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"The Biblical doctrine of creation is one of the richest doctrines revealed to us by God.

It reveals to us that the God who loves us is also the God who created us and all things; at once it establishes the relationship between the God of religious faith and the God of physical reality.

It is because of creation that we trust in the reality of a physical and moral structure to the universe, which we can explore as scientists and experience as persons.

It is because of creation that we know that the universe and everything in it depends moment-by-moment upon the sustaining power and activity of God.

It is because of creation that we know that we are not the end-products of meaningless processes in an impersonal universe, but men and women made in the image of a personal God. It is by the formulation of "creation out of nothing" that we affirm that God created the universe freely and separately, and reject the alternatives of dualism and pantheism.

To worship God as Creator is to emphasize both His transcendence over the natural order and His imminence in the natural order; it is to recognize that His mode of existence as Creator is completely other than our mode of existence as created.

To appreciate God as Creator is to recognize that which He created as intrinsically good; the rationale for scientific investigation, the assurance of ultimate personal meaning in life, and the nature of evil as an aberration on a good creation are all intrinsic to such an appreciation.

We believe in creation. It is unthinkable for a Christian to do otherwise."

Richard Bube-1971

Darwin confided the following to Harvard botanist Asa Gray in a letter of May 1860:

"I had no intention to write atheistically….I can see no reason, why a man, or other animal, may not have been aboriginally produced by other laws; & that all these laws may have been expressly designed by an omniscient Creator, who foresaw every future event & consequence. But the more I think the more bewildered I become."--
Charles Darwin to Asa Gray- 1860

I never knew the newspapers were so profoundly interesting. North America does not do England justice; I have not seen or heard of a soul who is not with the North. Some few, and I am one of them, even wish to God, though at the loss of millions of lives, that the North would proclaim a crusade against slavery. In the long-run, a million horrid deaths would be amply repaid in the cause of humanity. What wonderful times we live in! Massachusetts seems to show noble enthusiasm. Great God! How I should like to see the greatest curse on earth—slavery—abolished!

Charles Darwin to Asa Gray June 5, 1861.

The case for Cosmic Ancestry is not yet proven, of course. At this point the best reason to notice it is that the mainstream Darwinian paradigm does not satisfactorily account for sustained evolutionary progress and the origin of life on Earth. We will mention some of the flaws in the Darwinian account, but our primary purpose is to present Cosmic Ancestry as a viable, new scientific account of evolutionary progress and the origin of life on Earth.

Brig Klyce 

 

Bloggers Coment!

Science False So Called

 August  2010
The Theories of Natural Selection and Evolution are not science because they cannot be tested. They fall into the philosophical realm of tautology. A tautology is a formula whose negation is unsatisfiable. Karl Popper (1902-1994) wrote extensively about this problem to the irritation of evolutionists. Although they disagreed with him, they were never able to negate his philosophically arguments. Karl Popper famously stated "Darwinism is not a testable scientific theory, but a metaphysical research program. One of his greatest critiques of evolutionists is that they only looked for evidence to support their theory. True scientific method searches for other evidence, forms other hypotheses and seeks to disprove the favored hypothesis. None of this is allowed in the field of evolutionary studies. Strangely, as critical as Popper was of evolutionary science, he remained committed to it.

It's "Only a Theory"

Benjamin... The fact is, evolution is a theory to explain numerous facts, not a single fact to be tested in a laboratory. Christians often argue that "evolution is only a theory, not a fact," as if it's some nebulous philosophy. When we say those things, we completely embarrass ourselves. Evolution is indeed "only a theory," BUT a theory is higher than a fact, for a theory explains all the facts. We don't say that the theory of gravity is "only a theory." The theory of gravity will never grow up into a fact. All the creation scientists have to do is produce one fact that does not fit within the theory of evolution, and the theory will be changed or undone. In fact, science is a very competitive field, and you only make a name for yourself by proving that something someone said before you is wrong. Scientists would LOVE a verifiable test that can be repeated in a laboratory that would fit outside the theory of evolution so a newer, more comprehensive theory can take its place. In fact, I believe someday that will come. Just as the theory of gravity was subsumed into the far more encompassing theory of relativity, so the theory of evolution will continue to be expanded to give us a clearer picture of the workings of nature.

