Is the theory of evolution believable? Is it science or a religion?

Question

Sharks did not evolve for more than 300 million years, horseshoe crabs are the same for more than 400 million years, yet we humans apparantly evolved in a few million or a few hundred thousand years from monkeys (depending on which evoloutionist you talk to).

http://www.harunyahya.com/c_refutation_darwinism.php

Answer 1

evolution doesn't claim to have all the answers.

after people collected a bunch of observations and facts, they tried to make sense of them. they thought up evolution to try to fit everything together. for a while it worked. now we're not so sure, and evolution is being revised all the time. you can't do that with religion.
evolution is based on observation, its a suggestion of where we came from. this makes it science. hypothesis based on observation.
the basic principle may be true, but we haven't worked out all the kinks yet.

Answer 2

1. Religion does not allow for discovery and debate.
2. Religion is built around beliefs and very often denies scientific realities - even when it is staring religion in the face. Remember the Church persecuted Galileo for suggesting that the Earth revolved around the Sun and not vice versa.
3. Religious leaders often thrust themselves on their followers (follow me or persish) and like politicians need no talent other than demagoguery.
4. Religion is very backward looking. It is steeped in history and often primitive human rights and rituals. The Carnival and even Christmas revolve around such pagan celebrations.
5. Most importantly religion is all about saving your soul for the next life.

Science is the opposite of all the above.

Coming to the specific question. No need to look very far for the answer. There are "vestigeal" organs in the the body like the tonsils and the appendix. They have limited or no use now. The appendix may have had some use when humans consumed uncooked food. Evolution simply preserves or alters the physical characteristics required to adapt the organism to cope with the environment. As further proof of evolution we all see that kids of each new generation are on average much smarter than the previous generation. This is the brain adapting to a more challenging work and living environment with an information overload. In fact if humans continue their present life style with little or no physical exertion (I drive to the supermarket 20 metres from home!) then a million years from today the human body will comprise a relatively large and highly developed and strong brain on a very weak body.

Answer 3

Your question displays a breathtaking lack of knowlege about evolution, perhaps you should learn a bit about it before you ask if it's believeable or not.

To answer you question, species do not evolve unless there is a need for them to evolve (environmental pressures). Sharks have no need to evolve further because they are at the top of the food chain. The same for humans. And by the way, we did not evolve from monkeys (monkeys are still around), we evolved from a common ancester, as did all apes.

Answer 4

evolution is science because the theory explains in the best way possible the natural phenomena of life on earth. It is known that environmental change would cause species to become extinct or to change form. That was demonstrated by moths in the north of England when trees became blackened the birds could easily pick out the light coloured ones so within a short period of time there were mostly black moths. in this way the process of selection that we call evolution works.The theory changes all the time as we know more about fossils and extinct species and their place in the time order of the development of life.The theory is backed up by the work of thousands of scientists all over the world for many years. Religion is believing without thinking. Having faith in mythical beings and such. Religion belongs in the dark ages where it came from as it causes wars as their followers commit intellectual suicide and reject reason.

Answer 5

I cannot agree with the monkey theory. If humans evolved from monkeys there would be no monkeys today. They would all have evolved becoming humans.

Ok so lets look at the cat family, they have four legs and a tail as does the dog family but one did not evolve form the other family.

Nothing wrong with evolution so long as its not muddled to suit the need for something other than what is.

Answer 6

Some sharks can now jump out of the water, South africa seal bay they have only done this for the last few years cause they have had to, to catch food! Hence they have evolved(they don't have brains that work on anything but instinct!
Every creture on earth has evolved! Could monkeys open bottles 20 years ago,Look at sport we get new records 100 years ago i would have had the 100 meter sprint record!

Answer 7

It is believable. However, I don't know why people of faith insist on rubbishing it. Isn't it clear to any thinking Christian that God's hand is present in every step of creation, and that evolution is part of his work? If you look at the story of creation in the book of Genesis, it actually follows the pattern of evolution, the heavens and the earth created first, then the fish of the sea, then the creeping things, then birds, then mammals then finally humans.

Evolution is a demostration of the intricate and loving relationship God has with his creation, not a denial of it.

Reactionary, creationist Christianity will never reconcile itself to the modern world and will argue itself into a big ghetto.

God wants to use the human intelligence, not deny it and push ourselves backwards. On the point of humans not evolving, human evolution is held back by war, injustice and a fear of change.

Answer 8

- Yes, it is believable.
- It is a science, not a religion.
- Natural selection acts only upon animals poorly suited to their environmental niches. Horseshoe crabs have no 'environmental pressure' for evolution. Whatever random mutations occur among horseshoe crabs are likely to be irrelevant (and pass without notice into the gene pool) or detrimental (and then be less likely to pass into the gene pool).
- Only creationists who want to confuse minds about evolution believe that evolution says mankind came from monkeys.
- Harun Yahya is a fraud, a liar and a propagandist.

Answer 9

It's a SCIENCE, and there is no true science in the Qur'an. Qur'an is filled with PSEUDOSCIENCE.

Mutations, adaptations, recessive/dominant traits...
I hope you understand at least one of these terms. Please, take a biology course if you don't

I know you're just trying to spam Islam on us (your link takes us to a site that sells Islamic based books that refute science and promote Islam)

Here's a taste of your own medicine...

We'll start with an apelike species known as:
Toumai - Sahelanthropus tchadensis, which evolved into:
Kenyanthropus - Kenyanthropus platyops, which evolved into:
Ardipithecenes, which evolved into:
Ardipithecus ramidus, which evolved into:
Gracile Australopithecines, which evolved into:
Australopithecus afarensis, which evolved into:
Australopithecus africanus, which evolved into:
Australopithecus anamensis, which evolved into:
Australopithecus garhi, which evolved into:
Robust Australopithicines (Paranthropus) , which evolved into:
Australopithecus aethiopicus, which evolved into:
Australopithecus boisei, which evolved into:
Australopithecus robustus, which evolved into:
Homo habilis, which evolved into:
Homo rudolfensis, which evolved into:
Homo ergaster, which evolved into:
Homo erectus, which evolved into:
Homo neanderthalensis, which evolved into:
**** HOMO SAPIENS ****

Are you a Homo Sapien? I bet you don't believe that you are.
Evolution is a FACT, no matter WHAT your Qur'an says. Get your mind out of the middle ages and join the billions of people who don't get their scienctific knowledge from a religious book.

- Flesh comes BEFORE bones.
- Stars are NOT lamps in the stratosphere that protect us from evil spirits.
etc...
I could go on and on about INNACURACIES in your Qur'an, but I think you get my point. At least I HOPE you do!

Peace

Answer 10

I believe calling evolution a religion is a false interpretation as religion involves a hierarchical belief of deities and divine forces. I do however, agree that evolution still requires a certain amount of faith to believe in. Scientists as yet, have been unable to equivocally prove their theories. Again though, I would rather place my faith in a theory which has been explored by numerous scientific and empirical investigation and is constantly queried and questioned by its supporters rather than a belief system based on blind faith and a book. As a believer of science I am always ready to accept that what has gone before may be wrong and any new evidence is whelmed even though it may disprove what I previously believed in. Religion is too rigid with no ability to acknowledge it is wrong.

Answer 11

Every culture and society is very fond of its creation myth:
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab83
In 1859 Charles Darwin published his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
Opponents of his view, notably the Christian Church, misunderstood his ideas and thought he believed that human beings evolved from apes.
This misunderstanding persists even today, nearly 150 years later! It is astonishing that so much education has failed to overcome this silly idea.
Humans and apes evolved from an animal that was not quite like either of them - a common ancestor. Apes have evolved alongside humans.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/darwin/
http://www.biozone.co.uk/HUMAN_EVOLUTION.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/darwin_charles.shtml
This question, and those very much like it are often asked on this site - especially by Americans where the denial of Evolution Science is stronger. Many questioners clearly do not understand the science behind the idea.
If you want to delve deeper into the creation/evolution controversy look here: