and Evolution." January 29, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/creationism-and-evolution/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Creationism and Evolution." January 29, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/creationism-and-evolution/.

• Creationism as a Religious Belief
• Creationism, Evolution and Intelligent Design
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• Different Religions: Progressive Creationism
• The Origin of Life: Creationism and Science
• Creationism: Religion or Science?
• Darwinism and Creationism in "Evolution" Documentary
• A Non-Traditional View of the Days of Genesis 1
• Faith and Materialism in Matthew 6:24-30
• What Is a Perfect Christianity?
• Sin and Redemption
• Children Upbringing in Europe
• Impact of the Religious Fundamentalism on Society

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Evolution vs. Creationism. An introduction

2006, Science Education

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This review highlights the key points in this provocative book that challenges the scientific evidence used to support Darwin's Theory of Evolution. This book reveals the scientific, philosophical and theological problems still underlying this most controversial theory. Hunter shows how Western religious traditions in the 300 years before Darwin laid the foundations for the theory of evolution. Most importantly, Darwin and many theologians believed that God must have been capable of creating perfection. So, evidence of any imperfection implies that Evolution Theory is the only credible alternative. The book does a credible job of exposing the flaws in the biologists' confidence in the scientific evidence for Darwin's theory of evolution but fails to provide a convincing alternative for Intelligent Design, so fails to justify its sub-title of Religion's Triumph. This leaves us still in the middle of the ongoing war between Science and Religion as an explanation for the variety of living creatures. This book is the prequel to Hunter's "Darwin's God" (2019) and was followed by "Darwin's Blind Spot" (2007) that was reviewed earlier [see review/essay Naturalism]. The essay part of this paper offers some personal insights on the idea of SPECIES that are central to this debate, based on the systems view of Organisms. These new insights offer an outline of an explanation for the variety of life-forms that challenges both Evolution and Intelligent Design.

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Creation vs. Evolution Persuasive Essay

Table of contents:

• Introduction
• Body paragraphs

The topic of creation vs. evolution is a very controversial one, and therefore extremely popular for the persuasive essay writer. Because the ground has been covered so much, it can be difficult to find a new take on the controversy, and also because it’s such a wide and far-ranging debate, it can be hard to narrow down exactly what you’re going to write about.

Don’t try to tackle the whole discussion. Limit yourself to a few salient points. Make your thesis clear and direct. In debate like this, where for or against can get so heated, you’ll do better by keeping calm and arguing the pros and cons with a rational head on.

Introduction examples

Pro Evolution: Considering the evidence of how we got to where we are today and how things develop over time, the theory of evolution is the more likely one to be true.

Pro Creation: With the enormous complexity of the world, it seems impossible that it all just happened by chance. A Creator is the only way that something so beautiful and improbable could have come about.

Once you’ve established your thesis, you need to move on into the body of your essay. Here you will make your points, laying them out one by one in separate paragraphs, with your evidentiary information as well. On a topic like this, it’s best to try and stick as close to facts as possible, although, as neither creation nor evolution is established fact, you will have to move at some point into the realm of belief.

Body paragraphs examples

Pro Evolution: If we look back at the history of breeding animals, it’s easy to see that we can selectively breed for different traits in species such as dogs. It’s hard to believe that Chihuahuas and Saint Bernards are the same species, but they are, and have simply been bred differently over the years until one is very small and decorative, and the other is a very large working dog. This is evolution in action. If micro-evolution can happen, so can macro-evolution.

Pro Creation: Archaeology is a field ripe with fraud, and many “missing links” have appeared over the years purporting to prove beyond a doubt that evolution is true, but many of them have been found out later to be lies. However, the Bible never lies, and in the Bible, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the only explanation that can be true without needing “missing links” or a spotty fossil record to explain it.

When you are concluding your essay, once you’ve made all your points, it’s important to just repeat back in a concise way what you’ve already said. Then end with a “call to action,” giving your reader the opportunity to see how they feel about evolution vs. creation themselves.

Conclusion examples

Pro Evolution: Evolution as a theory is perfectly cogent and reasonable. It makes sense to look around at the world and see how things change over time. If we can breed plants and animals more towards how we want them, then it makes sense that nature would do the same.

Pro Creation: You don’t need a missing link or a theory. All you need is belief to know that Creation is true.

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• Answers in Genesis

Doing a Report on Creation vs. Evolution

Every school year, students wanting to do a paper on “Creation vs. Evolution” contact Answers in Genesis for our advice and insights. We think it’s great that so many young people are interested in writing on this topic, and we want to provide some helpful guidelines on how to approach the writing on this topic.

Follow the Guidelines

When writing a paper, try always to follow the instructions given by your school or teacher, including sticking to the topic you were assigned. For example, if your set topic is antibiotics , then it would be worth explaining antibiotic resistance. Then, you can explain why this is not an example of particles-to-people evolution since no new information is ever generated. It would not be appropriate, however, to discuss religion vs. science or the age of the earth in such an essay. If you have a report about rock formations, it is perfectly suited to discuss evidence of catastrophic formation of the rocks, but not for talking about the evolutionary basis of Nazism. It is essential to stay focused on the subject and on what you want to convey.

Choosing a Topic

The “Creation vs. Evolution” issue covers a wide range of areas, and it is too broad to be dealt with adequately in just one paper.

