What Scientific Proof Lies Behind Evolution?
Homology and Bio-Chemical Similarities
Do biological and bio-chemical similarities necessarily mean common ancestors? What else could it mean?
Homology and bio-chemical similarities are really the same argument. Both allege that similar features in different organisms are due to inheritance from a common ancestor. Evolutionists use a number of studies to identify matching traits.
Homology examines similarities of bone structures from different animals. DNA hybridization evaluates the closeness of species relationship by how many DNA strands from different species can be matched.
Electrophoritic analysis show the degree of similarity of proteins from different species. And protein sequencing measures the closeness of relationship by the amount of DNA coding change which is needed to produce the slightly different proteins of different species. One protein sequencing study, for instance, shows there is only one percent difference between chimpanzees and humans.
Forelimbs are the most widely cited example of homology. You may have seen the drawings in school. A human arm is compared bone by bone with forelimbs of whales, dogs, bats, and sometimes a bird wing. After noting how closely they correspond, evolutionists conclude these limbs are based on the same pattern because they evolved from a common ancestor.
More recently, measurable protein and DNA similarities have added more of a scientific punch to the claim. But the argument remains as before. The more similar the form, the closer it is related, and the more recent is the common ancestor.
Based on proteins and DNA studies, evolutionists think that orangutans separated from the man-chimpanzee-gorilla group ten or eleven million years ago. DNA hybridization test indicate gorillas branched away from the man-chimp line eight to ten million years ago. But chimpanzees and humans didn’t separate until six or seven million years ago. At any rate, that is what microbiologists believe.
The question is, does similarity necessarily mean relationship? A boat, a plane, and a car are all similar. Each is a means of transportation; each has a type of engine to provide power; each requires fuel; each has a guidance system; each requires a human to make it function; each has an enclosure to protect the passengers; and each has seats for the convenience of the passengers. See the similarities?
But are the boat, plane, and car related? No. They are similar because they were all designed for a similar purpose – transportation. And they all came from the mind of man.
When the Wright brothers first flew at Kitty Hawk, they didn’t start from scratch. Engines already existed, seats already existed, and baling wire already existed. Orville and Wilbur did not need to reinvent the wheel. They used all the technology on hand to help build their plane. By the same token, why would we expect the Creator to start from scratch every time he designs a new plant, animal, or human? His proven bio-chemical technology was already at hand.
Many features, proteins and DNA sequences in man are similar to or identical to other primates. We agree. But that doesn’t prove man and chimpanzee had a common ancestor. It’s just as reasonable to decide that the same Creator made them both.
Many General Motors’ cars have a similar look and very similar, often identical, parts under the hood. Certainly, no one claims they descended from a common ancestor. You and I know those cars are so much alike because they originated in the minds of the same designers. It may well be that chimpanzees and man have a lot in common because they too originated in the mind of the same designer.
Embryology
In 1868 Ernst Haeckel, an enthusiastic supporter of evolution, formulated his “fundamental biogenetic law.” It states that an embryo goes through stages during which it resembles its ancestry. At one point, the human embryo has a feature resembling fish gills, so we must have had fish in our ancestry, concluded Haeckel.
According to Haeckel, everything in the animal kingdom descended from a gastrula, which is an early stage in most animals embryonic development. He faked evidence to support his claim. Haeckel was caught and admitted that some of his embryonic drawings were forgeries.
Notwithstanding, the gill slit misconception caught on and is still cited as evidence that humans evolved from fish. Although the pouches do superficially resemble fish gills, they have nothing to do with breathing. They are the early states of the lower jaw, ear, and neck including the thyroid and parathyroid glands. It’s a feature of embryonic function, not evolution.
What this embryonic claim really proved was just how eager nineteenth century evolutionists were to use any argument, however specious, to further their cause.
Vestigial Organs
Gill slits are just one example of what evolutionists call vestigial organs. The idea is that sometime in the distant past these organs had a purpose, but they are no longer useful. Vestigial organs imply evolution. If man were created, there would be no reason for them. Evolutionists found 180 vestigial organs, most of which were muscles. Only six are still around. The rest are now known to be useful or even essential.
