Theory of Evolution

Evolution - A Theory

Here are just a few of the many quotations from noted scientists during the last seventy years, in which they express concerns and doubts about Darwin's Theory of Evolution:

• In Richard Goldschmidt's 1940 magnum opus, "The Material Basis of Evolution," he wrote:  "Microevolution does not lead beyond the confines of the species, and the typical products of microevolution, the geographic races, are not incipient species."  Goldschmidt, a brilliant geneticist, did not believe that Charles Darwin's idea of slow, gradual changes could account for the origin of species.  Forced out of his native Germany by the Nazis, he continued his research at UC Berkeley.  Although he recognized the continuous accumulation of small population changes (microevolution), he believed they did not lead to new species.  Between true species he saw "bridgeless gaps."

• In his 1956 article, "The Role of Antibiotics in Natural Processes," published in Giornale di Microbiologia 2, Nobel laureate Selman Waksman wrote:  "The concept of the 'struggle for existence' has been applied to microbial interrelationships in nature in a manner comparable to the effects assigned by Darwin to higher forms of life.  It has also been suggested that the ability of a microbe to produce an antibiotic substance enables it to survive in competition for space and for nutrients with other microbes.  Such assumptions appear to be totally unjustified on the basis of existing knowledge … .  All the discussion of a 'struggle for existence,' in which antibiotics are supposed to play a part, is merely a figment of the imagination, and an appeal to the melodramatic rather than the factual."  Selman Abraham Waksman was a Ukrainian-American biochemist and microbiologist whose research into organic substances led to the discovery of Streptomycin and several other antibiotics.  His four decades of work at Rutgers University as a biochemistry and microbiology professor led to the discovery of several antibiotics (a word which he coined) and procedures that have led to development of many others.  In 1952, Waksman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in recognition for his discovery of "streptomycin," the first antibiotic active against tuberculosis.

• In an April, 2001 article entitled "Scant Search for the Maker" (published in the Times Higher Education Supplement), University of Bristol bacteriologist Alan H. Linton wrote:  "Throughout 150 years of the science of bacteriology, there is no evidence that one species of bacteria has changed into another … .  Since there is no evidence for species changes between the simplest forms of unicellular life, it is not surprising that there is no evidence for evolution from prokaryotic to eukaryotic cells, let alone throughout the whole array of higher multicellular organisms."

• In 2004, University of Edinburgh biologists Martin Jones and Mark Blaxter wrote, "Despite the comforting certainty of textbooks and 150 years of argument, the true relationships of the major groups (phyla) of animals remain contentious."

• In 2005, University of Wisconsin biologists Sean Carroll and Dirk Krueger, along with Broad Institute research scientist Antonis Rokas, wrote, "Different phylogenetic analyses can reach contradictory inferences with absolute support."

• Also in 2005, Dalhousie University biochemist W. Ford Doolittle wrote, "We cannot infer a unique tree of organisms from the pattern of relationships among genomes without making further assumptions about evolutionary processes that are just that:  still-unproven assumptions.  We have, for several decades, thought that our job was to uncover the structure of a Tree of Life, whose reality we need not question.  But really, what we have been doing is testing Darwin's hypothesis that a tree is the appropriate representation of life's history, back to the beginning.  Like any hypothesis, it could be false."

• Again in 2005, University of Illinois-Urbana microbiologist Carl R. Woese wrote, "There never was a universal common ancestor.  The Doctrine of Common Descent has deceived us."

Writing in the August, 2005 edition of the Scientist, National Academy of Sciences member Philip S. Skell writes:  "I recently asked more than seventy eminent researchers if they would have done their work differently if they had thought Darwin's theory was wrong.  The responses were all the same:  No.  I also examined the outstanding discoveries of the past century:  the discovery of the double helix; the characterization of the ribosome; the mapping of genomes; research on medications and drug reactions; improvements in food production and sanitation; the development of new surgeries; and others.  I even queried biologists working in areas where one would expect the Darwinian paradigm to have most benefited research, such as the emergence of resistance to antibiotics and pesticides.  Here, as elsewhere, I found that Darwin's theory had provided no discernible guidance, but was brought in, after the breakthroughs, as an interesting narrative gloss."

Intelligent Design

The following websites provide important insights into how this scrutiny is shaping the creation vs evolution debate and confirming the existence of an Intelligent Designer/Creator.

Creation vs Evolution Resources

1. Institute for Creation Research
   
   ICR offers seminars, conferences, debates, various other speaking engagements, creation science workshops, radio/tv outreach, graduate school in the sciences, museum of creation and earth history, creation research, guided tours to areas of geological interest, books, videos, publications, and free periodicals.
   www.ICR.org
2. Discovery Institute
   
   Center for Science & Culture espouses the theory of intelligent design, which holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection.
   www.Discovery.org/csc/
3. Creation Research Society
   
   Professional organization of trained scientists and interested laypersons who are firmly committed to scientific special creation.
   www.CreationResearch.org
4. Answers in Genesis
   
   Using the same scientific evidence as evolutionists, AiG attempts to show that all such facts don't speak for themselves; they must be interpreted. The same facts when seen through a Biblical lens, not a secular one, will yield a different conclusion about origins.
   www.AnswersInGenesis.org
5. ARN Authors Page > Phillip E. Johnson
   
   Articles, bibliography, speaking schedule, and resources concerning Darwinism.
   www.ARN.org
6. Center for Science and Culture
   
   This Seattle, Washington-based organization includes a list of more than 600 leading scientists who subscribe to this statement:  "We are skeptical of claims for the ability of random mutation and natural selection to account for the complexity of life.  Careful examination of the evidence for Darwinian theory should be encouraged."
   www.DissentFromDarwin.org
7. Creationism.org
   
   Creation science articles in over 40 languages, plus resources and links that explore the issues of creationism and the theory of evolution.
   www.Creationism.org
8. Creation-Science Research Center
   
   California-based public-service corporation whose primary objective has been to change the manner in which the public schools teach about evolutionary theories.  The purpose is to protect the faith of Christian children from illegal offense against their faith in the God of Creation.
   www.ParentCompany.com/CSRC/
9. The True Origin Archive
   
   Attempts to provide an intellectually honest response to the claims of evolutionism's proponents.
   www.TrueOrigin.org
10. Icons of Evolution
    
    Book by molecular and cell biologist Jonathan Wells explores the scientific bases of evolutionary theory.
    www.IconsOfEvolution.net
11. Creation Science
    
    National Science Foundation Fellow Walt Brown examines the compelling scientific evidence for creation and the flood.
    www.CreationScience.com
12. Creation Evidence Museum
    
    Glen Rose, Texas museum offers paleontological and archaeological evidence that man and dinosaur lived contemporaneously.
    www.CreationEvidence.org
13. Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds
    
    Book by UC Berkeley Law School professor Phillip Johnson offers advice on avoiding common mistakes in discussions about evolution, understanding the legacy of the Scopes trial, spotting deceptive arguments, and grasping the basic scientific issues.
    www.IVPress.com
14. The Revolution Against Evolution
    
    Searchable creation-evolution essays, book store, and resource links.
    www.RAE.org
15. Natural Selection vs. God
    
    Video, in Hebrew with English subtitles, that considers the theory of natural selection versus intelligent design.
    www.OneForIsrael.org

Is The Theory Of Evolution Supported By Scientific Evidence?