The fossil record shows that in Earth's history thousands of species failed to adapt and became extinct?

Question

Is this evidence of unintelligent design?

People might even be justified calling it incompetent design.

Answer 1

thats a damned good point!

They could probably blame the recently extinct species on mans influence onto the world, but it has been happening forever. So yes, if God created everything he certainly didn't do a good job with most creatures.

I see no theists have tried to justify this yet.....

Answer 2

Actually, the number of failed/extinct species is probably in the millions. I see this as evidence that life can't adapt to change before that change occurs. Either evolution is a true fact, or the Intelligent Designer is horribly incompetent.

Answer 3

Many Creationists believe Noah's Flood would have drastically changed the climate of the earth (cooler temperatures, more radiation, etc.), and that there was a short ice age after the flood. Some Creationists think quite a few of the animals that survived the flood where not able to cope so well in the new environment. They also believe that is the reason why man’s life-span shortened so much after the flood.

Another possibility is that the animals may have become extinct for the same reason that many animals become extinct today. Why do we have endangered species programs? Extinction is the rule. Why? People killing them, lack of food, man destroying the environment, catastrophes, disease, genetic problems, and so on. I’ve read that in the last 350 years, about 400 species have disappeared and some say the number is much greater. Of course we are talking about species and not Genesis kinds.

Let’s think for a minute concerning dinosaurs—countries all over the world have stories of dragon slayers. Perhaps man killed them for food, sport, or because they were a nuisance. I think we just didn’t start our endangered species programs early enough.

No doubt many of these stories have been exaggerated through the years, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have their original basis in fact. I believe many of the dragon legends are simply distorted versions of dinosaur encounters. As Paul Taylor has said, “Most of the dragon legends are full of exaggeration, magic and marvelous deeds. But this is not true of all of them. Many stories seem rather believable.”

It is true that many of them are mythical or legendary but it is also true that most legends are based on some truth. It cannot be an accident that so many separate peoples of the world tell such stories. The same can be deduced from the 250+ different flood stories from around the world. Flood legends in many cultures that have never even heard of the Bible, and yet many of them are very similar to the account in Genesis. Why? Because everyone is descended from Noah. Some of the details have been distorted from thousands of years of telling and retelling, but it is based in fact. I believe the same is true of the dragon legends.

Answer 4

What evidence shows is there were creatures who did not even care to adapt; there were creature who adapted so well in one environment that when the environment changed, they failed big time; there were creatures that changed adaptations so well, they're still here; there are creatures that had poor adaptation but are still here, maybe due to luck. All in all, what fossil evidence shows is that its basically random - in human terms, unintelligent.

Answer 5

Jurassic era is preview of what will happen if life lives independent from God. It is the word of God which Satan refused to listen thinking God is withholding something from him, and that 'something' can be seen only if those independent condition have to act in the image of God. And so when God created man, have you not tricked them to satisfy your craving? and after thousands of years what have you found? Eternal life without God? No Franco, you found Death in the image of Global Warming. And the only way to avoid global warming is to squash your Jurassic Park because your Jurassic Park is evidence of unintelligent design, People might even be justified calling it incompetent design.

Answer 6

If you really take a close look at the so-called "fossil record" you will also see numerous vast graveyards of all kinds of animals mixed up that all died very rapidly and at the same time. Failure to "adapt" did not cause all these simultaneous deaths. An event of this magnitude would require a catastrophe. It could have been caused by a meteor striking the earth, but more likely it was a flood. Factor that.

Answer 7

It's evidence of energy finding its most convenient mode of expression. The whole question of "design" is just human beings anthropomorphizing the universe.

The truth is that in no way can we conceive of the universe as devised. If bananas were made for man to eat, was not man made for worms to eat?

Answer 8

Good design..maybe change in climate. They couldn't keep up with the changes.
Funny how humans are still evolving..up north (Scotland) all the old croft houses have doors only 4 feet tall cos people used to be so much smaller.

Answer 9

What are you trying to say?

That you are a product of unintelligent and incompetent design?

It takes all sorts I suppose.

Answer 10

You should read Stephen Jay Gould's The Panda's Thumb.

It's part of his excellent Reflections on Natural History series of essays.

In the title essay he argues that pandas are an example of really clunky "design".

To the person who asked about transitional fossils -- why, yes; they've discovered loads of them.