How do people believe in the theory of evolution?

Question

When did it become fact? Last time I checked all scientist still call it "the theory of evolution" Please enlighten...

Answer 1

the fact is that organisms evolve...the theory is the explanation of that fact...

similiar to the way things falling to earth is a fact, but the mechanisms proposed by Newton, Galileo, Einstein are theories of gravity.

Answer 2

I have taken multiple anthropology classes, and understand the theory of evolution perfectly. However, I also think that nature is too perfect and too beautiful that it all 'just happening' is too improbable. So, I guess I'd fall under 'Intelligent Design', but not in the way that most people think of it now (ie, people trying to get creationism taught in schools) but in the literal sense, which means that we were somehow created by a higher power, and evolution, if it was the case (it does have its holes, but so do all theories to explain how we got here) would have been directed by this higher power rather than being completely random genetic mutations. As far as Noah's Ark, I don't really know - at the very least, I don't believe a wooden boat could've survived 4000 years exposed on top of a mountain. Almost every culture in existence has some sort of flood story (along with a creation story and a story of a deity being resurrected), which seems to indicate that at some point in very distant history, there was a flood that almost completely covered the parts of the earth known to humans at the time.

Answer 3

A scientific theory is different than the everyday use of the word. A scientific theory is an interpretation of scientific data that has been tested and retested numerous times. Gravity is also a theory, BTW.

The everyday use of the word theory in science would be a hypothesis (an educated guess). In science, you start with a hypothesis, and it usually involves a prediction. Then you perform numerous tests and experiments, to see if the prediction that your hypothesis makes holds true, and you repeat experiments to make sure the results are repeatable. Once you get to a point where there have been so many experiments and so much data supporting a hypothesis, it is considered true, and it becomes a scientific theory.

That is where evolution is now. There is about 150 years worth of scientific data and experimentation supporting evolution, so much that it is considered fact by the scientific community, and is the cornerstone of all the life sciences.

Answer 4

Can't add much more to what the hamster said, except that the word "theory" has at least two separate meanings, which causes confusion.

"In science, a theory is a mathematical description, a logical explanation, a verified hypothesis, or a proven model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise falsified through empirical observation."

- Wikipedia.

In common usage the word can also mean simply a hypothesis or a conjecture.

In evolution, scientists' use of the word "theory" conforms to the first definition.

Answer 5

It is both. Evolution is defined as a change in a gene pool over time. This is fact. It has been observed. The theory is that this evolutionary process is the reason for all the species on earth. So evolution is fact, the theory of evolution is that this fact is the reason for all the species.

Answer 6

Gravity is a theory, but we don't step off high buildings without technological assistance. Theory is a scientific term to recognize that our knowledge is never complete. There could always be something come up that sheds a new light on the subject.

Why is there a conflict between Christianity and science anyway? I think it comes from trying to take as literal truth something that was never intended to be taken that way. There are many kinds of truth in Holy Scriptures, including the Bible: There is metaphorical truth, poetic truth, allegorical truth, etc. It is a paradox, it seems to me that denying the possibility that God may have used Evolution to create what we see around us today is incredibly arrogant. It is saying that we know more than God does. I contend that Genesis is a search for meaning, and Evolution is a search for mechanism. They are both valid.

God is still creating. We can come down on the side of co-creating, or on the side of destroying.

Answer 7

There is no proof that any God did anything unless you accept that a God created the Mass and energy that caused the Big Bang. I would think it would be insulting to such a God if you would not believe that the God would know enough to perceive that the Big Bang began evolution. The God would also know the paths of evolution of every mote of that big Bang. Including the Earth and human beings amongst everything else in the universe.

Why do Christians underrate a God just to have a parable in a book accepted as a true happening?

Answer 8

Everything is a theory...even you're existence. Who's to say you're actually sitting there reading this... you may be a figment of my imagination, or an advance computer simulation. Nothing is ever proven beyond a doubt. Even our so called "laws" such as energy conservation, thermodynamics, etc. are bound to change over the course of human evolution.

The theory of evolution is based on a series of scientific observations and deductions. To date, it is the most solid explanation we have for how life originated on this planet.

Answer 9

You are in dire need of science education.

The term "theory" in science is not the same as it is in layman's usage. In science, facts are observable data and a theory is something that attempts to explain how nature behaves. For example, living organisms change over time. That is an observable fact, particularly in organisms that have an extremely short lifetime, such as bacteria. The theory of evolution attempts to explain how and why this occurs.

The term "theory" is never used in science unless the explanation for phenomena is firmly established. To say that evolution is a theory is to say that it explains this phenomena well and has withstood the test of time.
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Answer 10

Why do Christians believe in the creation story? Last time I checked, it was in a book with no scientific evidence whatsoever.

I believe in the theory of evolution because it is a scientific theory, meaning it has enough scientifically proven facts to back it up. Please look up the scientific definition of "theory" before you go saying it's "just a theory". It's no longer a hypothesis but it is not quite a law.

Answer 11

People belief in real research, real tests, real DNA research, real fossils, real paleontology, real science. People actual looking for answers (& not in no bible book) and tested those answers, people who ask questions, people who want to know more about their world and the life thats in it.

Please do yourself a favor, look up a ''scientific fact" vs "fact", then your might understand the theory of evolution a little bit better.