Bill Payne wrote:
.......................
> This is a tautology: scientists who believe in evolution have increased
> confidence in evolution. By "evolution" we mean life changing from
> simple to complex via natural process, and I am aware of no observation
> or experiment that has scientifically demonstrated that ascension.
In discussing the IDEA website we've noted its misleading definition
of "Darwinism." Here's a misleading definition of evolution. Evolution is
"descent with modification" not (as a matter of definition) "life changing
from simple to complex." The emergence of a new species would not
necessarily involve any increase in complexity, & might even involve
simplification. This isn't to deny that the complexity of organisms has
increased over the past ~3.5 x 10^9 yr, but that's not inherent in the idea
of evolution.
This is an obvious point but it shows the confusion that can be
caused when people feel free to introduce idiosyncratic definitions of terms
that already have well-established meanings.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
"The Science-Theology Interface"
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