But to call it a mere philosophy that isn't falsifiable is misguided. All a creation scientist has to do is head into laboratory with a primitive form of bacteria and let these bacteria reproduce for a period of ten years. An entire generation of bacteria live and die within about a 24 hour period. Over a period of years, thousands of generations pass, giving us a chance to observe evolution in a fast forward mode. All creation scientists have to do is conduct this experiment and demonstrate that no evolution has occurred. But in fact, scientists have already done this with upwards of 30,000 generations of bacteria reproduction and have seen repeatable and predictable evolutionary changes in the bacteria. In fact, this happens with viruses, which is why we have to have a different flu shot each year. We kill the viruses, but the mutated generations live to evolve into a new strain. If you believe evolution is a false philosophy, don't get your flu shot.

But here's where God screams out his name. Each time these bacteria tests have been done, these bacteria evolve in nearly the same way each time. What this demonstrates is that evolution is not "random," but directed. That shows intelligence and purpose. Rewind the clock of time, refire the big bang, and eventually, you'd have upright intelligent creatures that are fully self-aware and capable of knowing and worshiping God. Evolution may appear random on a micro scale, but the broader picture reveals purpose and design. Unfortunately, we Christians have surrendered the territory known as science and have left Dawkins and company to interpret the data to a new generation of future atheists. We will answer for that someday.

 

 

| ASA Statements | Biblical/Theological Papers |
| Evolution Basics |
Historical Papers
| | News | Polls | Resources | Scientific Papers |
 | Spectrum of Views | On-line Science Journals | Youth Resources |

 

       

No topic in the world of 'science and Christianity' has fostered the intensity of discussion and disharmony with evangelicals as the source of biological diversity. The pages of Perspectives  on Science and Christian Faith (PSCF) reflect the tensions for a community which claims to  value both the Bible and science yet finds it difficult to forge a view on origins that takes in to account both areas of revelation. Various  faith-science blogs debate the details and new discoveries with great gusto.

 

           St Augustine offers this advice:

"...In matters that are so obscure and far beyond our vision, we find in Holy Scripture passages which can be interpreted in very different ways without prejudice to the faith we have received. In such cases, we should not rush in headlong and so firmly take our stand on one side that, if further progress in the search of truth justly undermines this position, we too fall with it. That would be to battle not for the teaching of Holy Scripture but for our own, wishing its teaching to conform to ours, whereas we ought to wish ours to conform to that of Sacred Scripture."

A June 2011 Christianity Today article "The Search for the Historical Adam" and a later web site editorial "No Adam, No Eve, No Gospel" drew much interest from  evangelical publications, web pages, and bloggers of many persuasions.  It described recent advances in genetics that suggested the need for reconsideration of the traditional Christian understanding of Adam and Eve. In short, well established genetic studies have concluded that humanity could not have begun with an initial human pair uniquely given souls by God; rather the complexity of the human genome required an original population of ~1,000.

 

While anti-evolution advocates sought to pick holes in the scientific picture, biblical scholars have sought to develop interpretations that join an evolutionary process with the biblical text. C. John Collins (Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? Crossway 2011) finds a contemporary population while Peter Enns, The Evolution of Adam, What the Bible Does and Doesn't Say about Human Origins, Brazos Press (2012) sees Genesis as not directed to primarily provide objective historical and scientific information but to offer a statement of the story of nation of Israel within the context of Near East history.

 

Others treat the biblical text in a different way. However most feel the Augustinian picture to be persuasive. There is certainly much more at stake here than with earlier science-faith impasses in medicine or astronomy.  


