Posted by Darryl Stewart on September 02, 19102 at 03:13:23:
In Reply to: Evolution - an unsubstantiated guess posted by Mary Greene on September 07, 1999 at 14:57:58:
This is the most easily refuted argument against evolution, but it still (unbelievably) makes the rounds. First, humans did not evolve from monkeys; we evolved possibly from a common ancestor, but our evolutionary process comes from the primate group known as the great apes which includes gorillas and chimpanzees as well as the orangutans and gibbons. As far as there still being these species parallels my argument in that we did not evolve from these species either, but we are related. As far as the evidence, there is a vast amount of evidence supporting the process and therefore the theory of evolution which includes such varied sources as fossil remains, zoological similarities among diverse species, similarities and traceable differences between chemical structures found in the cells of all eukaryotic organisms (the proteins of the oxidative phosphorylation chain are an excellent example). The similarities continue with the fact that the same set of nucleic acids forms the internal cell instructions for all forms of life on earth.
Of course the next argument would include the idea that "we cannot see evolution happening"; this is true, but we also have never "seen" an atom, but we have a very solid idea of what atoms are and what they do via measurements of properties and behaviors that are not directly observable but are inferred from a body of evidence. Ironically, no Christians appear to have problems with this "theory". Yes, atoms are inferred from the Atomic Theory.
And of course, Christians believe in the infallibility of the Bible although many of the major events (including Exodus) have no outside corroboration in the archeological records of the ancient civilizations including the Egyptians.
As for me, I believe in God and Christ as our Lord and Savior. But I also believe that God gave us the ability to look out into the world and beyond and make sense of it. To explore the magnificence of creation instead of believing that God is a puppet master blindly and coldly mainpulating humans for his own purposes.
: As a christian, I do not believe in the theory of evolution - how can people say that us humans came from monkeys? At the moment, there are more scientists than specimens, and no definite evidence that evolution took place. Besides, if evolution has taken place, why are there still baboons and chimpanzees running around today?