Evolutionists: 'Oops! We May Have Been Wrong All Along'
Thanks
to a new study, evolutionists and their disciples are having to
reexamine some of their most revered dogma. Particularly, evolutionists
are now having to make sense of conclusions stating that almost all
animal species, as well as humans, showed up on the stage of human
history at the same time.
One
of the constants of science is that science is constantly revising as
it is challenged by new data, new theories, and new ways of observing
and measuring data, not to mention the changes in scientific ideology
molded by larger worldview shifts. Thomas Kuhn's landmark book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
provides a compelling argument for how scientific paradigms evolve,
shift, and even jump to completely different tracks. However, within the
many disciplines of science, evolution and evolutionists have remained
dogmatic about the necessity of remaining committed to certain a priori assumptions. Well, as it turns out, some of evolution's most revered a priori assumptions are now crumbling in the face of new research.
A study published in the journal Human Evolution is causing quite the stir. In the words of Phys.org,
"The study's most startling result, perhaps, is that nine out of 10
species on Earth today, including humans, came into being 100,000 to
200,000 years ago."
So
startling, in fact, that according to David Thaler, one of the lead
authors of the study, "This conclusion is very surprising, and I fought
against it as hard as I could."
The
study's very own author was so disturbed by how the conclusions
challenged current scientific dogma that he "fought against it as hard
as [he] could." His "fight" gives credence to the study's conclusions.
His eventual acceptance, not to mention publication, of the conclusions
speaks well of Thaler's commitment to being a scientist first and an
ideologue second.
Responding
to Thaler, a stunned Phys.org admits, "That reaction is understandable:
How does one explain the fact that 90 percent of animal life,
genetically speaking, is roughly the same age? Was there some
catastrophic event 200,000 years ago that nearly wiped the slate clean?"
This is no small matter for evolutionists because, as World Magazine helpfully summarizes:
According to traditional evolutionary thinking, all living things on Earth share common ancestry, with species evolving through a slow process of random mutation, natural selection, and adaptation over roughly 3.8 billion years. The idea that humans and most animals suddenly appeared at the same time a mere 200,000 years ago or less does not fit with that model.
Two decades ago, as an atheist reading The Origin of Species
for the first time, I marveled at the statistical anomalies required to
produce such a vast array of complex variations across all life within
the cosmos. I also worked myself into a headache attempting to wrap my
brain around the amount of time needed for the very gradual development of species to happen. At the time, since as an atheist I had an a priori
commitment to materialism, I shrugged off my bewildered headache and
accepted evolution's conclusions as true because, well, doing otherwise
required a philosophical shift that I wasn't willing to make.
Now,
as a committed follower of Jesus who believes that Bible is true,
including the parts about God creating everything and then destroying
almost everything with a great flood, this study makes me raise an
eyebrow and sarcastically ask, "Really? Who knew?"
My
sarcastic questions are best taken with a grain of salt when
interacting with the study (but more on that further down). Speaking of
the study, World provides a concise explanation:
In the past, researchers studied DNA in the nucleus of cells, which differs markedly from one species to another. But the new study analyzed a gene sequence found in mitochondrial DNA. (Mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells, produce about 90 percent of a cell’s chemical energy.) Although mitochondrial DNA is similar across all humans and animals, it also contains tiny bits that are different enough to distinguish between species. This difference allows researchers to estimate the approximate age of a species.
The researchers analyzed these gene sequences in 100,000 species and concluded that the event—either the simultaneous appearance of humans and most animals, or a population crash—occurred about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. That proposal challenges the bedrock of evolutionary theory.
As
interesting as this study is, we Christians do need to tread carefully
about drawing parallels too hard and fast between the study's claims and
the Bible. Science will continue to shift and change directions. If we
use this generation's scientific paradigms to prove the veracity of the
Bible we run the risk of tying an apologetic albatross around the necks
of future Christians. Using "gotcha" apologetics based on scientific
explanations runs into problems when those scientific explanations are
overturned and replaced.
The
Bible is true because God is trustworthy and faithful. When science
appears to run parallel to the Bible's claims, good for science. When
science appears to run opposite to the Bible's claims, then we need to
remember that science is fallible, as this current study demonstrates.
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