It is important that the reader review the basic themes of the topics "About Science and Faith" and "The Bible and Science."  These sections will prepare you for the challenges of Ancient Near East literature, the enduring misunderstandings produced by erroneous readings of the Hebrew text, claims that the Bible anticipates aspects of modern science, translations biased by the influence of ancient philosophy, the claims of modern statements on the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, controversies over literal vs. symbolic readings of early Genesis, and much more..

All of this is taking place in an active scientific environment concerned with related topics.


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A Recent News Item:   "A 4.4 million-year-old skeleton nicknamed “Ardi” by scientists who
found her remains in Ethiopia show this earliest known ancestor of humans was a lot more like us than chimps or apes-"- Bloomberg.                                                       

 


Our page points to PSCF and other sources that focus on the religious significance of the
creation/evolution issue and concerns over the evidence that supports evolution. The ASA has no official position on evolution; its members hold a diversity of views with varying degrees of intensity.

Advocates and foes of evolution alike have often gone far beyond the science of the subject to advance various causes. Despite the cries of those who claim a corner on the Truth, the importance of "beliefs" and "feelings" on all sides reduces the chances for consensus. Too often, would-be authors are not familiar with current research. Scientists, philosophers and theologians are rightly concerned with those who would speak learnedly about fields with which they have only a surface knowledge.

 

Today's spirited discussion often pits Christian vs. Christian and scientist vs. scientist when it comes to points of interpretation. Public debates over education and the "culture wars" keep the pot boiling. We offer creditable resources from which the reader can draw his/her own position.

Try these two articles:

Harry L. Poe, "The English Bible and the Days of Creation: When Tradition Conflicts with Text,"   PSCF 66, Sept. 2014: (130-139) PDF  and

David L. Wilcox, "Genetic Insights for Human Origins in Africa and for Later Neanderthal Contact." PSCS 66, Sept. 2014: (140-153). PDF


Recent polls that indicate the mood of the American public:

Public’s Views on Human Evolution


According to a new Pew Research Center analysis, six-in-ten Americans (60%) say that “humans and other living things have evolved over time,” while a third (33%) reject the idea of evolution, saying that “humans and other living things have existed in their present form since the beginning of time.”
.

In U.S., 46% Hold Creationist View of Human Origins: Highly religious Americans most likely to believe in creationism

PRINCETON, NJ -- Forty-six percent of Americans believe in the creationist view that God created humans in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years. The prevalence of this creationist view of the origin of humans is essentially unchanged from 30 years ago, when Gallup first asked the question. About a third of Americans believe that humans evolved, but with God's guidance; 15% say humans evolved, but that God had no part in the process. more

 

Joe E Martin, " Compatibility of Major U.S. Christian Denominations with Evolution,

 Evo Edu Outreach (2010) 3:420–431 (on-line)   ...."An informal survey of major Christian organizations and denominations in the United States, based mostly on publicly available statements, indicates that in fact most Christians, as represented by their governing bodies, view evolution as being compatible with their faith. Although on a worldwide basis this is largely a result of the high number (estimated at 1.2 billion) of adherents to Catholicism, even in the  United States, where Protestants outnumber Catholics and where anti-evolution sentiment runs high there is more acceptance than non-acceptance of evolution among Christians, based on statements from their organizing bodies or spokespersons."

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Sixty+ years of ASA publications reflect the paths that English speaking evangelicals have
taken on biological origins.  What was essentially a 1950s concordistic - literal approach between  the early chapters of Genesis and the science of the day has become a complex matrix of literary and concordistic treatments that take into account ancient Near East (ANE) cultures and recent advances in the scientific understanding of nature.


A Spectrum of Creation Views held by Evangelicals

 

All Christians in the sciences affirm the central role of the Logos in creating and maintaining the universe. In seeking to describe how the incredible universe has come to be, a variety of views has emerged in the last two hundred yeaVaticanPicrs as continuing biblical and scientific scholarship have enabled deeper understanding of God's word and world. Challenges to the church via cultural issues have had their effects on faith science thinking.

