questions answered about evolution

bridgetown1

Before the Bible, Creation and Phrophecy disappeared I copied one of the posts in order to answer some questions which somebody had posted. Good job I had copied it, cause the whole thread seems to have vanished!!

anyway, here are the questions, and my replies:

J C wrote: »

1. Have we observed any mechanism spontaneously generating life – it should still be there somewhere if Evolution is true?

Evolution tells us how life evolved, not how life developed/started initially. And on the grounds that all known life is based on the 4/5 base nucleic acid system it seems reasonable to assume that life only developed once, or if it developed more than once, then the other life forms did not survive.

2. How can life be generated spontaneously if the random production of the critical amino acid SEQUENCE for an essential protein is a MATHEMATICAL impossibility?

What is a ‘mathematical impossibility’? Or do you just mean extremely improbable? Never mind. ‘Spontaneous generation’ and ‘random production’ are totally different things. Critical amino acid sequences are NOT produced randomly. No life exists without these ‘critical sequences’ , as you call them, because they cannot survive without them. If, for instance, a human foetus is developing with a certain sequence missing, it miscarries. So the production is NOT random. There is a strict system of quality control In operation, called Natural Selection.

3. If the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) radio telescopes were to pick up the DNA code for an Amoeba being transmitted from a distant point in our galaxy, evolutionists would definitively conclude that they had found proof of extraterrestrial intelligence – so why do evolutionists not conclude that the Amoeba’s own DNA code, is also proof of intelligence AKA God?

A photograph of a mountain is not reality, merely a representation of the reality, a mountain. But a photograph implies a photographer. Similarly, the transmission is NOT the reality of the code, just a ‘representation’ of it. And it implies somebody actually transmitted the representation of the real code. The existence of the real code does not imply ‘god’ and more that any other part of reality such as mountains or wind imply ‘god’.

4. If evolution is ongoing there should be millions of intermediate forms everywhere among both living and fossil creatures. Why has not even ONE continuum ever been observed among either living or fossil creatures for a functioning useful structure?

Living organisms present on earth now have NOT evolved from each other, they have evolved from previously existing ancestors. So looking for intermediate forms in living organisms is wrong. Unless you mean in the sense of being more or less distantly related, in which case you could say the apes are intermediate between humans and lemurs. As regards fossils, the process of fossilization is so rare (dead animals and plants are usually eaten!!) that the fact that we have so MANY intermediate forms is verging on the miraculous! Check out whales, ferns and birds.

5. Why do our Mitochondrial DNA sequences (which are inherited in the female line i.e. 100% from our mothers) show that all human beings are originally descended from ONE woman?

WRONG!!! But you are not the first to make this mistake. It seems that all modern humans in the broadly Asian European group have evolved from a SMALL GROUP of females, between 7-12 individuals. However, humans in Africa show far more variation.

6. Why do our Y-chromosome sequences (which are inherited in the male line i.e. 100% from our fathers) show that all men are originally descended from ONE man?

See Above. But this time the group is bigger, about 40 individuals. But remember, this applies only to the modern European based 2nd wave of humans to emerge from Africa. There is far far more variation WITHIN Africa.

7. How do you explain the random (non-intelligent) design and production of observed biochemical systems at atomic levels of resolution that outclass the largest and most sophisticated manufacturing abilities of mankind?

You are comparing eggs and whiskey (or whisky, whatever you choose!) One is natural, one is man made. Like trying to work out why there are no rocks in the shape of houses. Totally different.

8. How do you explain the random (non-intelligent) design of the observed levels of interlinked complexity and functionality within living systems that are multiple orders of magnitude greater than out most powerful computer systems?

See above. Eggs and Whiskey again. Not comparing like with like. 50 years of development has gone into computers. Millions of generations of evolution have gone into natural systems.

9. Why do some scientists continue to believe that the Human Genome was an ”accident of nature” – while they know that the super computers and gene sequencers that they had to use to decode it, were created through the purposeful application of intelligent design?

Name me ANY scientist who things the human genome is the result of an ‘accident’ of nature!!!! NO SCIENTIST ANYWHERE BELIEVES THAT!!! Evolution is NOT accidental. Every generation is filtered by the environment, those individuals with flaws do not succeed, or are at least less successful than others. Those with slightly better variations reproduce more.

10. Why do we observe great perfection and genetic diversity in all species when “dog eat dog” Evolution would predict very significant levels of “work in progress” and the bare minimum of diversity necessary for the short-term survival of the individual?

Who defines ‘perfection’? To an ‘Evolutionist’ it means the ability to survive, thrive and reproduce in your environment. This does not mean an organism does not have crazy design features!!!! In humans, who would design our eyes the way they are!! Or the path of the sperm duct in males?! We are NOT designed from scratch, but evolve from PREVOIUS designs, with the quirks and flaws inherent in them. Hence the reason why we hiccup, or suddenly wake at night with a ‘falling’ sensation. We have a similar fact in the design of cars. Cars are NOT designed from scratch. The width of your average car now is fixed because of the width of roads. Very wide cars, no matter how good, would not sell. And the width of roads is based on the width of cars 80-100 years ago. And the width of the original cars 100 years ago was based the width of roads 100 years ago which were based on the width of horse and carts 150 years ago. Present design dependent on old facts.

