Evolution: Fact or Fiction?

Are scientists quietly discarding Darwin's venerable theory of the origin of the species? The Good News continues its examination of creation and evolution. How solid is the evidence supporting natural selection and evolution? Can they be proven?
~ by Mario Seiglie

How did the theory of evolution gain such wide acceptance? Is the evidence for it all that sound? What has science discovered to back up the theory? Is there consensus among many scientists in support of this theory?

Almost 140 years have passed since Charles Darwin's treatise on evolution, On the Origin of Species, appeared in 1859. Science has advanced greatly since those horse-and-buggy days. A vast amount of additional information is readily available.

Surprisingly enough, as we near the end of the 20th century, the controversy about evolution is increasing. Remarkably, much of this debate is taking place among scientists.

Heated Discussion on Evolution
Francis Hitching, a member of the Royal Archaeological Institute, gives a general view of the debate to date: "In April 1882, Charles Darwin died peacefully of a heart attack at his family home in Kent, England. His great theory, the basis of all modern biology teaching, had come to be accepted with a fervor close to reverence ... Yet as 1982 approached, and with the centenary of his passing, change was in the wind. Feuds concerning the theory of evolution exploded rancorously in otherwise staid and decorous scientific journals.

"Entrenched positions, for and against, were established in high places, and insults lobbed like mortar bombs from either side. Meanwhile the doctrine of Divine creation, assumed by most scientists to have been relegated long ago to the pulpits of obscure fundamentalist sects, swept back into the classrooms of American schools. Darwinism is under assault on many fronts" (The Neck of the Giraffe, 1982, p. 7).

Why the confusion and contention? Simply put, the increasing scientific evidence doesn't fit the Darwinist model, and many evolutionists find themselves on the defensive.

How has this come about? It has happened mainly because the three primary supposed proofs of the theory have not held up to further discovery and scrutiny.

Darwinism Not the Same as Evolution
A word of caution on the use of the term evolution: It can mean different things to different people. The dictionary first defines evolution as a process of change from lower to a higher state and, second, as the theory Darwin advocated. But they are not the same. Evolution literally means simply the successive appearances of perfectly formed life without regard to how they got there. It does not have to refer to Darwinism, which is the doctrine that gradual change led to one species becoming another through the process of natural selection and random mutation.

A species is generally defined as a living thing that can reproduce only after its own kind. So, although most scientists mean Da...

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