Part 1 – There is ‘Microevolution‘ and there is also ‘Macroevolution‘
The word evolution is now so commonplace in vocabulary that its meaning to an uninformed person has become vague. For instance one may hear something like “the evolution of democracy” or “the city has evolved”. In such statements the word evolution is simply used to generally refer to change that has occurred in an environment, place or thing. Of course this context would make everyone an evolutionist; we all perceive changes in surroundings, demographics, etc. Likewise, there are variations which can exist in a particular animal kind. Dogs for example come in different types with different features. Taking the term “evolution” to only mean “change”, one would say, surely there is evolution. Varieties among animal species may arise due to mutation or natural selection. I believe no one has a problem with these simple facts. However, confusion begins when someone posits that one kind of a specie originated from another kind, and through this, tracing human beings’ ancestry to monkeys and further down to fish and onto to a microbe.
Sir Fred Hoyle, the British astrophysicist and mathematician, could not be more correct when he said, “Common sense would suggest, the Darwinian Theory is correct in the small, but not in the large. Rabbits come from other slightly different rabbits, not from either [primeval] soup or potatoes” (Hoyle, 1981, p.7).
Surely evolution within species occurs; for example different rabbits exist, some with longer ears and others with shorter ones. It is undisputable that such changes can occur as a result of different kinds of rabbit mating or due to adaption to environments. Such small changes that occur within species are well known as microevolution. Macroevolution on the other hand refers to the assumed major changes in species from one kind to another – from primeval soup to a microbe on to an ape and on to a human being.
Macroevolution rests on the premise that micro changes in organisms will over a large span of time ultimately lead to major changes. When this theory was first presented by Darwin it sounded too absurd to people, but with repeated emphasis and elaboration , it over time gained momentum until some adherents have become so convinced of it as fact: “evolution is fact, not theory …It is a fact that all living forms come from previous living forms. Therefore, all present forms of life arose from non-birds and humans from non-humans” (Lewontin, 1981, p.559).
Furthermore evolutionists often exclaim that now because we have an explanation of what led to the rise of differences in species (i.e. evolution through a gradual process of natural selection) the Genesis story of a divine creator has no longer any place. However, the flaw in the logic of comparing the alternative of a creator and of evolution cannot go unnoticed…Continued in Part 2
Read this subject in-depth in the book, “Answering the Question: Who created the Creator?” in a chapter titled “Mechanism Versus Agency”
Grey Matter book store at East Park Mall – Next to Food Lovers
Citations
Hoyle, F. (1987). The Universe: Past and Present Reflections. Engineering and Science. November.
Lewontin, R.C.(1981). Evolution/Creation Debate: A time for Truth. Journal of Bioscience.31(8).p.559