Darwinian Evolution and Biblical Creation

Unit 11 Terms

• Darwinian Evolution encompasses various worldviews, including Christianity and naturalism
• Key figures in Darwinian Evolution: Thomas Malthus, Charles Lyell, Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, and Charles Darwin
• Core concepts: Natural selection, immutability of species, overpopulation, genetic variation, differential reproduction, and the struggle to survive
• Examples include finch evolution (both micro and macro) and vestigial organs such as wisdom teeth
• Key works: "Essay on the Principle of Population," "Processes of Geology," and "The Origins of Species By Natural Selection"
• Biblical Creation involves Genesis, kinds (opposed to species), the Tree of Knowledge, and the Tree of Life
• Entities include Satan, Adam, and Eve, and concepts like sin, curse, and death
• Terms include creationist orchard, yom, bara, evolutionary conditioning, long-day/short-day theories, gap theory, canopy theory, theistic evolutionist, fossil, polystrate fossil, hope, and salvation

Key Questions and Answers

• A worldview represents a philosophy of life or a conception of the world
• Genesis means "in the beginning"
• The Lord God created everything
• Creation served to reveal God's glory
• Creation took six 24-hour days (yom in Hebrew)
• Day 3: God separated sea and land, created the expanse in the sky, and vegetation including seed-bearing plants and fruit trees
• Day 4: God created lights in the expanse, the sun, moon, stars, and planets
• Day 5: God created waters teeming with living creatures, bird kinds, and large sea creature kinds
• Day 6: God created living land creatures, creatures that crawl on their bellies, wildlife, livestock, and mankind
• The word "good" described the creation at the end of each day
• Creation differs from evolutionary accounts, which deny the need for a God and life having purpose and meaning
• Originally, man and animals were given every seed-bearing plant and fruit-bearing tree for food
• The serpent told Eve she would not die and would become like God, knowing good and evil
• After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve realized they were naked and were ashamed; they sewed fig leaves together
• God called Adam, Eve, and the serpent to court for their sin
• God made garments of animal skin and performed the first animal sacrifice for Adam and Eve
• Evolutionists believe all life comes from a prokaryote ancestor via chemical reaction
• Creationists believe God created plants and animals based on their "kinds," not from a primordial ancestor
• Dog kinds are more specialized
• Genes have been lost, not gained, in successive generations of dogs
• Dog populations are less able to adapt to environmental changes
• Christians are the "salt of the earth" because they add flavor and are a preservative. It's useless if contaminated
• Satan attempts to rob Christians of being the "salt" of the earth
• Christians should be proactive in society and address issues, supporting institutions good for individuals and society
• A fossil is direct/indirect evidence of something once living; an imprint
• Polystrate fossils cut through multiple rock layers, indicating rapid burial
• Organic material exposed to the elements generally doesn't fossilize
• The entire length of a polystrate fossil tree had to be preserved quickly, requiring rapid sedimentary rock deposition by a single catastrophe
• Anaerobic bacteria would decay specimens unless rapidly buried
• Polystrate fossil formation is attributed to cataclysmic conditions, not slow processes over millions of years, according to creation science
• Christians can believe in evolution - salvation is based on faith, not the age of the earth
• Naturalism is a worldview that only believes there is what is physical, and no God is in control
• Secular humanism considers man the measure of all things
• The HMS Beagle was the ship Darwin sailed on for 5 years
• Charles Lyell wrote "Processes of Geology"
• Thomas Malthus wrote "Essay On the Principle of Populations"
• Charles Lyell thought evolution occurred gradually over long periods
• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was the first modern scientist to propose a modern view on evolution without evidence
• Jean-Baptiste Lamarck came up with the theory of Use and Disuse
• Natural selection dictates that organisms with favorable traits survive and reproduce better
• Yes, Darwin changed the thinking about “immutability species” because the Bible mentions that organisms changed as a result of sin
• There is evidence that Darwin may have been a racist and a sexist
• (MLK) Martin Luther King, Jr wrote "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character"

Test Format

• The test includes three short answer questions and multiple-choice questions.
• Short answer topics include Darwin’s theory of evolution, Darwin's observations of species variation
• Multiple-choice questions are based on the unit review, notes, and Genesis chapters 1-3
• One short answer will be a 'mystery question' to see if you listened in class
• One short question is about Darwin's theory of evolution being divided into two parts; name and describe the parts
• One short question about Darwin observing species varied in three ways; describe each of his observations