Can someone explain the theory of evolution?

Question

and why do you believe it instead of believing in God?

Ok, i see that you can believe in both evolution and God, sorry i didn't mean to offend anyone. Im doing biology AS level but we haven't done anything about evolution.

Answer 1

Evolution is the most stupid theory yet! How can an intelligent person actually believe in it? It boggles my mind to think that it has so many people fooled!

**socal**

Answer 2

The fact of evolution doesn't so much explain things in detail so much as everything in general. It's a system popularly (if sometimes erroneously) called "only the strong survive." It's incredibly simple to understand so the notion that there are those who just can't grasp strong evidence is worrisome to me, suggesting that our education system has failed. Evolution is as plain as the nose on your face. And why it's white when your direct ancestors were African-continent-born natives. By the way, I wouldn't have the hubris to claim that animals are not "rational." I take it you've never owned a pet or a horse or a pig or any animal? If you had, you'd have learned that animals are FAR smarter than man gives them credit for. Humans only like to THINK they're smarter. And, of course, we DO have opposable thumbs, which really helps the ol' evolution thing along!

Answer 3

It's constantly evolving but it goes something like this...a long time ago in a galaxy near there was a bang...a Big bang...a really BIG, BIG bang and suddenly this 3rd rock from the sun and all of the other planets appeared, lined up and were orbitting perfectly enough to sustain life on this planet. Out of the water on earth came a weeny, isty, bitsy organism that after millions and millions of years suddenly grew into a fish which after millions and millions of more years grew into an ape which eventually became a human being. Both of the sexes, magically evolved at the same time so life could be preserved because life is important. (This was incredible because females have a much more complex physical nature, but never mind that!) As time progressed and needs became apparent, so did our evolutionary process. In other words, need caused things that did not exsist to exsist. (I wish my bank account would do that!) And after many millions and millions of years here we are - humans, animals, plant life, stars, etc. etc. all just radom evolutionary mutations. Oh, yes, and this idea of God is just something man made up when he got bored or lonely and needed something to worship. Of course, most true evolutionistist don't pray to a traditional God; they pray and worship their father up a tree.

That's it in a nutshell...at least today. Perhaps tomorrow it will have evolved into a coconut shell. I hope this helps. Depressing I know because it takes away any sense of purpose to one's life or significance but look at the bright side, there's nothing to feel guilty about anymore because right and wrong is relative and sin is a farse.

Answer 4

In a nutshell:

evolution means that life with its overwhelming variety of species evolved over time by mechanisms of reproduction, incidental variation, and selection. These mechanisms are simple and easy to understand: whatever is better equipped for survival, will survive and reproduce in greater numbers, while defects and disadvantages lead to less reproductional chances. This has perfect logic.
You can believe in a god and evolution at the same time; you can believe in a god and deny evolution, or you can believe in evolution and deny any god. It is not necessarily a matter of either-or, but it seems religious fundamentalists rule out evolution because it contradicts their religious texts.

Answer 5

1st point:
It doesn't need to replace a belief in a god, only those stupid enough to take the book literally have that problem.

2nd point:
The short version is, since life began(something not covered by evolution) life has changed with each generation. Those who change in such a way to reproduce in more lasting numbers(a real fun subject to phrase, but that should do it) tend to stick around longer. After long enough, separated from others like them a population will have changed to such an extent that they are no longer able to breed, and are probably noticeably different.

First point is proven by the large number of biologists who are still believers, the second has been proven in labs with fruit flies in current times, and is believed to have been possible since the first life came around.

Note, it does not cover where life came from, just where all this different life did.

Answer 6

One can believe in God and evolution at the same time. It's called theistic evolution.

The theory of evolution is that basically, small genetic changes occur in living beings. Over time, these small changes add up and lead to the creation of new species. For example, there was an early primate that likely split into multiple factions: apes, monkeys, and humans. Given enough time, these new species can evolve into something that seems totally different from its ancestors.

Answer 7

The theory of Evolution is about how and why Evolution occurs. The fact of Evolution explains the what.

The theory of Evolution supports Evolution the fact.

In case you can't read between the lines, Evolution is both a fact and a theory. And most people don't talk about the theory of it.

I believe in Evolution because it has been proven. Because there is so much evidence for it.

I don't believe in theism because it has zero evidence.

Answer 8

evolution is a process that describes change. basically its when an organism tries to adapt to an environment and when a change is beneficial that change becomes more common. it is not just a guess. for example think of white colored butterflies released in a forest with dark trees. they are easily seen on the tree bark and therefore eaten by predators. mutations that make the butterfly darker will help the butterfly become more "fit" or more likely to survive. that mutation will be passed on through genes and spread through generations. because the darker ones are more likely to survive, they will become more populated and slowly they will become the norm. over time differences become so huge that they separate into different species. the process takes a very long time. hope i make sense

Answer 9

Well I think it was about 300 billion years ago give or take a year or two we cant be exactly precise on that because you guys proved that we couldn't rely on carbon dating. So anyway after a couple of billion years things got spread out until animals which originated in the see and we haven't got that one quite figured out yet but anyway they crawled up on Earth and become cockroaches which turned into dinosaurs and pterodactyls which then became birds. and little squirrel like things became monkeys which eventually got to be men and that's about it. So see how much more simple that is than a very complicated God.

Answer 10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution

Sorry, explaining it would take too much time. As for belief, I know it, not believe it. It is, after all, a scientific theory, just like the theory of relativity (how gravity works), the theory of aerodynamics (how planes work), the theory of thermodynamics (which is no longer properly called a law), etc.

The two, however, are not mutually excusive, unless you insist on a literalist interpretation of the Bible, which seems a poor choice at best since doing so would condemn Christians as being followers of a false prophet since Jesus failed most of the big important prophecies of the messiah.


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Further, ignore Uncle Thesis. Evolution says nothing of how the universe got here, how the planet got here, or how life got here. It ONLY describes how life changes once it exists. The fields you're looking for, respectively, for those three things, are Cosmology, Astronomy, and Abiogenesis.

This is a common lie that creationists tell -- that Evolution tells about EVERYTHING. It describes one single aspect of the universe, nothing more, and that is the changing expression of genes in populations over time.

That's it. That's all evolution is: change in the expression of genes in populations over time.