11. Why is the only mechanism postulated by Evolution to produce genetic variation – genetic mutation – invariably damaging to the genome resulting in lethal and semi lethal conditions most of the time?

‘Invariably damaging’????? Says who? Look at animal breeders who have produced hairless cats! A random mutation, and NOT lethal. OK, it would probably, in fact, definitely, not succeed in the wild but for the purpose of my argument it is a non-lethal random mutation. And what is ‘’semi-lethal’? It only half kills you?

12. Any putative ‘evolving organism’ is statistically just as likely to be taking two “critical amino acid sequence” steps backwards for every one step forwards, as it is to be going the other way around. If ALL critical amino acid sequences except the CORRECT one will confer NO advantage – how can a population “work up” to the correct critical amino acid sequence through “genetic drift” or Natural Selection ?

Firstly, there is no up. down, backwards or forwards in evolution. Simple answer: systems which don’t work die. Birds which fly north for the winter freeze to death. Only the south flying ones live and breed onwards. The only life which survives are the ones that WORK. Damaged ones, less successful ones, are not here. They do not pass on their genes. But remember, evolution does not work in absolutes. It is not important that a stick insect looks perfectly like a stick. Just that it looks more ‘sticky’ than the next stick insect along.

13. Why do we observe that all living systems use pre-existing SOPHISTICATED complex biochemical systems and bio-molecules to produce SIMPLE bio-molecules – and not the other way around, if Evolution is true?

Living systems exist NOW. They are at the end of billions of years of evolution of living systems. The whole living system has evolved. The steps within the living system which exists now do NOT mimic or represent the evolution of the entire system over the last few billion years.

14. How do you explain the origins of DNA when the production of DNA is observed to require the pre-existence of other DNA / RNA and a massively complex array of other biochemical “machinery”?

Now THAT is a good question!! But don’t fall into the trap of assuming that the present DNA/RNA life base was ALWAYS so. Maybe an ancestral ‘System X’ evolved into an ancestral ‘System Y’ which evolved into an ancestral ‘System DNA’. Complex biochemical systems may have been present before the present DNA/RNA system. Remember, it takes oil based machines to drill for oil. But this seeming paradox disappears when you think that the original oil was drilled for using a previous STEAM POWER based system. A previous complex system led to the development of the present complex system

15. Why have we never observed any species to actually INCREASE genetic information over time if “upwards and onwards” Evolution is in action out there?

There is no ‘upwards and onwards’ in evolution, no direction, no forwards, but no backwards either. But if you check out polyploidy you will see that species DO increase their genetic material. But remember, we have only been able to measure genetic change for the last 30 years or so. Give it time!

16. With odds in excess of 10 to the power of 1,800,000,000 against the production of the nucleic acid sequence of the Human Genome by accident – how do you explain it’s existence using random chance Evolution when the number of electrons in the known universe are only 10 to the power of 82?

IT IS NOT ACCIDENTAL OR RANDOM!!!! Every cellular generation is filtered by the environment!!!!! Push clay through a hole and the clay which comes out will be the shape of the hole. Not random!!

17. Why is it claimed that the 1953 Miller-Urey experiment shows how life's building blocks may have formed on Earth - when conditions on the early Earth were probably nothing like those used in the experiment, and the origin of life remains a scientific mystery?

read your question: “…….MAY have formed……” The origin of life is still a mystery. There are many theories, most involving lipid based ‘micells’, but it is still unknown.

18. What is the evolutionary explanation for the "Cambrian explosion," in which all major animal groups appear together in the fossil record fully formed instead of branching from a common ancestor - thus contradicting the evolutionary tree of life?

‘all major animal groups’!!? Most of the groups in the cambrian explosion are extinct now, and most modern groups have no representatives there.

19. Why is it claimed that beak changes in Galapagos finches during a severe drought can explain the origin of species by natural selection - even though the changes were reversed after the drought ended, and no net evolution occurred?

“beak changes in Galapagos finches during a severe drought” Would like to read about that. Sounds interesting. Reference, please. Speciation in the Galapagos is based on both environmental change AND isolation!!! As is speciation everywhere. But if beak changes reversed after the drought, why are they still there?

20. Why is it claimed that fruit flies with an extra pair of wings is evidence that DNA mutations can supply raw materials for evolution - even though the extra wings have no muscles and these disabled mutants cannot survive outside the laboratory?

Hox genes and hopeful monsters!! The mutations here are not in the ‘wing formation’ genes but in the ‘formation control’ genes. A fascinating topic.

21. Why are artists' drawings of apelike humans used to justify materialistic claims that we are just animals and our existence is a mere accident - when fossil experts cannot even agree on who our supposed ancestors were or what they looked like?

Ask an art historian!!!

In fact, Jesus Christ died so that YOU TOO could spend eternity with Him in Heaven. All you need to do is to stop believing in the plainly ridiculous idea that people are ultimately descended from muck, repent of your sins and believe on the ONLY person who can save you, Jesus Christ.

Ok, Jesus did ask us to repent and to believe in him, but where did He mention anything about science or evolution? I would say, as a Christian, that I try to obey Christ’s teachings. But as a Human I fail.

I too used be an evolutionist.
I was lost, but now I have found Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savour.

Good lad.

Fanny Cradock

The B, C & P thread is three threads below this one.