Discursive essay on evolution

The argument of whether or not evolution has occurred and still is occurring is a very controversial issue. Those who don’t believe in it tend to take a religious perspective and believe that the world and everything in it was made by a “Creator”, and those who believe in the theory of evolution generally do so upon grounds of scientific evidence. Evolution is a very complicated issue. There is what is known as micro-evolution, which is known as adaptation, there are slight variations in the species, but at any stage during the process it is still a member of the same family and species.

This is known to be true, what the argument is about is macro-evolution. Macro-evolution is on a much bigger scale, For example, from a fish to a dog. Evolutionists believe that if micro-evolution can occur why can’t it go further and change the species altogether. The “father” of evolution was a man called Charles Darwin. Around 150 years ago, he shocked the world when he wrote a book suggesting that humans were related to animals. Today, Darwin’s idea still forms the basis of what is known as “The Theory of Evolution”.

The word “evolution”, is used to describe the way in which living thing evolve or change, given time. The theory is comprised of three major sections. The first of which is called variation. All living things vary in size, shape, strength and colour and character. No two living things are exactly the same; for example, imagine some green frogs living and breeding in green surroundings. Most of the offspring inherit their parents’ green colouring, but some due to natural selection have different colours. The next part of the theory is how these adaptations affect a living things ability to survive and breed.

This may be a thick coat of fur to help the animal survive the winter or being brightly coloured to attract a mate; the coloured frogs show up on the green grass and are soon eaten. Over time, the environment changes colour from green to yellow as the grass dies. The green frogs show up on the sand and are eaten. The last part of the theory is called inheritance. The adaptations that help a living thing to survive and breed can be inherited by its offspring . If this happens, they too will stand a better chance of survival; the surviving frogs pass their colour onto their offspring, so that they too stand a good chance of survival.

Over time the better adapted plants and animals flourish as the less well-adapted plants and animals flourish. Many people believe that this process of evolution has led to the millions of plants and animals that inhabit the world today. Now the population of frogs is mainly yellow. A new species has “evolved”. Many people believe in adaptation, as shown with the frog example, but far fewer believe that creatures can completely change, for example, from a single-celled organism to something like man.

Another example of adaptation, which is more specific and closer to home, is the example of the peppered moths in Britain. About 200 years ago, peppered moths had mostly light-coloured wings which matched the light-coloured barks of the tree trunks where they rested so birds could not see them easily. During the industrial revolution, smoke coming from factory chimneys, coloured the trees, so the moths became easy to see. Gradually moths adapted which were better camoflauged on the tree trunks. This is micro -evolution because at every stage during this, the creature was a moth.

One of the main points for evolution is convergent evolution. This means that different animals and plants can look very similar. For example, most of the animals in the sea have similar shapes, although it is often doubted that they all started off with that shape. This is said to show that they all adapted in a similar way because they are all in a very similar environment and so they gradually take on the same changes, such as streamlined body shape. As one can see, there is a lot of evidence to support evolution, but there is also a lot of evidence against it.

If evolution is a true process, then there should be an abundunce of semi-species remains to support the idea. Scientists say that they have decayed over the millions of years, but they are very good at finding dinosaur remains which are much older, more likely to have been damaged, and practically irrelevant. If one believes strongly in religion, then it is unlikely that they believe in evolution. For example the Christian faith; God is said to have made the earth in six days. It doesn’t say that he introduced life to the world, and left it a few million years to evolve.

The archbishop of Westminister said “the likelihood of all these animals and plants coming from single-celled organisms is the same likelihood as getting all the components of a pocket watch, putting them in a bag, shaking the bag for a few minutes and pulling out a perfectly formed watch”. The theory of evolution says that mammals came from lizards and reptiles, which came from fish, which came from clusters of cells, which came from single cells. But the single cell is the smallest piece of living matter. Where could it have come from?

It is said to have come by accident, from a lucky mixture of matter and energy. This for many is too unlikely to believe. Many think that the theory of evolution was formulated for man to understand the universe, and how it was made, without including a creator. If evolution is true, then Adam and Eve did not exist, which means that one can believe in Christianity or Evolution. Human remains which can be almost a million years old, show no difference with humans from today, except that since toothpaste was developed we have better teeth.

If humans evolved from other animals, then we are not superior, we are not special, we are animals who have evolved in a certain way to suit our environment. Maybe if we look at it from an evolutionary point of view, then we could say that the ape is better adapted for it’s environment, therefore, it deserves as much respect as humans. People who believe in evolution, are saying that their ancestors are animals, but when someone tells them that, they get highly offended. It is said that mammals (which are warm-blooded), evolved from reptiles and lizards (which are cold-blooded).

Therefore, there should be something in between and there is no such thing as a “luke-warm blooded” animal. Also, evolution is about more complex creatures evolving from more simple ones. However, an American magazine has recently published an article about a creature which has the most perfect eye that the world of science has ever seen. This creature is called the trilobite, and its fossilized remains are found in the oldest rocks. So, what is said to have come from it should be even more complex, but it is not. The horseshoe crab is a simple creature.

This is one of the most crucial flaws of evolution, as it has deteriorated over time. In addition, evolution is about creatures becoming adapted to their surroundings. So, if evolution is true, in the far future all creatures will get to the stage that they will be so well adapted to their surroundings, that all the creatures in the same area will be the same. There will be no predators. All creatures in the Congo, will be one type, all creatures in the Antarctic will be the same, and we will have very few species left in the world. Recently top evolutionists had a meeting in Chicago, which concluded with them rejecting gradualism.

Gradualism was Darwin’s way of explaining how animals and plants changed into one another. This was rejected, and replaced by an instant change, for example a crocodile laying an egg, and a snake or a bird hatching. This is even more unlikely than the first. If it is true, how come in zoos this process has never been witnessed? My personal opinion on evolution, is that it is not true. I believe in God, and that he created everything on the Earth. Nobody knows the exact truth about evolution, but I accept that others have different views and I find them interesting, because it helps me see why I believe in God.