Questioning Evolution

On Tuesday, November 8, 2005 the Kansas State Board of Education voted 6-4 to approve a new set of science standards that question the veracity of evolution theory. Why is it important to challenge the veracity of evolution theory? Evolution is promoted in a way that confuses students and the public. In popular culture evolution is not just characterized by adaptation within a species, but by growth into more advanced species. A small business evolves into a large business. A timid local basketball player evolves into a national star. Evolution implies growth, as in evolving from invertebrates to vertebrates, amphibians to mammals and dinosaurs to birds.

Could natural selection produce these kinds of results? Natural selection, often stated as the “survival of the fittest”, is in fact a scientific principle that can be tested and verified in the laboratory. Microbiologists observe it as antibacterial drugs are applied to cultures of bacteria. Through studies it is observed that certain strains of bacteria survive the harsh invasion of the antibacterial substance. Since some bacteria survive and reproduce, is that real, vertical evolution or simply minor variation? Is it evolution if they survive other antibacterial drugs? Evolutionists would say this is an example of evolution in action. Certainly it is an example of natural selection in action, but do the bacteria grow into a higher-level organism? No!

Natural selection, mutations and genetic drift bring but minor change, not new information; not growth as in bacteria becoming something other than bacteria. For evolution to be demonstrated as true we need to see examples of growth such as testable examples of bacteria that evolved into multi-cellular organisms. Bacteria are single celled; they’re asexual and reproduce quickly. E. coli reproduce approximately every 20 minutes. If vertical evolution is real, it should be observed in the laboratory through the countless worldwide experiments being performed with bacteria. How is it known that evolutionary growth has never been observed? If such an incredible process was observed and could be reproduced again and again in the laboratory, it would be front-page news for a very long time!

Rather, evolutionists provide evidence for small changes in organisms but do not provide direct evidence for large-scale changes. Biological evidence for evolution is an extrapolation from minor changes in organisms. But an extrapolation is not empirical science.

Biological changes from natural selection weed out (select out) information; they reduce the genetic information of the organism. The reduction of genetic information can be illustrated through artificial selection of breeding animals. Dogs, for example, can be bred to have no hair. In order to get this result the genetic information for hair is eventually bred out. The public is led to believe that natural selection produces new information– “evolution”. It does not.

Therefore, students and the public need to be made aware that natural selection, mutations, genetic drift and other natural mechanisms merely produce changes within an organism, but the changes are the result of a reduction of genetic information. This is a huge issue and evolutionists do not teach this kind of fundamental problem with the theory of evolution. Yes, plants can become hybrids and viruses can carry genetic information from one host to another, but none of this produces novel genetic information that did not exist before. The Kansas State School Board is correct in encouraging students to discover and discuss some of the major flaws in the foundation of evolution.

Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science Education said, “It will be marketed by the religious right … as a huge victory for their side.” This issue is not about “the religious right”; it is about a proper scientific understanding of where we came from. Since evolution merely produces changes within organisms and with it a reduction of genetic information, where is the biological evidence in favor of cells-to-humans evolution? Other than an extrapolation from a process that reduces genetic information, it does not exist. The Kansas State Board of Education is correct to encourage their students to see the real nature of evolution.