Evolution vs Creation
(written at about 11pm last night)

This is not a good time for eblogger to have server problems.

I have just been for dinner with my parents & 3 of my siblings, plus a family friend and his two sons. We somehow got onto evolution vs creation. My family and their friends are all creationists. I'm not. I actually think evolution is a very sensible explanation for how we got where we are. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about it to defend it to half a dozen creationists. I think I at least managed to explain to my sister that creationism should not be taught alongside evolution as science because it isn't science and isn't subject to any scientific criteria.

I explained about the fruit flies and the common ancestor. I asked if any of them had read a scientific work on evolution, just to get the facts. I came away with the impression that not one of them had ever looked at evolution objectively or considered the possibility that it might be true. That was depressing. It's so weird when you realise how far your ways of thinking are from your family's. Mine are probably further than most. I honestly try to look at things
objectively and understand both sides of the argument, even if I lean towards one from the beginning. I am in a permanent state of 'prepared to be convinced'. I have my own views and beliefs, but if someone can prove me wrong I will cheerfully admit to being wrong. If anyone would like to prove Creation, step up!

Another thing I tried to explain was that God and evolution do not contradict each other. The strict, literal interpretation of Genesis 1&2 do contradict evolution, but if you take a broader view they don't have to. We are told in the Bible that time is different for God 'a thousand years is like a day'. So why shouldn't 1 billion years be as a week? Why does it have to be literally 6 days? Why couldn't God have started it rolling and then watched as we evolved?

Evolution doesn't address the question of where life came from. It only tells us how life got from a point of being very simple organisms to being a wide range of complex ones.

I'm frustrated with tonight's conversation because I was brought up with Creationist theory and have a really limited working knowledge of evolution, so I wasn't able to present the kind of argument that a more informed person would have been able to. That bugs the hell out of me!
Well, it probably wouldn't have mattered if I'd been Darwin himself. Not when it's suggested that scientists can't be trusted because they're all part of a big conspiracy to keep evolution the theory of choice. One person (friend not family) even mentioned the Illuminati, for gods sake.

My family have this blog address so they will probably read the above. Guys, if you are reading this, I love you but I disagree with you.

Here are a few points I didn’t get to make last night:

1. Yes, evolution is a theory. So is gravity. Both are the best explanations scientists have that explain all the evidence available.
2. The idea that scientists are all conspiring to make us believe in evolution is daft. Scientists argue about everything all the time. They constantly try to disprove evolution as well as other theories.
i) The scientist who proves that God exists or that creation actually happened would be more famous than Newton or Einstein.
ii) Science is not a system of meekly following the crowd or the established dogma. It thrives on disagreement and new findings.
3. If you want to have a look at the theory of evolution and see for yourself whether it is worth consideration, go here http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-intro-to-biology.html

Having said all the above, these are just ideological differences. Yes, they’re important and they can be difficult to work around in the context of a relationship, but they’re not as important as the fact that I love you guys. That’s one that can be proved :o)

xxx