Time’s Oldest Debate Essay, Research Paper

Time’s Oldest Debate

Raffikki

Period 2

According to recent studies, planet earth formed approximately four and a

half billion years ago. Since then, the earth has undergone many evolutionary

changes. Earth began as a swirling gas which condensed to create an immense

land mass. The ancient earth was basically the same as today’s earth except for

the environment. The atmosphere of the ancient earth was quite different,

containing more carbon and nitrogen gases than oxygen. The former atmosphere is

where much of present day organic molecules such as proteins, lipids, and

enzymes were created in abundance. By chance or simply because of the laws of

nature, those life producing compounds bonded together to create the oldest

known life form on earth — a bacterium. Other life forms evolved from the

bacterium through natural selection. These microscopic organisms formed

symbiotic relationships with each other and produced larger, multicellular

organisms, such as man. It may seem like a gigantic leap, bacterium to man, but

given billions of years, it is certainly possible. It is true that The Bible

holds certain truths which would imply a reliable source of information; however,

some parts of The Bible are not true at all. According to science, life evolved

in the following order: bacterium to fish, fish to various land animals, and

animals to man. Coincidentally or divinely, The Bible states that God said,

“Let the waters teem with fish and other life…let the earth bring forth every

kind of animal…Let us make man” (Genesis 1:20-26). The Bible accurately

depicts the order in which life was established. But how could the primitive

people who wrote The Bible know the order of which life was created without

science to aid them? This evidence would stand to prove that The Bible truly is

the word of God Himself. However, evolutionists would prefer to believe that

the writer of The Bible was an incredible guesser. That is because many parts

of The Bible seem to be written based on conjectures of what people of the time

thought was correct. An example of this would be from Genesis, “God made two

great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to

govern the night” (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the greater light is the sun and

the lesser light is the moon; however, the moon is not a light, it is a planet

that reflects light. The people who wrote The Bible did not know that the moon

was a planet; nor did they know that other planets even existed. So, they

described the moon as a source of light just as the sun is a source of light.

The writers of The Bible made a good guess; nevertheless, they were wrong. This

is not to say that the entire Bible is completely inaccurate, but explanations

concerning the creation are a little vague. Such an unclear source should not be

held accountable to explain the origin of mankind.

Other proof that the biblical account of creation is wrong lies within

the process of carbon and uranium dating, and fossil records. Carbon dating is

the process of determining age by counting the amount of radioactive carbon in a

fossil or corpse. When a creature is living, it has a certain ratio of

radioactive carbon in it. That radioactive material decays at a fixed rate when

the creature dies. Scientists know the fixed rate and can therefore determine

how old a carcass is by counting how much radioactive material remains inside

the carcass. Carbon dating is useful for dating remains less than fifty

thousand years old. Using carbon dating, scientists have discovered fossils of

animals that lived five times as long ago as creationists say is possible.

Uranium dating is similar to carbon dating except that it is used for dating

things much older than fifty thousand years, such as the earth. Using uranium

dating, scientists have accurately calculated the age of the earth to be four

and a half billion years old and the age of the earliest living creature to be

three and a half billion years old (Campbell 505). Carbon and uranium dating

furnish indisputable evidence that the biblical account of creation is wrong and

evolution has occurred. The most conclusive proof that man has evolved from

lower life forms lies within the physical characteristics of man and his

relation to other creatures. One physical example that man evolved is the

various stages of a developing embryo. For example, while a human is still in

early embryonic stages, it has gill slits. While the gill slits never fully

mature, they serve as evidence that man’s ancestors at one time had gills.

During another period of embryonic development, a human has a tail. Sometimes,

a human is actually born with a tail. The tail is evidence of a trait

previously owned by an ancestor, but was discarded thousands of years ago. This

is not to say that tails and other physical features are simply cast off, but

after years of disuse, a feature will grow smaller and eventually disappear.

This is also evident in the growth of certain animals as well. At certain

stages of development, the embryos of various mammals, birds, fish, and humans

are indistinguishable. Further evidence suggesting evolution is vestigial

organs (organs that are of little or no use to the organism). For example,

whales possess a pelvic bone which would serve a purpose for functioning legs,

and yet they have no legs. Millions of years ago sea creatures came onto land,

acquired legs, then returned to the sea where legs were not needed. The pelvic

bone is vestigial in whales because it no longer serves a purpose. Another more

familiar vestigial organ is the human appendix. It serves absolutely no purpose

and, for some humans, is even removed. Embryonic proof, and vestigial organs are

sufficient evidence that man has evolved from lower organisms.

While creationists may believe evolution is wrong in defense of their

belief in God, evolutionists have extensive evidence to strengthen their claim

that man is the result of evolution. Evolutionists say that man is a highly

evolved ape-like creature. There is scientific evidence to prove that claim.

There is also proof that evolution is occurring today. Modern apes are a

perfect example: they portray almost identical physical characteristics to that

of man, use tools, and are learning to speak using sign language. Apes are not

only similar to man physically and intellectually, but genetically as well.

Human and ape DNA are ninety-nine percent identical. In fact, genetically,

humans are more closely related to the ape than the ape is to the orangutan.

Regardless of this scientific evidence, creationists will continue to believe

that mankind was created by God. Of course, the creationist’s view only holds

if there is belief that The Bible is the true word of God. If mankind had no

belief in The Bible’s account of creation, the Book would remain a work of

mythology. The Bible requires no ordinary belief, however, but a gigantic leap

of faith because there is absolutely no evidence God created mankind. The only

evidence of creation is in the opinions of millions of creationists. But if

opinion or belief were to be the only basis for determining human origin,

couldn’t mankind believe in literally anything and claim it for fact? Humans

could believe the mythical god, Zeus, created mankind! It’s a sad truth, but

creationism is a relic in a world where the concept of evolution logically

explains the origin of mankind.

Works Cited

Campbell, Neil A. Biology Third Edition. California: The Benjamin/Cummings

Publishing Company, Inc., 1993.

The Living Bible: Paraphrased. 1971 ed. Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House

Publishers, 1971.

Wertheim, Margaret. “Science and Religion: Blurring the Boundaries.”

Omni Publications International, Ltd. October 1994: 36. Religion: SIRS, Vol.

4. 77.

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