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What Is Evolution

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Egamberdi Egamberdiyev
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17 views

What Is Evolution

Uploaded by

Egamberdi Egamberdiyev
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What is evolution?

biologos.org/common-questions/what-is-evolution

Introduction
Providing a definition of “evolution” is tricky because the word is used in different ways.
First we need to distinguish between the broader worldview some associate with
evolution and the scientific theory of evolution.

Evolution as worldview
Some people consider evolution to be equivalent to atheism, thinking it replaces God or
otherwise rules out God’s involvement in the development of life. But that is a
philosophical or worldview position (sometimes called “evolutionism” or simply
“naturalism”), not a strictly scientific position.

At BioLogos, we are against evolutionism and instead hold to the worldview of Christian
theism. We call our position on origins “Evolutionary Creation.” That is to say, we
believe God is the Creator and also accept that evolution is the best scientific description
for how life has developed. This is similar to saying we believe God provides for the
growth and development of plants while we also accept that the theory of photosynthesis
is the best scientific explanation for that process.

Evolution as a scientific theory


In non-scientific contexts, “theory” usually means something like a guess (e.g., I have a
theory about…). But in its scientific sense, a theory is a tested and well-confirmed
explanation for a set of observations. The observations explained by the theory of
evolution come primarily from the fossil record, comparative morphology, biogeography,
and now most importantly, genetics. Evolution does not attempt to give a scientific
explanation for the origin of life, but only for the development and diversification of
lifeforms after the first life began.

The theory of evolution states that all the lifeforms on earth share a common ancestor as a
result of variation and selection over a very long time (currently thought to be around 4
billion years). Variation means that offspring are not exact replicas of their parents, and
selection occurs when only some of those offspring go on to produce more of their own
offspring. Common ancestry does not mean the species we find today have evolved from
each other—dogs did not evolve from cats, and humans did not evolve from chimpanzees.
Instead, if you go back far enough in the ancestral tree of any two organisms, common
ancestry predicts that you’ll come to a “grandparent” of which both current organisms are

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descendants. For humans and our closest relatives the chimpanzees, you have to go back
around 300,000 generations to find that common ancestor (that would be your
299,998th-great grandparent!). What did that process look like?

That ancient population (which was neither human nor chimpanzee) split into two
groups, and these groups were reproductively isolated—that is, the members of each
group only mated with other members of the their own group. Then over the many
generations of offspring, different variations were preserved in each group. Eventually
the characteristics of each group were different enough for scientists to recognize them
as different species. The theory of evolution claims that a similar story could be told for
the ancestral lineage of any two species that have ever lived.

Debates about evolution


There is very little debate in the scientific community about this broad characterization
of evolution (anyone who claims otherwise is either uninformed or deliberately trying to
mislead). The observational evidence explained by common ancestry is overwhelming.
Of course new data causes scientists to adjust some of the specifics (like how long ago
species diverged, or which species are most closely related), but this core view is
overwhelmingly supported and agreed upon by the vast majority of scientists in the field.

But that is not to say there are no debates and controversies about evolution among
those who accept this core view of the theory. Evolutionary scientists debate the extent to
which the variation element is explained by random genetic mutations, and how
important other selection mechanisms are beyond reproductive fitness. Scientists have
different views on topics like how gradual evolutionary change is and on the details of
how natural selection works. And as we’ve already seen, there are significant differences
of opinion about how to interpret various aspects of evolution with respect to
worldviews, such as whether there is overall direction to evolution, and what the
significance of evolution is for theology.

At BioLogos we believe the best contemporary science is consistent with Christian


theology. Find more information on evolution and the BioLogos perspective on origins in
the other resources on this page or by searching on particular terms in our search box.

Dear BioLogos reader ...


In the escalating vitriol in our culture, “science” and “faith” have found each other on
opposite sides of a polarized divide. Truth and community are under attack.

If there is one thing the pandemic has shown us, it is what science can and cannot do.
Scientists and doctors have done amazing things during the pandemic—identified the
virus, treated the disease, and developed safe vaccines that work.

But in these polarized times, science can’t reduce anger, forgive sins, build
mutual respect, or fill us with compassion for others.

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Science alone can’t give us hope. Faith can. Join BioLogos today in reaching a world
desperate for hope.

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