Today we see a range of views on natural history that have developed out of a 'Christian' worldview. They vary according to the place of scripture and science in the telling of the story. The place of direct actions of God and 'so-called' secondary causes are  key features of each story. How one reads the Bible, the role of theology, scientific details and theory, and the philosophy of science each color our thinking.

 

The Evangelical Spectrum:

       

Apparent Old Creation: The universe is recent as recorded in the Bible but created to look old as found by scientific studies.  Al Mohler


Old-earth Creation - Ruin - Reconstruction: Christian Geology Ministry, Gaines R. Johnson

 

Old-earth progressive creation: God's direct role in creation as consisting of separate
creative acts spread out over several billion years of time. J. J. Davis, G. Mills, Hugh Ross - Reasons to Believe

 

Evolving Creation (Theistic Evolution): God's activity is typically progressive in time, and
potentially understandable in terms of cause-and-effect sequences of physical or historical
events. K. Miller, Robert, J. Schneider, Denis R. Venema

 

One Time Creation: God has created a universe which depends continually upon God, but
which has been endowed with the ability to accomplish what God wants it to accomplish
without any "corrections" or "interventions." G. Murphy, H. VanTill

 

 

We provide a series of papers and books that emphasize various aspects of biological origins. They are arranged under the categories of  Historical, Scientific, and Biblical/Theological papers.

 

Then follows a friendly exchange in PSCF on evolutionary psychology. An earlier dialogue Theistic Evolution offers  a shorter introduction. Younger surfers should check-out Fish Wars.

Many anti-evolution ministries parade the alleged and real deficiencies of evolutionary descriptions for the development of life - a half empty cup that cannot be filled. An alternative approach sees - a cup half filled that needs work - which seems more appropriate for an organization of scientist-Christians.
 ________________________________________________________

Evolution Basics

Non-coding half of human genome unlocked with novel sequencing technique

Recent News:   Texas A&M University biology doctoral student John C. Aldrich (left), working with associate professor of biology Dr. Keith A. Maggert (right), has developed an inexpensive, fluorescent-dye-based sequencing technique to monitor DNA-related dyanmics in heterochromatin -- a game-changing discovery that lays the groundwork to study the non-coding half of the human genome.

October 7, 2014


UF researchers include humans in most comprehensive tree of life to date

Filed under on Thursday, February 7, 2013.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — An international team of scientists including University of Florida researchers has generated the most comprehensive tree of life to date on placental mammals, which are those bearing live young, including bats, rodents, whales and humans. Appearing Thursday in the journal Science, the study details how researchers used both genetic and physical traits to reconstruct the common ancestor of placental mammals, the creature that gave rise to many mammals alive today. The data show that contrary to a commonly held theory, the group diversified after the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago. The research may help scientists better understand how mammals survived past climate change and how they may be impacted by future environmental conditions.

 

A Biologos video which address the age question. 17 min. (2012)

 

 Thomas Wynn, " Into the mind of a Neanderthal" New Scientist 18 January 2012

What would have made them laugh? Or cry? Did they love home more than we do? Meet the real Neanderthals.  A NEANDERTHAL walks into a bar and says... well, not a lot, probably.  Certainly he or she could never have delivered a full-blown joke of the type modern humans would recognize because a joke hinges on surprise juxtapositions of unexpected or impossible events. Cognitively, it requires quite an advanced theory of mind to put oneself in the position of one or more of the actors in that joke - and enough working memory (the ability to actively hold information in your mind and use it in various ways). more...

 


29+ Evidences for Macroevolution: The Scientific Case for Common Descent Douglas Theobald, Ph.D. Version 2.89 2012

Introduction:   Evolution, the overarching concept that unifies the biological sciences, in fact embraces a plurality of theories and hypotheses. In evolutionary debates one is apt to hear evolution roughly parceled between the terms "microevolution" and "macroevolution". Microevolution, or change beneath the species level, may be thought of as relatively small scale change in the functional and genetic constituencies of populations of organisms. That this occurs and has been observed is generally undisputed by critics of evolution. What is vigorously challenged, however, is macroevolution. Macroevolution is evolution on the "grand scale" resulting in the origin of higher taxa. In evolutionary theory, macroevolution involves common ancestry, descent with modification, speciation, the genealogical relatedness of all life, transformation of species, and large scale functional and structural changes of populations through time, all at or above the species level (Freeman and Herron 2004Futuyma 1998Ridley 1993).from t.o archives.