From 180 down to six is a pretty good drop in vestigial organs. Given a few more years, it is reasonable to think we might find functions for the rest of them too. Naturalists no longer stress vestigial organs. They have proved to be an embarrassment.
Lost Functions
Certainly, organs can lose their functions. Wingless insects show up on isolated islands., large flightless birds turn up in Africa, and blind fish and amphibians are found in deep caves. But it is difficult to see any evolutionary gain in the loss of a function. True, the loss of a function does make them different. They are oddities. Their chance of survival cannot be enhanced by the loss. If anything, the blind or flightless creatures are one step closer to extinction.
Bone structures, proteins, and DNA sequences all reveal similarities and differences between species. But none prove evolution anymore than they prove creation. Bear in mind, the same Creator could produce different types of creatures using many of the same biological parts and much of the same bio-chemical technology. Why would he do otherwise?
Embryology was based in a combination of superficial resemblances and faked evidence. What did it prove? Not much, other than at least one nineteenth-century evolutionist was dishonest, and many others were gullible. Human embryos do not have gills; they have pouches which look somewhat like fish gills. Embryology does not prove evolution.
Vestigial organs have steadily diminished over the years. Evolutionists no longer rely on them to support their theory, although they still occasionally turn up in textbooks. Of the original 180 vestigial organs listed, 174 were later found to have functions.
What’s the bottom line? Bottom line is: neither evolution nor creationism can be proved by biological similarities, embryology, vestigial organs, or lost functions.
About the Author
Jerry Boone, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, United States webmaster@merechristianity.us Mr. Boone is a sailor, author, and webmaster of http://merechristianity.us with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Georgia State University. His works include: Mere Christianity.us and SAFETY LINE – EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN, an apologetic study published 1998.
|
|
A Trouble of Fools $7.91 When an old woman hires Carlotta Carlyle to find her missing brother, the flinty investigator has no idea she`s involving hersel |
|
|
Showdown at Yellow Butte $5.93 When Tom Kedrick is hired by a land-hungry settler to oust a bunch of squatters from the range, Kedrick has no idea he`s about to wage war on a band of innocents. |
|
|
Deep Ancestry (Paperback) $25.93 The fossil record locates human origins in Africa, but little is known about the great journey that took Homo sapiens to the far reaches of the Earth. How did we, each of us, end up where we are? Why do we appear in such a wide array of different colors and features? Such questions are even more amazing in light of genetic evidence that we are all related–descended from a com- mon African ancestor who lived only 60,000 years ago. Thanks to new genetic testing methods, we now know that the greatest history book ever written is the one hidden in our DNA.In Deep Ancestry, geneticist and explorer Spencer Wells unravels the slight changes in our DNA over time to tell the ancient story of our shared human journey. He also details the current work of Genographic Project–the landmark study that will assemble the world`s largest collection of DNA samples to map how humankind populated the planet. He describes how the Project uses sophisticated computer analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people–including indigenous populations and the general public–to reveal man`s migratory history and to better understand the connections and differences that make up the human race. The narrative works backward, starting from today and gradually working its way to humankind`s common ancestors. From the beginning, the book taps into a reader`s interest in genealogy, family history, and ethnic identity. Most of us have a decent sense of our family history, but eventually we all hit a brick wall. DNA takes us beyond it, and this is the unifying theme that will lead us from the stories of the present into the realm of deep ancestry. Now in a thoroughly revised second edition, Deep Ancestry represents the very latest research on where we came from and relates it to our own personal quest to discover the deep ancestry behind our family genealogies and touch the depths of our common origins.For more information about the Genogr |
|
|
Deep Ancestry by Wells, Spencer Edition ILL, 0 $18.99 Travel backward through time from today’s scattered billions to the handful of early humans who lived in Africa 60,000 years ago and are ancestors to us all. In Deep Ancestry, scientist and National Geographic explorer Spencer Wells shows how tiny genetic changes add up over time into a fascinating story. Using scores of real-life examples, helpful analogies, and detailed diagrams and illustrations, he explains exactly how each and every individual’s DNA contributes another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of human history. The book takes readers inside the Genographic Project—the landmark study now assembling the world’s largest collection of DNA samples and employing the latest in testing technology and computer analysis to examine hundreds of thousand of genetic profiles from all over the globe—and invites us all to take part. |
