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Why Study Evolution ?

Why Study Evolution ?. To see a clearer view of God and his creative processes. To understand the physical interconnectedness between all living things. To see the power of life to persist To become more open minded and tolerant of new ideas .

MikeCarlo
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Why Study Evolution ?

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  1. Why Study Evolution ? • To see a clearer view of God and his creative processes. • To understand the physical interconnectedness between all living things. • To see the power of life to persist • To become more open minded and tolerant of new ideas

  2. How will the study of evolution be taught and learned • I will present to you the data and the scientific conclusions drawn from the data. • You should be skeptical but logical about the conclusions drawn from the data. • You should use that same skepticism and logic toward preconceived biases against evolution.

  3. Subjects to be covered • History of evolutionary thought • Mechanisms of Microevolution • Speciation • Macroevolution • Human evolution • The Church’s stand on evolution

  4. Special Creation • The Creation took place in one particular location (The garden of Eden). • The creation was accomplished in one particular time period (seven days). • The creation was directed and constructed by God and therefore divine in nature.

  5. The Great Chain of Being • The hierarchal order of God’s creations from the highest to lowest of life forms. • Example: God Angels Man Beast Plants

  6. The Renaissance brought New Scientific enquire • Biogeography:The study of the distribution of plants and animals around the world • Geology:The study of the earths crust in order to understand its structure and origin • Comparative Anatomy: Comparing similarities and differences in the body plans of various biological organisms

  7. Biogeography poses hard questions for Special Creation • If the creation of life occurred in one particular geographical location, how did plants and animals cross great oceans and mountain ranges to get to isolated areas of the earth? • If all life radiated out from a central location, why don’t we find life dispersed evenly from that center? How is it that we find groups of organisms only in specific areas of the earth i.e.…Kangaroos only in Australia, Polar bears found only in the Artic and Penguins in the Antarctic?

  8. Insights from Geology A. The earth is very old 1. The theory of Uniformitarianism: The geological processes that are currently shaping the earth today are the same ones that have shaped it in the past. 2. Radiometric dating, which uses the rate of radioactive decay in rocks as a stopwatch, convincingly dates the earth to 4.5 billion years old.

  9. Geological insights cont. • The fossil record 1. Since the conception of life on earth, many organisms have gone extinct and many new species have arisen to take their place. 2. Faunal Succession: Fossil record shows that life developed from simple to complex. The Older the geological strata, the simpler the fossil structure found in it are.

  10. Comparative Anatomy • A human arm, a whale flipper, and a bat wing all differ in size, shape and function, yet they consist of the same tissues and bones arranged in the same overall patterns on the body. • Why are animals that seem so different and live in such different habitats structured so much alike ?

  11. Comparative Anatomy cont. • Vestigial organs • Remnants of body parts which no longer serve a function • Example, pelvic girdle bones in snakes or tail bones in humans

  12. Comparative Anatomy Cont. • Ontogeny begets Phylogeny • Ontogeny is the study of the development of an embryo through its various developmental stages • Phylogeny is the study of the development of a species through time • The development of an embryo mimics the development of that species through time

  13. Ontogeny

  14. New Ideas • De Buffon • Multiple creations • Cuvier • Catastrophism • Lamarck • Aquired Characteristics • Darwin • Natural Selection

  15. Natural selection • All organisms have the ability to out reproduce their natural resources. Thus, there is competition for limited resources • There is variation among individuals in every population. Thus, some individuals within the population will compete better for natural resources than others • Those who compete best will live longer and have more off-spring than those who can’t compete as well. • Traits and genes which allow an organism to compete better will be passed on and become more common in the population. Thus the population evolves.

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