 

A Ladder to the Protein Moon

 

This PBS resource is a good startingpoint


See a detailed list of "Early Humans". We thank Ashley, a student at the Kent School for directing us to this site.

The Theological Dilemma of Evolution

In this Biologos  series, Gordon J. Glover examines both sides to the evolution controversy as it relates to the Bible. He asserts that whether evolution is true or false, it creates theological problems. Therefore, it is necessary for pastors,  seminary professors, and theologians to seriously consider the facts and facilitate honest discussion about the issues at hand.

 

Discovering the tree of Life  Video (10 min.) Yale University Peabody Museum of Natural History

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PSCF Special Issue SEPTEMBER 2010

"Adam and Eve as Historical People, and Why It Matters," C. John Collins
The best way to account for both the biblical presentation of human life and our own experience in the world is to suppose that Adam and Eve were real persons, and the forebears of all other human beings. The biblical presentation concerns not simply the story in Genesis and the biblical passages that refer to it, but also the larger biblical storyline, which deals with God’s good creation invaded by sin, for which God has a redemptive plan; Israel’s calling to be a light to the nations; and the church’s prospect of successfully bringing God’s light to the whole world. The biblical presentation further concerns the unique role and dignity of the human race, which is a matter of daily experience for everyone: all people yearn for God and need him, depend on him to deal with  their sinfulness, and crave a wholesome community for their lives to flourish.
 


"Genesis and the Genome: Genomics Evidence for Human-Ape Common Ancestry and Ancestral Hominid Population Sizes," Dennis R. Venema 

 The relatively new and rapidly expanding field of comparative genomics provides a wealth of data useful for testing the hypothesis that humans and other forms of life share common ancestry. Numerous independent lines of genomics evidence strongly support the hypothesis that our species shares a common ancestor with other primates. Additional lines of evidence also indicate that our species  has maintained a population size of at least several thousand individuals since our speciation from the ancestors of other great apes. This article will provide an overview of genomics evidence for common ancestry and hominid population sizes, and briefly discuss the implications of these lines of evidence for scientific concordist approaches to the Genesis narratives.

 

Recent Genetic Science and Christian Theology on Human Origins: An “Aesthetic Supralapsarianism” John R. Schneider 

Recent genomic science strongly supports the theory of common ancestry. To classical  Protestants,  particularly, this theory seems incompatible with Scripture, most especially with the “historical Fall,” which Protestants presume to be manifestly biblical and so have cemented it securely into their confessions and theology as a whole. Nevertheless,  John Schneider proposes that it is important for traditional Protestants to consider alternatives to this essentially “Augustinian”  view. He invites readers to examine Eastern thinking (mainly in Irenaeus of Lyon) together with a minority of Protestants (such as
Karl Barth and supralapsarian Calvinists), for whom the Incarnation and Atonement are the purpose of creation from the beginning.  Their understanding differs from the execution of divine “Plan B,” as implied by the Augustinian western version of an unintended “fall”  from utopian first conditions. Schneider appeals to a fresh reading of the book of Job in support of an “aesthetic supralapsarianism,” which sustains Protestant virtues of biblical authority, divine sovereignty, and grace, while opening avenues to compatibility with evolutionary science.

