Evolutionism

From CreationWiki, the encyclopedia of creation science

From Thomas Huxley's Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature (1863)

Evolutionism, (from the Latin evolutio, unrolling) refers to the philosophical worldview or belief in theories that material complexity has developed through purely natural processes. More specifically, it is the advocacy of, or belief in Darwinian mechanisms as being responsible for all life on earth. Belief in the theory of evolution requires faith because aspects such as the origin of life and the production of new information through mutation has not been demonstrated under any conceivable circumstance.

While organisms do change through time, this quality of life is driven by a complex cellular machinery. To assume that the sophisticated systems within the cell could have arisen by pure chance requires a tremendous amount of faith in statistical improbability. The cosmos has many components that testify to the existence of intelligent design. The handiwork of a creator is readily evident in nature, and therefore, it may indeed require less faith to believe in creationism than evolutionism.

The theory of evolution was derived from atheistic philosophy, and is the key evidence used by atheists to explain the existence of humans independent of a deity. In this context evolution plays a vital role in the fulfillment of the belief system of the religion known as secular humanism. An Evolutionist is a proponent of such theory. Theories of change have been developed across several fields of study. Evolutionists embrace evolution through a belief system, not because it has become a proven scientific fact.

Varieties of evolutionism

Idealist evolutionism is the position that all things have the natural tendency within them to develop toward their ideal form. This is the position of ancient Platonism and Aristotelianism, as well as Lamarckism and Orthogenesis. This form of evolution generally carries some degree of teleology, or the idea that things were designed by God to develop in a certain way, and is therefore usually the position of evolutionary creationists, who believe that God deliberately designed and guided the process.
Naturalistic evolutionism is the position that things do not have any natural tendency to develop toward a particular "form," but that they simply assume various forms as a result of impersonal natural laws such as random variation and natural selection. The Atomists of ancient times and the Darwinists and Neo-Darwinists of the modern era hold this view. This form of evolution makes reference to no teleology. According to this view, there is no design or purpose in the evolution of things. The driving forces are mere random chance and impersonal natural law.
Theistic evolutionism is the belief in both evolutionism and theism. It is held that the book of Genesis is a non-literal story written simply to teach that man is fallen, and not meant to describe the specific circumstances regarding the origins of the universe. Theistic evolutionists fully accept that evolution is the scientific description of how organisms change over time and the result of descent with modification. At the same time, the theistic evolutionist is a theist - who believes in a God who is both personal and concerned with His creation. Theistic evolutionists could thus belong to any of the three main monotheistic faiths, or to any other theistic faith.

Challenges to evolutionism

Creationists generally challenge evolutionism on the following grounds:

Evolutionism existed over 2000 years before Darwin, in the writings of Anaximander, Epicurus, Lucretius, and the Atomists, as a philosophy. It is thus not a "new and scientific development," but the resurgence of a very old and very speculative pagan philosophical idea.
The primary tenets of evolutionism are metaphysical, rather than scientific. In order for an idea to be scientific, it must be testable. Evolutionism today presumes the absence of any divine creative act in the origin of life, but such an absence cannot be demonstrated or tested. Therefore, while it may conceivably be true, it is not science, but metaphysical speculation.
Insofar as they are testable, the predictions of evolutionism are failures. The fossil record does not provide transitional forms necessary to support common ancestry. The geological record supports catastrophism far better than uniformitarianism. The origin of life itself has not been explained by any means other than intelligent, creative act.
Evolutionists typically demonstrate all the tell-tale signs of religious ideologists, including ardent evangelism in schools, excluding their opponents from positions in universities, and making ad hominem attacks against creationists rather than supporting their stance with facts and evidence.

News

Darwin on a Godless Creation: "It's like confessing to a murder" Darwin's heretical theories meant the end of his belief in creation by God. Scientific American. February 12, 2009
Seven signs of evolution in action Darwin's 200th birthday is honored by illustrating classic examples of variation within a kind (microevolution), which remains the only evidence to support Darwin's theory of macroevolution. MSNBC. Feb. 11, 2009.
Still clueless about origin of life A study of over 60 relevant research papers in the fields of genetics, astrobiology, and space science concludes that science has no clue about how life began. Nature. December, 23 2008.
'Dinosaur Dance Floor' Uncovered in Utah. Paleontologists discover dense dinosaur trackway with more than 1000 tracks in region once thought to be desert. AP. October 20, 2008.
The Altenberg 16: Will the Real Theory of Evolution Please Stand Up? Conference in Altenberg, Australia with leading evolutionary scientists who have doubts about Darwinism re-evaluates the core claims of neo-Darwinism. by Suzan Mazur. Scoop Independent News. 6 July 2008
Altenberg: The Woodstock of Evolution? Sixteen scientists gather in Altenberg, Australia, to propose a "new" theory of evolution. Among other things, many of these scientists question the role of natural selection in long-term changes in species. Scoop.com March 4, 2008.
Placental Mammals Climb a New Tree. Recent analysis of shrewlike fossil pushes mammalian evolution forward millions of years. ScienceNOW Daily News. June 20, 2007.
In Startling Advance, Study Identifies Dinosaur Protein Findings offered as new evidence for dino-bird evolution. New York Times. April 13, 2007
God’s Numbers The latest Newsweek poll shows that 91 percent of American adults surveyed believe in God—and nearly half reject the theory of evolution. Newsweek, April 9 2007 issue
The Teflon Naturalist Chuck Colson comments on Social Darwinism. Christian Post, Apr. 01 2007
Man's earliest direct ancestors looked more apelike than previously believed "Dr. Leakey produced a biased reconstruction based on erroneous preconceived expectations of early human appearance that violated principles of craniofacial development." EurekAlert, March 24, 2007
Ducking Darwin Columnist admits that evolutionism undermines the basis for morality. WorldNetDaily February 26, 2007
The Gospel According to Darwin John G. West examines agitation for observance of February 12 as Darwin Day. National Review Online February 12, 2007
New documentary links Darwin, Hitler shows Darwin's theories used to justify his genocidal policy and his war of conquest. WorldNetDaily February 12, 2007
'Who's Who' list challenging Darwin grows 100 more of the world's top scientists express skepticism of theory. WorldNetDaily. February 11, 2007
Poor Darwin's false religion Pat Boone describes evolution as a religion. Part two of two. WorldNetDaily Feb 03, 2007
Churches gear up for Evolution Sunday. "Hundreds of churches across the globe will mark Evolution Sunday Feb. 11 with sermons and educational events. The Cushing Daily Citizen Feb 02, 2007
Charles Darwin's unfunny joke Pat Boone comments on the absurdity of evolution. Part one of two. WorldNetDaily Jan 27, 2007
Congressional Investigation Confirms Discrimination against Smithsonian Scientist Critical of Darwinian Evolution The demotion of a well-published evolutionary biologist has been found to be religiously and politically motivated. Discovery Institute. December 18, 2006.
Why doesn't America believe in evolution? Growing proportion of America thinks that we did not descend from an ancestral ape. New Scientist. August 19, 2006.
Earliest hominid: Not a hominid at all? The earliest known hominid fossil is actually some kind of ape. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. June 19, 2006