How do Christians who claim the evolution theory is wrong respond to fossil evidence?
I am not trying to prove anything either way, but all evidence is subject to analysis and interpretation. I also think that it is probably a fallacy to claim that all Christians or creationists who question inter-species evolution deny all aspects of the theory of evolution. It is obvious to even most creationists that evolution takes place within species and that organisms are evolving. I would say that those who have problems in this area interpret the evidence through use of a different paradigm than others.
there are two types of evolution: Micro evolution, and macro evolution. Micro evolution are changes within a species to adapt to the surrounding environment. Macro evolution is when changes are made in a species that are drastic enough to create a new species. Christians have no problem with micro evolution and will support it. Macro is the only problem point, and there has never been a single amount of proof for macro evidence. As for so called fossil evidence, the oldest known fossil available today is an ant. Even though this fossil predates any other fossil, it is still exactly the same in structure and dna as the ants in your back yard today.
[My comments don’t always post so i’ve sent this as an answer, too. If the comment posts, i will delete this copy.] GTH, i appreciate your passion. Maybe i can clarify things a little. I do put weight behind the scientific method, but not to the point of trusting it blindly. I already have one faith. Accepting science as the ultimate truth is just another faith. Consider a few points, please. You speak of how long evolution theory has survived. Bible teachings have been around 35 centuries, not the less than 2 of Darwin. Yes,it’s been questioned and buffeted, but it still holds up. Peer review is fine as far as it goes, but has limits. If little, limited, imperfect men review each others’ work, it’s still little, limited and imperfect. The God i trust has no peers. His work needs no review. Still, when MY peers review the evidence, we find that our beliefs fit it. Can you prove that your peers are truly smarter or more correct than mine? I ask this with respect and await your reply.
Let’s look at it this way. Walking in the woods, we find an old arrowhead. We look at the craftsmanship and know that it is an artifact. We ponder the person who made it, its form, its function, the selection of materials, the tools required to fashion it. Perhaps with some digging, we could find those tools, a harder piece of flint shaped to form the arrowhead. We may marvel at the ingenuity of the mind who discovered and implemented this process. As we explore we find the remains of the fabricator of these interesting artifacts. Though the maker is much wiser and complex than the thing made, so complex, in fact, that we can’t even duplicate it, we suddenly assume that the ancient man who created the arrowhead and the cutting tools had no creator. The direct answer to the question is: Christians see the fossil evidence and look beyond the narrow limitations of so-called modern science. Having tools unavailable (by choice) to the scientific community, we see not only the creation, we s
You may know more about human science than i do and that’s fine. What i do know is religion and you are very deeply entrenched in one. I simply state this as a fact, without judgment of merit. You trust your god of manmade knowledge and i won’t try to dissuade you. I’ve answered the question of how we respond to the fossil record. We look at the record and interpret it differently. Everyone is free to make his own choices. I admire your faith and tenacity in defending your creeds. You do it with eloquence and determination. You do fundamentalist evolutionists proud. Thank you for the lively discussion.