"After Adam: Reading Genesis in an Age of Evolutionary Science," Daniel C. Harlow

Recent research in molecular biology, primatology, sociobiology, and phylogenetics indicates that the species Homo sapiens cannot be traced back to a single pair of individuals, and that the earliest human beings did not come on the scene in anything like paradisal physical or moral conditions. It is therefore difficult to read Genesis 1–3 as a factual account of human origins. In current Christian thinking about Adam and Eve, several scenarios are on offer. The most compelling one regards Adam and Eve as strictly literary figures—characters in a divinely inspired story about the imagined past that intends to teach theological, not historical, truths about God, creation, and humanity. Taking a nonconcordist approach, this article examines Adam and Eve  as symbolic literary figures from the perspective of mainstream biblical scholarship, with attention both to the text of Genesis and ancient Near Eastern parallels. Along the way, it explains why most interpreters do not find the doctrines of the Fall and original sin in the text of Genesis 2–3, but only in later Christian readings of it. This article also examines briefly Paul’s appeal to Adam as a type of Christ. Although a historical Adam and Eve have been very important in the Christian tradition, they are not central to biblical theology as such. The doctrines of the Fall and original sin may be reaffirmed without a historical Adam and Eve, but invite reformulation given the overwhelming evidence for an evolving creation.

Nick Spencer and Denis Alexander, Rescuing Darwin: God and Evolution in Britain Today 2009 (Theos) e-book 

Adrian Desmond and James Moore,   Darwin's Sacred Cause: How a Hatred of Slavery Shaped Darwin's Views on Human Evolution, Hardcover,  Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2009. "Arresting . . . confront[s] the touchy subject of Darwin and race head on . . .

ADAM’S ANCESTORS: Race, Religion, and the Politics of Human Origins by David N. Livingstone. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. 301 pages.
 PSCF Review

 


 

 

 

 

ASA Statements

Richard H. Bube, "We Believe in Creation," Journal of the American Scientific Affiliation (PSCF), 23 (June 1971):121-122.


ASA Executive Council, "A Voice For Evolution as Science," PSCF, 44 (December 1992): 252.

 

ASA Creation Commission Statement (August 2000)


Historical Papers

 

 Hiram Caton, Getting Our History Right: Six Errors about Darwin and His Influence www.epijournal.net  5(1) 2007: 52-69.

James Moore , Evolution and Wonder : Understanding Charles Darwin (July 20,2006) on Charles Darwin’s view of religion,Aging Darwin adaptation, and creation. Audio interview

Edward  O. Dodson, Toldot Adam: A Little-Known Chapter in
the History  of Darwinism, PSCF 52.1: 47-54 (3/2000).

Sara Joan Miles, Charles Darwin and Asa Gray Discuss Teleology
and Design PSCF 53.3:196-201, 2001.

Michael Roberts, Was Darwin a Christian? PSCF 52.2:84-85 (6/2000).

 

Lectures

Dennis Lamoureux, "Beyond the Evolution - Creation Debate" (2003)

 

Scientific Papers


David Lathi, "Looking to the Birds: A Perspective on the Interpretation of Nature,"
PSCF 55 (March  2003): 14-21

 

John Bracht, Natural Selection as an Algorithm: Why Darwinian Processes Lack the
Information Necessary to Evolve Complex Life
PSCF 54.4:264-269 (12/2002)

 

Glenn R. Morton, "Transitional Forms and the Evolution of Phyla," PSCF 53.1 (March 2001): 
42-51.

Ronald G. Larson, "Viral Evolution: Climbing Mount Molehill?" PSCF 52 (September 2000):
169.

Lahti, David, Evolutionary Theory Misunderstood PSCF 52.3:215-217 (9/2000).

Armin Held, & Peter Rust,"Genesis Reconsidered" PSCF 51.4:231-243 (12/1999).

Gordon C. Mills, "A Design Theory of Progressive Creation." A series of five papers
from 1995 - 1999 describing Dr. Mills' views.

Peter Rust, "How Has Life and Diversity Been Produced?" PSCF 44 (June 1992): 80.


Junghyung, Kim, "Naturalistic versus Eschatological Theologies of Evolution," PSCF
63 (June 2011):95.


