Observational vs Historical Science

Genesis Apologetics

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Natural history museums create the impression that scientists from every field unanimously support the idea that evolution over millions of years explain all life on Earth.

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But think about some of the topics we've covered in this series. We've seen that even in the core idea of evolution, natural selection and adaptation doesn't stand up to investigation.

00:19

Modern research has shown that the leading example for this, Darwin's finches, doesn't even support this idea because changes are limited to within each kind of animal and they can happen quickly, even within one generation, as animals adapt to their environment, but only within their pre -engineered genetic code.

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There's also a long, long list of scientists out there who don't believe in Darwinian evolution. I'm skeptical of the claim...

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I'm skeptical... I'm skeptical... I'm skeptical... I'm skeptical... I'm skeptical... We are skeptical...

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of claims for the... ability of... random mutations... and natural selection... to account for the complexity of life.

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A careful examination... of the evidence... for Darwinian theory... should be encouraged. I'm skeptical...

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skeptical... skeptical... skeptical... skeptical... of claims... for the ability... for the ability of random mutations...

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and natural selection... to account for the... complexity... complexity... complexity... complexity...

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to account for the complexity of life... careful examination... examination... examination... of the evidence...

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for Darwinian theory... should be encouraged. We've seen that mainstream myths, like humans and chimps sharing 99 % of their

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DNA, turn out to be exaggerations that are not even close to what they claim, actually consisting of cherry -picked

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DNA strings that ignore 18 % of the chimp genome and 25 % of ours.

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We've seen how human evolution icons like Arty, Lucy, and Homo habilis don't hold up to scrutiny, even within evolution circles.

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We've also revealed how the Neanderthals, who used to be regarded as the brutish gorilla -like ape -to -man connection, were just humans, living and surviving in their environments in genius ways.

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Looking at dinosaur extinction has also been telling. While natural history museums widely promote the asteroid theory, we've seen how numerous scientists abroad depart from this explanation behind the dinosaur demise.

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We've also seen how the Genesis Flood better explains the geological layers that these dinosaurs are buried in, layers that spread across multiple states, even 14 state regions with untold millions of land and marine creatures all mixed together.

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The action of catastrophic plate tectonics during the biblical flood provides a much better explanation about what happened to the dinosaurs.

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We've looked at how evolutionary scientists have rotated through four different mammal orders, trying to find the creature that plays the beginning part in the land mammal -to -whale story, but none seem to fit.

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Even over the last couple of decades, the ideas of whale evolution have widely varied. The stories, inferences, and exaggerations made by those promoting whale evolution have fallen short time and time again, with the actual fossil evidence not supporting the paddle feet, long tails, and blowholes they were supposed to have.

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We've also seen how the so -called vestigial hips and legs turned out to be just claspers that are required for mating.

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We've evaluated the idea of deep time and radiometric dating and have learned that while it may work well for relative dating, it cannot establish absolute dates.

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Whenever scientists try to validate the radiometric age of rocks to the known age of rocks, the results miss by millions of years.

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Those who side with creation and those who believe evolution both rely on faith when it comes to the distant past.

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Human history runs out just thousands of years ago, and beyond that, faith is the tool we use to understand the past.

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Ultimately, this is because we cannot apply real observational science to the distant past. Creationists and evolutionists both have the same data, but this gets interpreted through different worldviews.

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To the creationist, the God of the Bible recently spoke the world into existence, including all animals after their own kinds.

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The world was later catastrophically destroyed by a worldwide flood that left markers, obvious markers, on every continent.

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To the evolutionist, the mechanisms of random chance, mutations, and selection over billions of years brought everything we see to life.

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To them, everything comes from nothing. So, while it takes faith to believe either account, don't think that one is scientific and the other is not.

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You see, science, true science, requires observation, testing, and repetition.

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This real form of science is how we put people on the moon, develop new medicines, and make technological advancements.

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Evolution, on the other hand, relies on historical science, which requires making inferences and guesses about the distant past, a time we cannot go back to observe, test, or repeat.

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When a fossil is recovered, the only thing we can know for certain is that the creature died. We can also sometimes infer how it died and learn more about it from where it's buried, the material it's buried in, and the other creatures that are found around it.

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But these all require making assumptions about the past, a past that we cannot observe, repeat, or test, which are three of the essential requirements for real observational science.

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Creationists see DNA as God's programming code for creating all forms of life today, with each kind of animal reproducing after their own kinds, varying, of course, but staying within their

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God -prescribed boundaries as kinds. Genetic coding and reproduction is seen as so incredibly miraculous that it requires a designer.

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We also hold that this designer is the God of the Bible, who has made creation obvious to every person, but many will choose to deny it.

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What we see around us in creation supports a creator. We have a specifically tuned universe with planets in orbit, magnetic forces in play, and an atmosphere that is perfectly engineered for life.

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Romans 1 is clear that God has made his creation known to us, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal powers and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

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Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

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Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds and four -footed animals and creeping things.

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We pray that you have enjoyed this series, and hope that you have been moved to a closer understanding of a loving God who created you, knows you intimately, and desires to have a relationship with you through his

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Son. Looking for answers about what the Bible teaches about creation, the fossil record, dinosaurs?

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Download the Genesis Apologetics app from the iTunes or Google Play stores for answers to these questions and more.