Debunking Evolution - Adaptation Lesson 4a)

Genesis Apologetics

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00:14

Is it just me, or has the evolution from one kind of animal into another never been seen?

00:33

So Darwin's finches left South America, traveled to the Galapagos Islands, and over time, each island developed its own species.

00:43

But is that really evolution? Jane, Jane, Jane, look,

00:49

I've got a new app for my phone. Flashlight. I love this phone. It's got like everything you need on it.

00:56

It's got GPS, it's got constellations. What did people do before smartphones?

01:02

Their homework. Dude, watch this. Nice. Now can we turn the lights back on so we can study?

01:12

Yeah, sure. You and your cell. I know, right? This phone and me, we're going to take over the world.

01:20

Can it make me a puppy? Yeah. Oops, wrong icon.

01:28

I'll have them on in just a second. Jane? Jane! How did that even...

01:37

How does that even... Man, I guess those extra gigabytes really paid off. Henrietta!

01:44

Henrietta! Jane? There you are. Oh, man. Since the lights went out again,

01:49

I went to make sure Henrietta had some water. Oh, come here, babies. Aw, well, don't we look cute together?

01:59

Yeah, the resemblance is frightening. Oh, you didn't think

02:05

I was... You said, make me a puppy. Your smartphone is pretty amazing, but it can only do things it's programmed to do.

02:15

Hey, that's it. That's the difference. What's the difference?

02:21

I've been reading through a textbook, and they keep giving great examples of how creatures change, like Darwin's finches or these tortoises.

02:29

But this isn't evolution by natural forces if these animals were programmed to adapt like that.

02:37

I see what you're saying. Many evolutionists consider any change as evolution, which makes it seem like we're always evolving upward.

02:45

But not all changes come from accidental errors through mutation. Some pre -programmed variation helps animals adapt through genetic recombining.

02:56

Now, look at this.

03:03

Our book lists the sources of genetic variation. This page lists the two main sources of change as mutation and genetic recombination.

03:12

So mutations would be accidents, errors? Right. Mutations are usually caused when there's an error copying a creature's genetic information, which is found in its

03:24

DNA. It can lose, duplicate, or even copy letters in the genetic code.

03:29

But if I delete, scramble, or duplicate letters, won't I eventually get a new word?

03:35

Sure, but a new word doesn't necessarily mean anything. So if I scramble the letters in puppy, it just means gibberish?

03:53

Exactly. Mutations might be able to create a new combination of letters, but it needs to have a meaning for the cell to use as a blueprint later on.

04:00

In other words, a code isn't really a code without some assigned meaning. Gibberish can't create anything.

04:07

So mutations are always bad? Yeah. Look at what it says. Some mutations, such as those that cause genetic diseases, may be lethal.

04:17

Other mutations may lower fitness by decreasing an individual's ability to survive and reproduce.

04:23

Still other mutations may improve an individual's ability to survive and reproduce. It looks like they agree that mutations are bad, but then why do they say some may improve an individual?

04:35

They give you an example right here.

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Over the past 20 years, mutations in the mosquito genome have made many African mosquitoes resistant to the chemical pesticides once used to control them.

04:51

Okay, so it looks like the mosquitoes are better off because of mutation. Yes, but what they don't tell you is that resistance actually came from a loss of information in the mosquito's genetic code.

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The mosquito's ability to control its enzyme production is now messed up, and one of the strange side effects of too many enzymes is increased pesticide resistance.

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However, normal mosquitoes without the disease are much healthier in the wild where there is no pesticide.

05:21

So it was a loss of information, but it was a benefit for those mosquitoes, right?

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Well, they only benefit by being more resistant to the pesticide. The point is, by losing information, they lost control of an enzyme's production.

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Now evolution needs to explain gains of information over time. And the same goes for other examples they give, like bacteria becoming more resistant, bone density, humans becoming more resistant to HIV.

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But if a population of creatures continues to lose information, could it be deadly for them? Bingo!

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But here's the real problem. People count on that loss of information from mutations to create the genetic blueprint for every living creature on Earth out of nothing.

06:06

That's crazy. No way! That's so impossible! It destroys evolution! Right? Okay, so what about the other changes?

06:15

Program change? Or you called it genetic recombination? Look at what it says here.

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Most heritable differences are due not to mutations, but to genetic recombination. So God not only created all the animals, he also packed them with enough genetic information that would allow them to adapt to different environments and varieties we see today.

06:37

So adaptation is real? Yeah, I saw an explanation of it in the Focus on Earth Science.

06:45

Individuals with characteristics that are poorly suited to the environment are less likely to survive and reproduce.

06:51

Over time, poorly suited characteristics may disappear from the species. So a population of animals can adapt by expressing variety over time, but there are limits to how much they can change.

07:04

In what way? Think about rolling dice. If you had two dice, you could roll anything between two and twelve.

07:10

The variety is programmed into the dice, but you can't roll anything higher or lower.

07:16

I get what you're saying. Likewise, animals can express a lot of variety, but there's a limit because of the finite genetic information they have.

07:25

Exactly. And while we've seen some pretty amazing varieties within the kinds God created, like in dogs, one basic kind of animal can never change into another.

07:34

And that fits with all the examples we see in these textbooks. Although they like to point out the differences in finch beaks and tortoises.

07:42

It's just adaptation within the genetic limits of that kind. Right, but then they pass it off as evolution.

07:49

And you know, I used to think that all these arguments really showed evolution, but then I got to thinking. Studying changes in a beak shape, like Darwin's finches, won't show you where that beak came from.

08:00

And despite the minor changes, a finch is still just a finch.

08:07

But the truth is what we read in Genesis 125. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind.

08:18

And God saw that it was good. So adaptations are kind of like the apps on your phone.

08:25

Yeah, I can't change a person into a puppy, but I can run the programming that's already on my phone.