Snoke, David, Why Were Dangerous Animals Created? PSCF 56.2:117-125 (6/2004)


Fischer, Dick, Young-Earth Creationism: A Literal Mistake PSCF 55.4:222-231 (12/2003)


Morton, Glenn R. & Simons, Gordon, Random Worms: Evidence of Random and
Nonrandom Processes in the Chromosomal Structure of Archaea, Bacteria and
Eukaryotes PSCF 55.3:175-184 (9/2003)


Richard Thornhill, "The Panda's Thumb: Design and Optimality from Plato to Endo"
PSCF 55 (March3003): 32-35.


Newman, Robert C., Some Problems for Theistic Evolution PSCF 55.2:117-128
(6/2003).

 
Merideth G. Kline, "Space and Time in the Genesis Cosmogony," PSCF 48 (March 1996): 2


George L. Murphy, "Chiasmic Cosmology and Creation's Functional Integrity, "PSCF 53
(March 2001):7 - 13.

Howard J. Van Till, . "Basil, Augustine, and the Doctrine of Creation's Functional
Integrity
." Science & Christian Belief 8, No. 1 (1996): 21-38.


Davis Young, "The Antiquity and the Unity of the Human Race Revisted," Christian
Scholar's Review XXIV:4,380-396 (May, 1995)


A Historical Note

 

One of the first to carry out a controlled evolution experiment was the Rev. William H. Dallinger, a minister in the English Wesleyan Methodist Church. A talented and persistent amateur scientist, he was the first to study the complete life cycle of unicellular organisms under the microscope and the adaptation of such organisms to changes in temperature. He cultivated small unicellular organisms in a custom-built incubator over a time period of seven years (1880-1886). Dallinger slowly increased the temperature of the incubator from an initial 60 °F up to 158 °F. The early cultures had shown clear signs of distress at a temperature of 73 °F, and were certainly not capable of surviving at 158 °F. The organisms Dallinger had in his incubator at the end of the experiment, on the other hand, were viable at 158 °F. However, these organisms would not grow anymore at the initial 60 °F. He concluded that this was was clear evidence for Darwinian adaptation, and that the organisms had adapted to live in a high-temperature environment. Unfortunately, Dallinger's incubator was accidentally destroyed in 1886, and he was unable to continue this line of research. His approach was followed by numerous workers in the early 20th Century. --JWH

Youth Resources


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/humans/index.html  
http://www.peoplefinders.com/article-archaeological-finds-of-early-human s.aspx >
http://anthro.palomar.edu/primate/prim_8.htmThe
http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/index.html
http://www.evotutor.org/


General Books

Bethany Sollereder,  "God and Evolution: A Review of Four Contemporary  Books,"
PSCF 61 (March 2009): 40-48.  

SAVING DARWIN: How to Be a Christian and Believe in Evolution by Karl W. Giberson. New York: HarperOne, 2008. 248 pages, notes, index. Hardcover; $24.95. I
SBN: 0061228788.

ONLY A THEORY: Evolution and the Battle for America’s Soul by Kenneth R. Miller.
New York: Viking Adult, 2008. 244 pages, notes, index. Hardcover; $25.95. I
SBN: 067001883X.

THANK GOD FOR EVOLUTION: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World by Michael Dowd. New York: Viking Adult, 2008. 413 pages,

EVOLUTIONARY CREATION: A Christian Approach to Evolution by Denis O. Lamoureux.  Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2008. 493 pages, appendices, notes, glossary, index. Paperback; $55.00. ISBN: 1556355815.

 TextPageKeith B. Miller, editor; Perspectives on an Evolving Creation 2003 Eerdmans.
A strong Christian case for evolutionary theory According to the authors of this book, who explore  evolutionary theory from a clear Christian perspective, the common view of conflict between evolutionary  theory and Christian faith is mistaken. Written by contributors representing the natural sciences, philosophy, theology, and the history of science, this thought-provoking work is informed by both solid
scientific knowledge and keen theological insight. PSCF Review


ebooks: (free)

Evangelicals, Evolution, and Academics (2008) A series of short articles by Steve Martin, Keith Miller, Dennis Verema, Steve Matheson, Karl Giberson, Gordon Glover, Douglas Hayworth, and Ted Davis; edited by Steve Martin.

