Just a Theory

How would you respond to someone who tells you that he or she does not believe in biological evolution because it is "just a theory"?

In the event that I was told that evolution is “just a theory,” I’d respond as follows here. In March of 2005 a discovery was made that rocked the world of evolutionist scientists. An excavation took place in Bozeman Montana that lasted 3 years. Paleontologists unearthed the skeletal remains of a T-Rex (Mayell, H. 2005). Mary H. Schweitzer, a paleontologist at North Carolina State University in Raleigh took samples from a freshly broken thigh bone and found intact, soft tissue. The finding challenges our knowledge of decay or, more likely, our modern evolutionary concepts of dinosaur extinction. If the extinction, that took place 65 million years ago, did not take place 65 million years ago, the geological time table must be questioned. If the geological time table is questioned and deemed unreliable, the very development of species must be questioned.

It just so happens that many of the greatest opponents to evolution are Christians. Some of those Christians also happen to be respected scientists as well. One such group is the Institute for Creation Research (ICR). ICR began a project RATE (Radioisotopes and the Age of The Earth) that set out to study radioisotope relationships. “It was concluded that the uranium (238U) and polonium (Po) radiohalos frequently found in granitic rocks had to have formed simultaneously.2 This implies that hundreds of millions of years of radioactive decay (at today's rates) had to have occurred in a matter of a few days!” (Snelling, A 2005) Research this and then consider the implications that it presents. The documentation is extensive and ultimately calls the age of the earth into question. With a shortened lifespan for earth the evolutionary concept begins to come apart at the seams.

Another interesting element worth consideration is the map drawn by Admiral Piri Reis. During the year 1513, in the libraries of Constantinople, the Admiral Piri Reis, with the help of older source maps, drafted a map that challenges the current understanding of civilization and dating methods. The map accurately depicts the uncovered coastline of Antarctica. The latest time that this map could’ve been drawn, according to modern dating methods and theories concerning the ice caps, was 4000BC and the earliest time was around 13,000BC (Hancock, G ). From this small piece of information one can trace out evidence for advanced civilization in prehistoric times, evidence for a flood, and ultimately evidence for a younger earth with an inconsistent geological time table.

Another difficulty within evolution is known as the Cambrian explosion. Many scientists grapple with the inconsistency between the theory and the evidence. “The question of how so many immense changes occurred in such a short time is one that stirs scientists. Why did many fundamentally different body plans evolve so early and in such profusion?” (WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. 2001) The proposed answers draw heavily on speculation.

Some point to the increase in oxygen that began around 700 million years ago, providing fuel for movement and the evolution of more complex body structures. Others propose that an extinction of life just before the Cambrian opened up ecological roles, or "adaptive space," that the new forms exploited. External, ecological factors like these were undoubtedly important in creating the opportunity for the Cambrian explosion to occur. (WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. 2001)

If one delves a little deeper into the claims listed above, these claims are exposed as suggested theories formed to answer the questions of the already struggling theory of evolution.

If one takes the time to research the opposition, a mere claim that evolution is “just a theory” becomes an understatement. A large amount of evidence undermines the concept and leaves a mere misallocation of time spent learning it. My answer would conclude with a challenge to back up the statement. Only by actually researching it can an individual speak with conviction on the matter.

References

Mayell, Hillary. (2005). T. Rex Soft Tissue Found Preserved. Retrieved December 13, 2006

from

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0324_050324_trexsofttissue.html

Snelling, Andrew A, Ph.D. (2005). Polonium Radiohalos: The Model for Their Formation Tested

and Verified. Retrieved January 2, 2007, from http://icr.org/article/2467/

Hancock, Graham. (1995) Fingerprints of the Gods. New York: Crown Publishing Group.

WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. (2001). The Cambrian

Explosion. Retrieved January 02, 2007, from

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/4/l_034_02.html