If you were not assigned a specific topic, it is wisest to select one particular area of a subject to write about. The “ Creation vs. Evolution ” issue covers a wide range of areas, and it is too broad to be dealt with adequately in just one paper. We suggest choosing one aspect of this debate to focus on—particularly, an area you may find interesting so your research and writing will be enjoyable. We provide some topic suggestions at the end of this article.

What Not to Say

When writing your paper, do not state that “ evolution is just a theory.” This is because the meaning of the word “theory” to you is not the same as its meaning to the evolutionist. To the layman, a “theory” is a guess or a postulation. To a scientist, a “theory” means a well-substantiated explanation of data. Calling evolution a “theory” gives it far too much scientific credit. The evolution conjecture should not be called a “theory.” This gives it unwarranted respectability by association with real theories like that of Relativity, Newton’s Theory of Gravity, the Debye-Hückel theory of electrolytes, etc. All these theories have strong experimental support (although Newton’s theory has been augmented by Einstein’s). In contrast, evolution of life from non-living matter and from one basic type of organism to a different type has not the slightest experimental/observational support.

At Answers in Genesis, we have published several articles about evolution that will help you know what to say when referring to this term.

Answering the “Right” Questions

You are being tested on your knowledge of the course.

Depending on your class and teacher, you may be expected to write about what you’ve been taught in class. The same thing can be said for examinations. You are being tested on your knowledge of the course. Please be aware that these are not appropriate times to “preach.” For example, if you are asked “how old is the Earth?” then the (correct!) answer of ~6000 years will almost certainly be marked wrong because the course most likely would have stated ~4.5 billion years. To avoid lying, we recommend prefixing your answer by saying, “Most scientists believe that. . . ” or “The general consensus among geochronologists is. . . ” Remember, an exam is not a test of your personal beliefs. Instead, it is a test of how well you have learned and understood the material of the course as taught.

When you write a paper to argue a point, try to anticipate possible responses. For example, if you say, “There are no transitional forms,” then your teacher may downgrade you and say, “Haven’t you heard of Archaeopteryx and Lucy?” While these examples are not convincing when looked at in-depth, it would still be better to say, “While Darwin predicted that the fossil record would show numerous transitional fossils, even 140 years later, all we have are a handful of questionable examples.” Or if you say, “There are no beneficial mutations,” your teacher may suggest, however inappropriately, sickle-cell anemia or wingless beetles as examples of mutations that can be beneficial to the organism. It would be better if you say, “Mutations have been observed to destroy, delete or corrupt genetic information or to be neutral, but have not been observed to add information. This is true even of so-called-beneficial mutations like shriveled-eyed cave fish or flightless beetles on windswept islands, where the changes still involve loss of sight or flight. However, particles-to-people evolution requires so many information-increasing mutations that it should be easy to find such mutations happening today, but we have yet to observe even one.” Be tactful and careful in your responses.

Do Your Homework

When writing a paper on creation science, do your homework thoroughly and ensure you use the most up-to-date research.

When writing a paper on creation science, do your homework thoroughly and ensure you use the most up-to-date research. Familiarize yourself with the best creation science has to offer, and do not use these doubtful arguments . Because you are discussing creation science, you will be held to a higher standard, and you want to be sure to represent Christ in excellence.

• Evolution Exposed: Biology
• Evolution Exposed: Earth Science
• Check This Out Video Series
• Christian Law Association’s “Rights in Public Schools”

We also have some suggested topics that might help you as you decide what to write about. We have organized them generally by topic below, and we recommend some resources in each section to help you with those topics.

What should we know when comparing creation vs. evolution?

Is this really an issue of religion vs. science, or is it the historical science of one religion vs the historical science of another religion? What are the philosophical presuppositions of each side?

• Get Answers: Worldview
• Get Answers: Apologetics
• Get Answers: World Religion
• Get Answers: Evidence of Evolution
• Creation: “Where’s the Proof?”
• How Old Does the Earth Look?
• The Lie: Evolution/Millions of Years
• The New Answers Books

What is “Information theory”?

What are its implications for the creation / evolution issue?

Recommended resources :

• Get Answers: Information Theory
• In the Beginning was Information (technical—for senior math students only)
• Evolution: Not a Chance

Do things look created or mindlessly evolved?

Is there evidence of design in the world?

• Get Answers: Design in Nature

What are the logical implications of adopting an evolutionary worldview?

• Get Answers: Creation: Why it matters
• Get Answers: Darwin and Racism
• Get Answers: Racism
• One Race One Blood

Is there evidence for a young earth and universe?

• Get Answers: Age of the Earth
• Get Answers: Geology

Can life really come from non-life as (chemical) evolution suggests?

• Get Answers: Origin of Life

What about neo-Darwinism (mutations plus natural selection)?

Can it explain the increased genetic information required for microbe-to-man evolution ?

• Get Answers: Mutations
• Get Answers: Natural Selection

What about the so-called “evidence” for evolution?

• Get Answers: Human Evolution
• Get Answers: What Makes Us Human?
• Get Answers: Fossils
• Get Answers: “Vestigial” Organs
• Is There Really a God? How Would You Answer?

Are popular depictions of the Scopes Trial accurate?

What is the lesson to be learned?

(Read this testimony of a student who used this material on the Scopes Trial.)

• Get Answers: Scopes Trial
• The Truth About the Scopes Trial!

Recommended Resources

• Creation Vacations
• Curricula Resources
• Online Courses
• Church Curriculum
• Public School
• Spurgeon Sermons
• Study Guides
• Vacation Bible School
• Train Up a Child

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