Ebook and Index for the Student Perspective Series (2009)

Marlowe C. Embree, The Social Psychology of the Origins  Debate (2008) An
examination of how our attitudes and beliefs are formed, how bias and prejudice affect  our interaction with others, and how our thinking styles and personality profiles are important factors, all within the context of the origins debate.

Charles Darwin (1838-41) The Voyage of the Beagle

Charles Darwin (1859) The Origin of Species

Charles Darwin (1871) The Descent of Man


Reference Works

Frederick Gregory, Nature Lost? Natural Science and the German Theological Traditions
of the Nineteenth Century. MA: Harvard University Press, 1992.


Ronald L. Numbers. The Creationists. New York: Alfred Knopf, 1992.
____. Darwinism Comes to America, 1998
____________________________________________________________________
Concluding reflections

A Physicist and a historian.

Americans remain "a spectacularly religious" people..as long as this is the case...there will be an intense discussion about origins. Science permeates all of American society from top to bottom. The rub comes where  the scientific elite wields its cultural dominance irresponsibly and carelessly identifies "scientific knowledge of origins" with an "exhaustive knowledge or understanding of origins" and thereby dismisses religious views as "primitive and therefore false." Religious groups have a responsibility to appreciate that this is an advanced scientific culture and deal with the tough issues that come up. ...the origins debate in America will not go away.

 --Giberson and Yerxa, Eastern Nazerene College in Species of Origins: America's Search for a Creation Story.

A Philosopher

The present state of the evolution versus religion controversy is that it is currently being played out as a social, political, and broadly cultural contest roughly equivalent to the "red-state" and "blue-state" political conflict. The  controversy begun in large volumes of theological and scientific speculation in Victorian times has now descended to the level of a bumper-sticker war, in the competing Jesus and Darwin fish symbols that appear on the rear of automobiles.  Evolutionary proponents continue to publish popular books claiming that evolutionary concepts can solve every mystery of human existence while religious critics continue to promote biblical "science"  and to exploit the explanatory gaps in orthodox Darwinian theory. French culture and history moved on from the  political conflicts that resulted from the Dreyfus affair and left them unresolved. Attempts to resolve the conflicts  resulting from the religion versus evolution controversy are not likely to be successful because evolutionary materialism and biblical literalism have become political.




Books on Genesis

 

--John Caiazza, Rivier College 

 


 

 

 

 John Walton  2009. The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Non-literal days. Genesis reflects ancient cosmology.


John Lennox, Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science (2011)


  • C. John Collins, Report of the Creation Study Committee (Presbyterian Church in America, 2000) A balanced and thorough examination of Genesis 1-3 by a conservative reformed denomination.



  • Genesis 1-15 by Gordon J. Wenham (Waco, TX : Word Books, c1987.)

    Other ANE Creation Texts

    Dialogues

     

    Evolutionary Psychology


    News and Discussion

    Earth's early battering revealed     Detailed analysis of the oldest rocks on Earth
    throws new light on one of our planet's most violent phases. BBC News


    Resources

    AIBS Evolution Page

    The Complete Work of Charles Darwin This site currently contains more than 50,000 searchable text pages and 40,000 images of both publications and handwritten manuscripts. There is also the most comprehensive Darwin bibliography ever published and the largest manuscript catalogue ever assembled.

    More than 150 ancillary texts are also included, ranging from secondary reference works to contemporary reviews, obituaries, published descriptions of Darwin's Beagle specimens and important related works for understanding Darwin's context.


    Robert Schneider has written an up-to-date series of essays on the theme of Creation.


    Thanks to P. Rust, P. Garrison, D. Fischer,  G. Murphy, R. Miller, D. Campbell, T.  Davis, M. Roberts, G. Glover, S. Martin and T. Gray for their helpful advice .


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