Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Evolution Is A Hypothesis


Earnestly Contending has an article with excepts from David Bradbury’s 2008 book, “A Reluctant Convert from Evolutionism.”

“… challenge made before the Texas State Board of Education in November 1969. This was in the form of a $1,000 (more than $10,000 in today’s value) offer by a Mr. John Grebe to anyone (board member, scientist, college professor, or other) able to provide any first example of physically verifiable evidence (or even a basic mathematical model) sufficient to elevate the then hypothesis of macroevolution up to the status of scientific theory as then being proposed for inclusion in new textbooks under consideration.”

Looking for a quick return on time invested, Bradbury continued, “…I expected to quickly select from any number of verifiable confirmations that the progressive steps involved in macroevolution had indeed been checked and double-checked by responsible scientific experiments. However, to my disappointment and near disbelief, I could find no such objective confirming evidence anywhere then–nor after following years of continuing search is there any to be found, even today.”

Bradbury re-issued the challenge in January, 2008, which has not yet been taken. “This $1,000 challenge remains open (and uncollected). Until someone (teacher, board member or professor) can cite even a single example of empirically confirmable evidence that random shifts in gene frequency acted upon by natural selection can (or does) cumulatively collect to produce macro-evolutionary change, it would appear only reasonable to responsibly refrain from introducing such conjecture as proper scientific theory to students and to the public”

He was also a commenter in 2002 on Ohio’s
Tenth Grade Life Sciences Section.

Another person who spoke out was Dr. Moorad Alexanian, Ph.D., Physics, Professor of physics, who wrote: "If notions of how things came into being comes into science classes, then it is incumbent on the teacher to discuss the philosophical issues that are brought out by the students and give them equal and serious treatment. In physics, the notion of a Big Bang plays hardly any role in 99.99% of the achievements of physics that have given rise to all the technological advances we now enjoy. I believe the same is true in the biological sciences and its technological applications in medicine, genetics, etc. with regard to evolution. Evolutionary theory ought to be treated as a working assumption and not a philosophical position that goes beyond science. Of course, whenever philosophical views are discusses then it ought to be an open question and all ought to contribute equally."

Why pay attention? Consider Texas’ recent Board of Education decisions, as reported on
MSNBC and below, in the New York Times.

“In recent years, board members have been locked in an ideological battle between a bloc of conservatives who question Darwin’s theory of evolution and believe the Founding Fathers were guided by Christian principles, and a handful of Democrats and moderate Republicans who have fought to preserve the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state.”

We are not alone in our desire to see that our beliefs regarding creation are not buried.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. [Genesis 1:1 KJV]

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