Evolution Vs. Intelligent Design - Part 3

These posts are based off of a project I presented for my History and Logic of Science class. I decided to put them up here as a possible resource for Christians. Too many Christians have given up the intellectual battle against atheism and evolution and all they stand for. We have been bullied into thinking that we don't even get a seat at the table to discuss such things. Christians need to know that faith and reason are not mutually exclusive, in fact they go hand in hand. Christians need to know that believing in the Bible and in a God who created the universe and everything in it is intellectually defensible.



The Fossil Record

Perhaps the largest problem with the theory of evolution is found in the fossil record. Darwin knew that this was perhaps the biggest flaw in his theory.
He said, “The number of intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed on the earth, [must] be truly enormous. Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.” (The Origin of Species)


“It was perfectly obvious to Darwin and his contemporaries, who had the difficult task of convincing their skeptical colleagues of the validity of evolution, that transitional forms were essential to the credibility of their claims. The fact that they were largely missing was acknowledged to be a major flaw in their argument (Denton 158).” Darwin simply thought that this was due to the fact that paleontology simply had not made many discoveries yet, but he was confident that over the next several years more and more discoveries would be made to provide evidence of transitional forms.


It has now been over one hundred years since that time and not one confirmed transitional form has been uncovered. The general illustration that is used to understand the large variation in species is “the Tree of Life” or a cone that is extending outward. This however is not what is found in the fossil record. What we find in the fossil record is sudden appearance of species, sudden disappearance of species, and stasis of the species while it is there. There is no transition from one species to another as portrayed in the tree of life illustration. Evolutionist have tried to point to a small handful of fossils that are claimed to be the “missing link” between species; such as, Archaeopteryx [a bird], Ambulocetus [a land mammal], and Acanthostega [an amphibian]. But a closer examination of these fail to show an actual transition from one species to another. They are simply a separate species of their own.


Darwin’s theory (a) predicts that fossil transitions between different types of organisms will be found. When transitions were not found, evolutionists proposed punctuated equilibrium (b), where the transitional forms existed briefly, and were not fossilized. Model (C) represents the fossil record with regards to the origin of the phyla. The sudden appearance of organisms points to design, not evolution.
http://www.ideacenter.org/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/1096


The tree of life illustration also shows that all life started out in a small number of species and then began to branch out further and further, thus creating the cone effect. This is the opposite of what is found in the fossil record. The fossil record shows that there was a lot more types of species early on and they have dwindled down over the years to a fewer number of species. The fossil record shows an upside down tree of life, in a sense. The fossil record is a clear and consistent contradiction to evolutionists and they do not generally have an adequate answer for this problem.


Bibliography
Behe, Michael J. Darwin’s Black Box. New York: Touchstone, 1996.

Behe, Michael J. “Evidence for Intelligent Design from Biochemistry”
(http://www.arn.org/docs/behe/mb_idfrombiochemistry.htm)

Chambers, Roger. “Darwin in Fantasyland” Christian Standard. Oct. 17th, 1982.

Davis, Percival and Dean H. Kenyon. Of Pandas and People. Dallas: Haughton
Publishing Company, 2004.

Denton, Michael. Evolution: A Theory in Crisis. Bethesda: Adler & Adler, 1986.

Ham, Kent. “Creation, Where’s the Proof?” Answers In Genesis.
(http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v22/i1/creation.asp)

Johnson, Phillip E. Darwin on Trial. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1993.