Was Darwin Wrong?

NO

HOWEVER….

• While Darwin was correct with his theory of natural selection – he was wrong about other ideas.

THEORY

• An explanation that has been confirmed to such a degree that experts accept it as fact.

• Best available view of reality

• Statement that to date has never been proven wrong (although could be in future)

THEORIES• Gravitational

• Atomic

• Heliocentric

• Continental Drift

STATISTICS• 45% of Americans only believe in

God

• 12% only believe in science

• 37% believe in both

• These % have changed little in 20 years

Alfred Wallace

• Independently also came up with idea of Natural Selection (explaining HOW evolution occurs)

• Darwin spent 22 years collecting data before publishing his book The Origin of Species – thus he is better known

• Atheist: (a = without / theo=God) “No God” Convinced there is no God

• Agnostic: (a = without / gnosis= knowing) “Not knowing” Not believing in a specific religion but might have some belief in the concept of a force one might call God

Number of shared characteristics

• Indicates how recently two species diverged from a common shared lineage

HOMOLOGUE• Superficial different but basically

similar structures found in different species

• EXAMPLE: a whale’s fin and a human arm share similar bone structure

Chimpanzees

• Homo sapiens’ closest relative

• Anagenesis: When a single species is transformed (still same species though)

• Speciation: When a lineage splits into two species

More modern proofs

• Population Genetics

• Biochemistry

• Molecular Biology

• Genomics

• Observed examples in the wild and in the lab (Richard Lenski’s 20,000 generations of E coli)

The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church Section 159

“Though faith is above reason, there can never be any real discrepancy between faith and reason. Since the same God who reveals mysteries and infuses faith has bestowed the light of reason on the human mind, God cannot deny himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth. Consequently, methodical research in all branches of knowledge, provided it is carried out in a truly scientific manner and does not override moral laws, can never conflict with the faith, because the things of the world and the things of faith derive from the same God.”

Pope John Paul II address to the Pontifical Academy of Science on October 3, 1981

“Cosmogony itself speaks to us of the origins of the universe and its makeup, not in order to provide us with a scientific treatise but in order to state the correct relationship of man with God and with the universe. Sacred Scripture wishes simply to declare that the world was created by God, and in order to teach this truth, it expresses itself in the terms of the cosmology in use at the time of the writer. The sacred book likewise wishes to tell men that the world was not created as the seat of gods, as was taught by other cosmologies, but was rather created for the service of man and the glory of God. Any other teaching about the origin and makeup of the universe is alien to the intentions of the Bible, which does not wish to teach how heaven was made but how one goes to heaven.”