Biology

Creationism and evolutionary theories are broadly perceived as two conflicting views of the universe. Evolutionary theory, also referred to as naturalistic view, symbolizes a variety of beliefs concerning the emergence of the universe from which God and divinity are excluded (Roberts para, 1). Creationism on the other hand symbolizes a universal perception where everything was created by God. If evolutionary theory is believed as true, the perception of creation is ignored and God is gently excluded from existence. On the other hand, if creation theory is perceived as the whole truth concerning the development of the universe, then Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theory are perceived to be fundamentally imperfect. Creation theory not only rejects the evolutionary theory, but also rejects the findings of astronomy and geology, and the age of the earth is held to be something less than ten thousand years (Roberts para, 1). The issue of creationism and evolutionary theories has resulted in a major controversy between the supporters of Charles Darwin and his evolutionary theories, who mainly are scientists and scholars, and Christians who believe that the universe was created through the extraordinary creation act of an all-powerful God. Creationism and evolutionary theories, according to Witham, provide complementary responses to different questions (p, 62).  In order to minimize the existing controversy, it would be better to put these two theories together and allow the insights of evolution theory highlight as well as augment the Christian teaching of creation of the universe. These two theories illuminate four other significant aspects including ascribing ages to the planet as well as its strata, human lifespan, the existence of natural evils, and the problems in paleontology (Roberts p, 3).

Evolution, as described by Charles Darwin simply means that all life came down from a common ancestor (Witham p, 72). It is believed that human beings are descendants of apes. As a result, evolution rejects creation and thus God. Charles Darwin, who is believed to be the father of evolution combines different aspects of biology including variation and selection, which led to natural selection. Other aspects which Darwin combined include geographical distribution, geographical record, in addition to the mutual affinities of organic substances. Darwin however, was unable to find a solution to the problem of genetics and inheritance. Gregory Mendel later provided a solution to this (Roberts para, 4).

Creationism theory, on the other hand, bases its facts on the creation story in the book of Genesis in the Bible. This revelation has it that the universe was created by God in six days. Any attempt to tie this story to scientific theories results in total mess. It is believed that the Bible was written long before the invention of Geology, approximately three thousand years earlier (Witham p, 103). The Bible clearly records that in the beginning, God, the Rock of Ages, created the heavens and the earth in addition to all that is in them. Even though the Bible offers no scientific explanation of creation, it clearly outlines the greatness of God and acknowledges His ability to create. Scientific theories are supposed to inform our comprehension concerning creation and not depose it (Roberts para, 9)

Ages in the bible are recorded in terms of BC and AD. Archbishop Ussher of the 17th century recorded the age of creation as 4004 BC (Roberts para, 10). Early Christians and Jews believed that the earth was only a few thousand years old. Scientists, who rose in the 17th century however rejected this fact and argued that the earth appeared older than what the early Christians believed. Geologists, such as Smith and Hutton in the 18th century argued that the earth was probably millions of years old (Alexander and Numbers p, 36). The perception of geologists was however opposed by some people. Lord Kevin in the 1860s approximated the age of the earth to be over a hundred million years. Modern geologists applied radioactivity to estimate the age of the earth, and currently the age of the earth remains undoubted at 4,600, 000,000 years (Roberts para, 13). However, some Christians have problems with these ages, but the current age remains a fact they cannot deny. In order to minimize this controversy concerning the age of the earth, Christians focus on God as a creator in addition to the things that increase their wonders on Him and not merely on His criterion.

The complexity of nature that is currently observed is time and again attributed to an inherent tendency of matter to organize itself under a wide range of adaptive conditions (Schwabe para, 1). Human beings as well as other living organisms, according to Schwabe, have undergone extensive adaptations in order to thrive in their current habitat (para, 2). All these adaptations have resulted in complexity of nature with a major aim of making life easy and increasing lifespan (Alexander, Denis. and Numbers p 165). The evolutionary picture of life and death is very clear. It indicates that death has been in existence since the beginning of life, over three million years ago. Creationists nevertheless, believe that death was not in existence during the inception of life. They believe that death came as a result of the sinful nature of man. God created man and woman and the two had no sins. Later on, man and woman were deceived by the devil and this brought about the fall of man and the beginning of death. Initially, man lived for many years on earth before meeting his death. As a result of an increase in the sinful nature of man, God mightily reduced the life span of man. Evolutionary theory, on the other hand, has it that aging increases vulnerability and eventually results in death. This theory has it that lifespan is an evolved aspect, that is fundamentally determined by the process of evolution instead of some basic limitations. Various external conditions are attributed to lifespan these include presence of food and water, habitat, environmental conditions and predators (Aging.Org p, 1).

The existence of natural evils, which many believe to be purposely designed by a loving God is a terrible barrier to faith for a very large percentage of people. Atheist philosophers, according to Magee, argue that even though God could be justified in allowing moral evils to take place, He is not justified in creating a world and then allowing natural calamities to destroy the same world (para, 4). Although many argue that it were better that natural calamities be eliminated, these people have not considered the effects of their perceptions on the way the world could be operated if people were in charge of the earths design (Corey p, 76). Christians throughout history have provided justifying reasons for the occurrence of natural calamities. They claim that despite the presence of natural evils, God remains to be an all-good and all-powerful God (Magee p, 7). Creationists argue that God must have a tangible reason for permitting natural evils such as natural and physical calamities to occur, and this makes it unsuitable to lay the blame of these evils on Him. God is omnipotent and everything that is on earth belongs to him. Therefore, no limits should be put on what He should or should not do to His creation. God remains to be all-good even though natural evils are present in his creation (Magee para, 9).

Paleontology, basically the study of fossils, aims at revealing the ecologies of the ancient times, the evolution, the place as well as the emergence of human beings in the world (University of California Museum of Paleontology para, 1). It integrates knowledge from biology, archeology, anthropology, as well as computer science in order to gain an understanding of the processes that have resulted in the origination as well as the destruction of different forms of organisms since the inception of life (University of California Museum of Paleontology para, 1). Paleontology, according to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, has it that life on earth has been continuously evolving from the time it first appeared as a single celled organism approximately 3,000,000 years ago (para, 1).

It also has it that in between the inception of life and now, a variety of processes including natural selection, drift, sexual selection, in addition to mutation, have resulted in creation of novel forms of life. However, paleontology is faced by numerous challenges.  One of the main problems with paleontology is the missing links that are supposed to fill the gaps between varieties of species that have been recognized (Foote, et al p, 164). The other problem is that a great deal of fossils has probably not yet been excavated. Therefore, there is a great possibility that a wide range of ancient fossils have not yet been discovered. Many significant fossils, as a problem on the other hand, are located in remote places throughout the world (Foote, et al p, 165). Paleontology suffers greatly due to the fact that it does not receive sufficient funding and this factor is not likely to come to an end any time soon.