Design and Evolution CS3.P

• “If [Natural Selection] can be said to play the role of the watchmaker in nature it is the blind watchmaker.” – Richard Dawkins

Learning Objectives• Describe the theory of evolution.• Explain how Darwin’s theory can challenge God’s role as

designer.• Evaluate the extent to which Darwin challenges God’s

existence.

Key Terms• Evolution – The observation that species change from simpler

to more complex ones over time.• Intelligent Design – The appearance of the universe suggests

that it was designed that way.• Irreducible Complexity – The existence of many organisms

cannot be explained by chance.• Natural Selection – Darwin’s principle that species evolve

naturally to their environments.• Specified Complexity – The belief that the apparent

complexity is specified by God.• Survival of the fittest – The idea that the fittest, best suited

to their environment, survive.• Un-falsifiability – A claim is un-falsifiable is its claimants

refute any attempt to falsify it.

Overview of Genesis 1-2• Genesis is the first book

of the Bible written about 500 BC.

• In chapters 1-2, God created the world and everything in it.

• People who read Genesis 1-2 literally are called Creationists.

• Creationism is NOT the mainstream Christian position.

Evolution versus Design• Following Charles

Darwin’s discoveries in the 19th Century, the scientific community have challenged any belief in intelligent design, preferring the evolutionary theory that all life that exists does so by natural selection through random mutations.

Evolution vs Design• In the 18th Century David

Hume made the case that case that apparent order can come from chaos.

A compromise F. R. Tennant (20th C)

argued that God created the universe perfectly for humanity to evolve.

So while natural selection works as Darwin suggested, mutations were guided by the hand of God.

Darwin and Paley• In William Paley’s

Natural Theology he explored how the world demonstrated design from a biological perspective.

• He gave the example of the eye, comparing it to a telescope, the swan’s neck giving the ability to feed and the piglet’s teats nourishing multiple offspring as examples of design.

Dawkins and Paley Richard Dawkins, who

himself is a zoologist, commended Darwin for seeing how evolution superseded “intelligent design”.

While Dawkins commends Paley on his insights, for the time, he emphasises that he is completely wrong to assume design where evolution shows chance.

Theory of Evolution – Facts• Charles Darwin voyaged

on the Beagle in 1859.• Darwin wrote On the

Origin of the Species.• Various finches lived on

different islands. Their beaks adapted to suit the food available.

• Organisms evolve from simpler organisms by random mutation.

• Species survive by Natural Selection.

Darwin as a threat to Christianity• Darwin was not an

atheist.• Darwin considered it

"absurd to doubt that a man might be an ardent theist and an evolutionist“.

The Creationist’s response• For Creationists, this scientific discovery was a threat

because it insisted that God was not responsible for the formation of life.

• 1. Scripture is the inerrant Word of God and any science that challenges it must be rejected.

• 2. Evolution is nothing more than a theory, and there are gaps in the fossil record.

• 3. The age of rocks has been challenged; the method used is open to error.

• 4. Scientific enquiry can validate a number of biblical events including Noah’s flood.

• 5. Intelligent Design claims that scientific discoveries are examples of God’s creation.

The Catholic Church’s response The Vatican has

scientists who advice the Pope on discoveries.

The Church has not insisted on the acceptance of evolution from Catholics.

But, it has openly accepted that the theory has merit and in no way challenges the belief that God is ultimately responsible for all life.

To sum up For Design• The chance of this goldilocks universe forming chaotically

is infinitesimal.• Scientific discover does not challenge the belief that God

is responsible for all things. Against intelligent design• Evolution explains the different forms of life that exist.• Scientific discoveries agree that life changes and adapts.

We have seen examples of this in the fossil record and also in real life cases: finches, moths etc.