Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Christian Podcast Central

Home
Evangelical - Sponsored
The Summit Lecture Series: Myths of Evolution with Sean McDowell, part 7

The Summit Lecture Series: Myths of Evolution with Sean McDowell, part 7

Last updated on: December 16, 2014 at 3:42 pm by Christian Podcast Central

The Summit Lecture Series: Myths of Evolution with Sean McDowell, part 7 2014-12-16T15:42:11-08:00 Christian Podcast Central

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

To purchase the entire DVD set of the Summit Lecture Series, visit summit.org.

Universally, the fossil record disproves the gradualistic theory of Darwinian Evolution.

Every high school or college science textbook dealing with the origin of man shows a homology (the study of similar structures) diagram like this one:

Now, why would someone assume that a bat’s wing, a whale’s flipper, a horse’s hoof, and a human hand have the same homology?

Right off the bat (pun intended), we see a worldview being delivered by this picture in that they have color coded the structures and resized them in order to contrive an argument that these structures are fundamentally the same. The point they are trying to make is that as you look at different species or organisms, you’ll find a similar structure that transcends the individual organism. Therefore, if all these structures are as similar as the diagram proposes, then these creatures must have had a common ancestor that shared this structure. And as this common ancestor moved into fields, deserts, oceans, or took to flight, this basic structure was adapted to different needs.

So the fact that we see a similar structure in different organisms is presented as evidence for evolution.

But, if Darwinian Evolution was true, would we expect to see homologous structures like this? Well, if all organisms descended from a common ancestor, then we would expect to see some similarities across the various species.

But there is a problem.

Whenever you have evidence that can be explained equally well by two different theories, you cannot use that evidence to support one theory at the exclusion of the other.

So, yes, we would expect to see homology if Darwinian Evolution were true, but we could also expect to see it if Creation (or Intelligent Design) were true.

You see, if there were a common designer, then we would expect to see homologous structures just as much as if there were a common ancestor.

As an analogy, consider the iPod, iPad and iPhone. They have similarities in their structures, yet that’s not because they blindly evolved, but because Apple’s designers found a feature that works and applied that engineering feature in different ways.

Likewise, if there is a common designer of our natural world, and the hand/hoof/flipper/wing is a good structure that works, wouldn’t a smart designer use the same structure in different organisms?

Tim Berra, in his book Evolution and the Myth of Creationism tried to teach common descent with this example:

“If you compare a 1953 and a 1954 Corvette, side by side, then a 1954 and a 1955 model, and so on, the descent with modification is overwhelmingly obvious.”

In other words, over the course of time, you can easily see a modification and change in the structure of a Corvette. But what Berra omits is that the Corvette is designed. (And keep in mind, Tim Berra is an extremely intelligent and respected scientist)

You see, brilliant people make simple and foolish mistakes because of their worldview.

Because mere succession of forms cannot provide evidence for Darwinian Evolution they could equally well be the product of design.

If you look at all this through a Naturalistic lens, then it’s very compelling; but if you are open to a different perspective, the data is not as powerful as many people think that it is.

For more encouraging and enlightening videos and podcasts, visit the E-Squared Media Network at www.e2medianetwork.com

christian culture podcast

Evolution and the Myth of Creationism

Homology

Intelligent Design

is the bible reliable

Summit Lecture Series

summit ministries

Tim Berra

Worldview

Previous Post

December 16, 2014

The Big Picture Podcast 26: The Catch 22 Generation

Next Post

December 17, 2014 Blending Your StepFamily : Unfairness in Parenting

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Brad Stine Has Issues Christian Podcast Central Classic Podcast Experience God Life Grounded Ouxano Parent Like You Mean It The Protest Show with Thor Ramsey The Summit Lecture Series Uncategorized What You’ve Been Searching For

Select a Month July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 June 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz