What was the belief of creation before the theory of evolution?

Question

Why do we NOW believe in Evolution? When did it became a FACT(or Faith as I Called it!) Before any of you start on me: Why didn't evolution DESIGNED life for those planets other than Earth? The "Life ingredients" SHOULD have been made to survive for those planets as well? What made Earth so special?

I highlighted DESIGNED because EVOLUTION is "thing" that created us according to your BELIEFS.

Answer 1

The Theory of Evolution has been challenged since is was first written. Prior to Darwin's work, there were challenges to the notion of creationism but no concrete evidence. Darwin's work established a credible scientific basis for evolution.

With science able to review changes in people, plants and animals over the last few hundred years, we can show examples of practical evolution. For example, people today are an average of 3" taller than they were in the 18th century. Has gravity dropped or evolution occured?

As for life on other planets, it's there we just haven't found it yet. It's asking a bit much for the primitive technology available today to ascertain and confirm life on a planet several million miles away (let alone the 200 extrasolar planets found so far). The form life may take could be as single as a bacteria or complex as a plant. Give it another decade or so and we'll have some concrete evidence.

As for creationists, they don't like the challenge to the Bible because it impacts their faith. Faith is a powerful influence and, because its based on completely unproveable things, impossible to challenge in a fact based argument. You can't tell someone their "feelings" are wrong. Until we have confirmed alien life, we'll still have a dispute.

I always ask the question - Why create the Universe, populate it with so many stars and planets, then put man as the only intelligence life on just one planet? To me it just sounds both immature and arrogant.

Answer 2

You've asked *"When did evolution become FACT?"*

"Science and religion [are] no longer seen as incompatible."--The Daily Telegraph, London - May 26,1999

'Something' tells me you'll ENJOY reading (:

Do You See More Than Your Eyes Do?
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2000/8/22a/article_01.htm

What Birds Can Teach Us
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2003/6/15/article_01.htm

LIFE--A Product of Design :
~~ Copying Life's Marvelous Designs
~~ Learning from Designs in Nature
~~ The Great Designer Revealed
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2000/1/22/article_01.htm

Jehovah's Creations and Miracles
http://www.watchtower.org/library/lmn/article_05.htm

The Awesome Universe—Where Did It Come From?:
~ What the Big Bang Explains - What It Doesn't
~ So Mysterious, yet So Beautiful
~ 'Something is Missing' - What?
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1996/1/22/awesome_universe.htm

Humans—Just Higher Animals? :
~ Humans - Who Are We?
~ In the Image of God or Beast?
~ Looking Up, Not Down, for Answers
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1998/6/22/article_01.htm

Reconciling Science and Religion :
~ An Enduring Quest :
~ ~ ~ Accept the Limits
~ ~ ~ Let the Known Facts Speak
~ ~ ~ The Creative Days--24 Hours Each?
~ ~ ~ Faith, not credulity
~ ~ ~ Respect Science
~ ~ ~ Acknowledge Belief
~ Has Science Taken the Moral High Ground?
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2002/6/8/article_01.htm

If you enjoyed the above articles, you may want to request a personal (in-print only) copy of the Special Issue of
"AWAKE!" magazine of September 2006 :

"Is There A CREATOR?
~ Whom Should You Believe?
~ What Does Nature Teach?
~ Did God Use Evolution to Create Life?
~ An Interview With a Biochemist
~ Is Evolution a Fact? < < < < < < < < < < < < < <
~ Does Science Contradict the Genesis Account?
~ Why We Believe in a Creator
~ Intriguing Patterns in Plants
~ How Can I Defend My Belief in Creation?
~ Does It Matter What You Believe?
~ Watching the World :
~~ Giant Squid Photographed
~~ "Dinosaurs Ate Grass"
~~ How Do Bees Fly?
~~ Singing Mice
~~ and more ...
On the back is mention of another book on the subject:

"LIFE: HOW DID IT GET HERE? By evolution or by creation?"

Close to 7 million Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in evolution. We follow the Scriptural counsel to:

"Make Sure of All things; Hold Fast to what is Fine!" (1Th5:21)

Answer 3

Evolution was proposed by Charles Darwin in the 1800's. Every single experiment ever done has proved it to be a correct theory. Yes, there are holes in fossil records. Why? Because the process of making a fossill is very difficult and can not occur anywhere.

There are an incredible number of factors required for life to happen. The planet must have the right mass, to light and it can't hold an atmosphere, to heavy and life is crushed by gravity. The planet must be close enough to the sun to recieve heat and light, but not so close it's to hot. The planet must orbit in a stable orbit so that the seasons are mild enough. The planet needs other planets to protect it from interstellar debree crashing into it. To many crashes and life won't begin.

As if that weren't enough, lastly, it requires a little luck.

Life ingredients are found on other planets. Water is found on Mars, Organic molecules are all over Saturn's Moon Titan, Carbon is in abundance on Venus.

It just requires the right conditions, and these conditions are very specific.

But, the Milky Way Galaxy is 60 thousand trillion miles from one end to the other, it contains over 100 million stars. And that's just one galaxy.

We have only just developed technology advanced enough to detect large planets. Unfortuantly, we do not yet have the technology to reliably detect Earth sized planets.

Answer 4

Your question is barely coherent...which is hardly surprising. Here are the facts...the "theory" of evolution can be TESTED scientifically. It HAS been tested and, thus far, no test has been able to prove it to be false. In other words, there's a lot of scientific evidence which supports the theory. We have, in fact, observed evolution taking place...most decidely with the influenza virus (bird flu ring a bell?), and the common cold. there is also a great deal evidence favoring evolution in the fossil record. If you choose not to BELIEVE any of that evidence, that's your problem. It does not take away from the scientific validity of the theory.

Now, since you chose to highlight "designed," I can only assume that you BELIEVE in Intelligent Design (ID). ID cannot be tested in a scientific manner, meaning no test exists that could prove it false. That makes it purely based on faith and belief, not on science.

And, no, Earth is not special...at least not in the sense you are intoning. Just because evolution may be real, doesn't mean that life must evolve everywhere. Yours is a strawman arguement in the extreme. (Which is rather typical for those who believe Intelligent Design.)

Answer 5

You can witness geological evolution any time.

look at big rivers and how they bring silt and rocks down from the mountains. In people's lifetimes, sandbars at the mouths of rivers have changed with the increased sedimentation.

Also, erosion. A long time ago I saw marks on a wall that led down to the edge of a cliff in the South of England, where someone had dated the time when that part of the wall would fall over the cliff. The marks were measured not in centuries, decades or even years. They were months. These were chalk cliffs and the sea had been eroding them back several feet a year for millenia.

My point is, that creationists and the clergy of the pre-Darwin era preached that the Earth was static and as God made it. This is shown to be nonsense by simple everyday observation that any of us can perform.

So, the whole foundation of creationism crumbles from simple observation.

I am not someone who disdains religion, per se. It can comfort and nobody can disprove a creator. However, ultra-religious people are guilty of not opening their eyes and seeing reality, so bogged down are they in their faith.

Even Christ said "look and ye will find". Pity most of his followers over the centuries ignored this simple advice, as so many good people have suffered for simply stating what is obvious to anyone with eyes to see.

Answer 6

first of all evolution is no longer a theory it is a fact. Second question: god made man in his own image. Believing in evolution all falls into place if one looks at it from many points of views. and who is to say that life did not try on the other planets in our solar system: but life did not find a way. Maybe it was to hot, no water, too cold etc.

Answer 7

I don't have to believe evolution, I TRUST evolution.

Scientists used evolutionary record to predict that a certain species should exist in between two others they found. It was recently discovered, and filled in the gap perfectly.

Faith can't be tested, because any trial will not return a definite positive or negative (it is based on feelings of humans). Evolution can, and will continue to.

Answer 8

earth isnt special, think about how big the universe is, really think about it, probability says the conditions that exist on earth exist in millions of other parts of the universe, probably thousands just in our galaxy alone. it sounds like you think of evolution as some intelligent being with some design in mind, so I wont touch on the god subject, but keep in mind life is VERY HARDY and exists in places scientists never dreamed it could ever exist, like the very depths of the ocean where light cannot penetrate, they found tube worms for example. life does not need much to pop up and survive, it does not need the ideal conditions of temperate earth, just the right chemicals and some time. WE are probably here because of earths temperate conditions, but all life does not need our conditions

Answer 9

I do believe that evolutions exists. Granted, I do not agree that we all came from apes and monkeys. Yes, the difference is like 3% genetic material. But still... really, think about it. Also, (my personal opinion...) I believe that there are other worlds out there. Ones similar to ours... but of different because it's a different planet. But, I do believe that there are other "humans" out there.

Answer 10

Evolution has been observed and documented. We have caused it both accidently and purposfully. Learn the science before you question it - not from creationists, but from people who actually study it from a scientific point of view. I learned the bible, then history, then acheology, then started asking questions and then walked away from the things that didn't stand up to reason and thought.

You might have a different reation, but your lack of understanding of something that you are already against shows.