Replacing Darwin on Evolution Day

1. Species aren’t fixed. In Darwin’s day, the dominant scientific idea of biology was “the fixity of species”—that species were designed for their specific environment and that they don’t change. This was a position that didn’t come from the Bible. In Origin of Species Darwin showed that this idea was wrong, and he started a revolution in biology.

2. Species change. Darwin argued from his observations that species do change. We observe this today—we see remarkable variation within a kind, and we can observe that new species have formed. But Darwin took this idea too far. He observed variation (e.g., different beak sizes in finches) and believed these small changes within a kind could add up to big changes between kinds—that all life could be related to a common ancestor.

   But what he was actually observing is variation within a kind (kind, or min in Hebrew, is a biblical term that, based on their research, creation scientists place around the level of family—in most instances—in our modern classification scheme). God created each kind with an amazing amount of genetic variety so they could spread out and fill various ecosystems throughout the world. That’s why we observe variation and speciation.

   Species do change! But one kind will never turn into another kind.

   Species do change! But one kind will never turn into another kind. Each reproduces according to its kind, just as we would expect when we start with God’s Word. Many people confuse species with kinds, which is one of the reasons there’s so much misunderstanding on this issue.

3. Similarity in structure. In his Origin of Species, Darwin points out the similarities between diverse species (e.g., similar forelimb design in humans, moles, bats, porpoises, and horses) and argues for common ancestry based on common structure. Darwin’s observations were correct—we do observe similarity in structure across diverse species. But his interpretation of the evidence was incorrect because he ignored God’s Word. Similarity in structure doesn’t represent some kind of evolutionary lineage. Just as human designers use the same basic parts and structures to build things as diverse as cars and tanks, or the same code to write various websites, so God used similar designs throughout his creation.

   This makes sense because each kind was created to live, eat, reproduce, and thrive in the same world. Using a similar design makes sense—why reinvent the wheel each time? Human designers copy God’s method of designing when we use similar designs for diverse creations.

So Darwin did make some correct observations. It was his interpretations of these observations that were wrong because he ignored the truths of God’s Word. Since Scripture contains the true history of the world, you won’t reach truthful conclusions by ignoring God’s Word. But when we start with God’s Word, what we observe in the world makes sense.

It’s Time to Replace Darwin

On this so-called Evolution Day, I encourage you to obtain and read Dr. Nathaniel Jeanson’s brand-new book Replacing Darwin. Dr. Jeanson, who holds a PhD in cell and developmental biology from Harvard, powerfully shows that Darwin’s ideas need to be replaced—they simply don’t explain what we observe, especially with what we now know about genetics (a field that Darwin had no knowledge of). This book is a fantastic resource for those who believe in evolution. Replacing Darwin is available as a digital download instantly or as a hardcover book from our online store.

Dr. Jeanson says of his new book,

Strong claims demand strong justification. My book makes an audacious claim from the outset; the title alone—Replacing Darwin—takes an outrageous stance. Does the scientific evidence match this strong assertion?

For many decades, evolutionists have held creationist ideas to the gold standard of science. This standard stipulates that any scientific claim must make testable predictions. In other words, for an idea to be scientific, it must work in the real world. For many years, evolutionists have insisted that creationism fails to meet the gold standard of science. In Replacing Darwin, I demonstrate that evolutionary biology is not achieving its own gold standard, whereas creationists are meeting this standard—with unanticipated success. And creationists are doing so in the field of science that is most important on the question of the origin of species—the field of genetics.

I hope this book will give evolutionists much to think about for many years to come.

Order your copy of Replacing Darwin today at AnswersinGenesis.org/store.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.