The Nature of Science, Evolution

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The Nature of Science, Evolution Creationism

• part 2
• Mike Phillips
• Geology Professor

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Disclaimer (Georgia)

• This textbook contains material on evolution.
  Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the
  origin of living things. This material should be
  approached with an open mind, studied carefully
  and critically considered.

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Scientific Explanations

• must be natural
• must be supported by available data
• must be testable falsifiable
• subject to revision or refinement or negation
• should be predictive

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The Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics

• International Council on Biblical Inerrancy
• Summit II Chicago, November 10-13, 1982
• Developed set of affirmations and denials
  regarding Biblical inerrency
• cited by many creationists as a foundational
  document

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The Chicago StatementArticle XX

• We affirm that since God is the author of all
  truth, all truths, biblical and extrabiblical,
  are consistent and cohere, and that the Bible
  speaks truth when it touches on matters
  pertaining to nature, history, or anything else.
  We further affirm that in some cases
  extrabiblical data have value for clarifying what
  Scripture teaches, and for prompting correction
  of faulty interpretations.
• We deny that extrabiblical views ever disprove
  the teaching of Scripture or hold priority over
  it.

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The Chicago Statement Article XXI

• We affirm the harmony of special with general
  revelation and therefore of biblical teaching
  with the facts of nature.
• We deny that any genuine scientific facts are
  inconsistent with the true meaning of any passage
  of Scripture.

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The Chicago Statement Article XXII

• We affirm that Genesis 1-11 is factual, as is the
  rest of the book.
• We deny that the teachings of Genesis 1-11 are
  mythical and that scientific hypotheses about
  earth history or the origin of humanity may be
  invoked to overthrow what Scripture teaches about
  creation.

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The Flat Earth

• International Flat Earth Research Society
• Charles K. Johnson, president (deceased)
• grew to 2000-3000 members by 1995
• articles
• http//www.simegen.com/pipermail/simegen-l/Week-of
  -Mon-20010402/002100.html
• http//www.lhup.edu/dsimanek/fe-scidi.htm

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From Science Digest (July 1980)

• Johnson's beliefs are firmly grounded in the
  Bible. Many verses of the Old Testament imply
  that the earth is flat, but there's more to it
  than that. According to the New Testament, Jesus
  ascended up into heaven.
• "The whole point of the Copernican theory is to
  get rid of Jesus by saying there is no up and no
  down," declares Johnson. "The spinning ball thing
  just makes the whole Bible a big joke."

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Geocentrism

• The Biblical Astronomer
• Dr. Gerardus D. Bouw
• http//www.geocentricity.com/
• (but the Earth is not Flat)
• http//www.geocentricity.com/flatearth.htm
• The Fixed Earth
• Marshall Hall
• http//www.fixedearth.com/

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Biblical Astronomer Credo

• The Biblical Astronomer was originally founded in
  1971 as the Tychonian Society, on the premise
  that the only absolutely trustworthy information
  about the origin and purpose of all that exists
  and happens is given by God, our Creator and
  Redeemer, in his infallible, preserved word, the
  Holy Bible. All scientific endeavor which does
  not accept this revelation from on high without
  any reservations, literary, philosophical or
  whatever, we reject as already condemned in its
  unfounded first assumptions.

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Biblical Astronomer Credo

• We believe that the creation was completed in six
  twenty-four hour days and that the world is not
  older than about six thousand years. We maintain
  that the Bible teaches us of an earth that
  neither rotates daily nor revolves yearly about
  the sun that it is at rest with respect to the
  throne of him who called it into existence and
  that hence it is absolutely at rest in the
  universe.

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Young Earth Creationism

• Institute for Creation Research
• http//www.icr.org
• Answers in Genesis
• http//www.answersingenesis.org/
• Creation Research Society
• http//www.creationresearch.org/
• The Biblical Creation Society
• http//www.biblicalcreation.org.uk/

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• A Christ-Focused Creation Ministry
• 1. The physical universe of space, time, matter,
  and energy has not always existed, but was
  supernaturally created by a transcendent personal
  Creator who alone has existed from eternity.

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• 2. The phenomenon of biological life did not
  develop by natural processes from inanimate
  systems but was specially and supernaturally
  created by the Creator.

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• 4. The first human beings did not evolve from an
  animal ancestry, but were specially created in
  fully human form from the start. Furthermore, the
  "spiritual" nature of man (self-image, moral
  consciousness, abstract reasoning, language,
  will, religious nature, etc.) is itself a
  supernaturally created entity distinct from mere
  biological life.

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• 6. Processes today operate primarily within
  fixed natural laws and relatively uniform process
  rates but, since these were themselves originally
  created and are daily maintained by their
  Creator, there is always the possibility of
  miraculous intervention in these laws or
  processes by their Creator. Evidences for such
  intervention should be scrutinized critically,
  however, because there must be clear and adequate
  reason for any such action on the part of the
  Creator.

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• 7. The universe and life have somehow been
  impaired since the completion of creation, so
  that imperfections in structure, disease, aging,
  extinctions, and other such phenomena are the
  result of "negative" changes in properties and
  processes occurring in an originally-perfect
  created order.

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• 8. Since the universe and its primary components
  were created perfect for their purposes in the
  beginning by a competent and volitional Creator,
  and since the Creator does remain active in this
  now-decaying creation, there do exist ultimate
  purposes and meanings in the universe.
  Teleological considerations, therefore, are
  appropriate in scientific studies whenever they
  are consistent with the actual data of
  observation, and it is reasonable to assume that
  the creation presently awaits the consummation of
  the Creator's purpose.

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ICR Tenets of Scientific Creationism

• 9. Although people are finite and scientific
  data concerning origins are always circumstantial
  and incomplete, the human mind (if open to the
  possibility of creation) is able to explore the
  manifestations of that Creator rationally and
  scientifically, and to reach an intelligent
  decision regarding one's place in the Creator's
  plan.

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Answers in Genesis

• Believing in a relatively 'young Earth' (i.e.,
  only a few thousands of years old, which we
  accept) is a consequence of accepting the
  authority of the Word of God as an infallible
  revelation from our omniscient Creator.

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CRS Statement of Belief

• All members must subscribe to the following
  statement of belief
• 1. The Bible is the written Word of God, and
  because it is inspired throughout, all its
  assertions are historically and scientifically
  true in the original autographs. To the student
  of nature this means that the account of origins
  in Genesis is a factual presentation of simple
  historical truths.

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BCS Creation Manifesto

• While the Bible is not a scientific textbook, it
  makes some clear statements which have a direct
  bearing on the study of various areas of science,
  which provide both frameworks and baselines for
  the study of those subjects. The disciplines and
  issues dealt with in this section are of crucial
  and central importance (though many others could
  be cited), and failure to incorporate them into
  the relevant disciplines will result in failure
  to fully understand the subject, and failure to
  glorify God in that area of His creation.

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Old Earth Creationism Intelligent Design

• Reasons to Believe
• http//www.reasons.org/index.shtml
• International Society for Complexity,
  Information, and Design
• http//www.iscid.org/
• The Discovery Institute
• http//www.discovery.org/
• Intelligent Design Network
• http//www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/

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Origins(a Christian Leadership University web
site)

• For Christians, the date of creation is not a
  primary issue of faith and should not be regarded
  as such, because the Bible does not specifically
  state a date of creation.
• Some scientists in the Intelligent Design
  community of scholars are "young earth
  creationists," and many are not. However, all of
  these scholars recognize that the first priority
  is to concentrate on breaking the domination over
  science held by naturalistic philosophy--the view
  that materialism/atheism is the only rational
  perspective.

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Tests for a scientific explanation

• Was the explanation derived from observation?
• Does the explanation rely on natural cause?
• Is it supported by natural data?
• Can the explanation be changed or negated in the
  light of new information?

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Is it science?
Evolution Creationism
derived from observation yes no
natural cause yes no
supported by natural data yes no
change with new data yes no
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Irreducible Complexity

• A functional system is irreducibly complex if it
  contains a multipart subsystem (i.e., a set of
  two or more interrelated parts) that cannot be
  simplified without destroying the systems basic
  function.
• Irreducible complexity differs sharply from
  another form of complexity that may be called
  cumulative complexity. A system is cumulatively
  complex if the parts of the system can be
  arranged sequentially so that the successive
  removal of parts never leads to the complete loss
  of function.

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Irreducible Complexity

• To determine whether a system is irreducibly
  complex employs two approaches
• An empirical analysis of the system that by
  removing parts (individually and in groups) and
  then by rearranging and adapting remaining parts
  determines whether the basic function can be
  recovered among those remaining parts.
• A conceptual analysis of the system, and
  specifically of those parts whose removal renders
  the basic function unrecoverable, to demonstrate
  that no system with (substantially) fewer parts
  exhibits the basic function.

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Irreducible Complexity

• Short version If something is too complicated
  to understand its origin, the origin should be
  attributed to an intelligent designer.

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Irreducible Complexity
Is it science? Evolution ID
derived from observation yes yes no
natural cause yes no
supported by natural data yes no
change with new data yes no
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Irreducible Complexity

• Is it science?
• Who decides what is too complex?
• What happens if someone investigates it anyway?
• What impact would this have on scientific
  inquiry?

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Helpful Resources

• National Center for Science Education
• http//www.natcenscied.org/
• evolution science and belief Intelligent
  Design? 
• http//www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.ht
  ml
• Religious Tolerance.org
• http//www.religioustolerance.org/evolutio.htm
• Talk.Origins
• http//www.talkorigins.org/