Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker Springfield Park Baptist Church Tuesday 17th November 2009

Transcription

1 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker to Springfield Park Baptist Church on Tuesday 17 th November 2009 Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 1

2 Church & Evolution : Talk Outline Church History Lesson What is Evolution? Only a Theory? Selection : Artificial & Natural Evolution The evidence Church Response to Evolution Tree of Life Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 2

3 Church & Evolution : Church History Lesson Roman Catholic Church put Galileo on trial in 1633 for his view & evidence which contradicted a literal reading of the Bible. Scripture was used to denounce Galileo s view for a moving Earth around the Sun. - 1 Chronicles 16:30 "the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved." - Psalm 104:5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. It took 359 years for the Catholic Church to formerly accept Galileo s view was correct. Galileo Galilei ( ) Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 3

4 Church & Evolution : Church Lesson learnt? It s 150 years this year since Charles Darwin published his book Origin of Species that provided evidence for Evolution. Despite increasing evidence showing Evolution has taken place by Natural Selection, sections of the Church refuse to accept it. Are parts of the Church guilty of misusing scripture to denounce Darwin as they did Galileo? Charles Darwin Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 4

5 Church & Evolution : Darwin s Life Changing Voyage Captain Robert Fitzroy Royal Navy 4 x Great Grandson to King Charles II HMS Beagle Before the voyage Darwin had thought that species were fixed and did not change. After the voyage his idea s changed radically, concluding that species did change over many generations into new species. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 5

6 Church & Evolution : Not only Darwin s Idea Erasmus Darwin Charles Darwin Alfred Russell Wallace Grandfather of Charles Darwin Proposed his own Theory of Evolution but no explanation of how it occurs Provided both evidence that Evolution has taken place & explained the major mechanism driving Evolution is Natural Selection Independently proposed Evolution had taken place by Natural Selection This prompted Darwin to publish his now famous book On the Origin of Species Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 6

7 Church & Evolution : What is Evolution? First lets start by saying what it isn t. It is not a Theory on how Life started! That would be called the Theory of Abiogenesis. In 2009 we don t have a satisfactory Theory on the Origin of Life. Once life appeared on Earth, Darwin s Theory of Evolution explains how that life changed & developed over time into the vast diversity of Creatures we see today. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 7

8 Church & Evolution : Only a Theory? In 1980 Ronald Reagan said evolution is a theory only, and it has in recent years been challenged in the world of science Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 8

9 Church & Evolution : Theory has 2 meanings Theory Meaning 1: Most common use of the word Theory in everyday speech. Theory is a fanciful idea not yet supported by evidence. A better word for this type of meaning is Hypothesis. Theory Meaning 2: The Scientific use of the word Theory is very different to that used in everyday speech. A Scientific Theory is a coherent explanation of the facts found in Nature, and is supported by many independent kinds of facts. Theory of Evolution uses meaning 2 of the word theory as does Galileo s Theory that the Earth moves around the Sun. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 9

10 Church & Evolution : Fact & Theory Evolution is both a Fact and a set of Theories Darwin s Theory uses a process he called Natural Selection to explain the fact of Evolution documented by earlier scholars. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 10

11 Church & Evolution : Evolution is a fact The fact of Evolution is demonstrated by the fossil record that shows the types of creatures populating the Earth has changed over it s History. Today s life dominated by Mammals Life ( )Million years ago dominated by Dinosaurs Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 11

12 Church & Evolution :Darwin s Big Idea! Living Creatures that undergo : Reproduction with Variation and Selection cannot fail to undergo Evolution over successive generations. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 12

13 Church & Evolution : Living Creatures experience : Reproduction obvious fact of life for all species Source of Variation between individual creatures within a species was unknown to Darwin. Had to wait until Genetics & DNA were better understood in 20 th century. Selection only those individuals best suited to their surroundings that survive long enough to have offspring are selected to continue the species. Darwin called this process Natural Selection. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 13

14 Church & Evolution : Artificial Selection Dogs breeds have been engineered by man selecting out different traits. Rottweiler Brussels Griffon Chihuahua Labrador Retriever Springer Spaniel Gray Wolf Common Ancestor of all Dogs 15,000 years ago Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 14

15 Church & Evolution : Artificial Selection Some Plants have been engineered by man to grow food. Cauliflower Cabbage Brussel Sprouts Broccoli Kale Wild Mustard: Brassica oleracea Common Ancestor of many green vegetables If man can bring about changes in a species through Artificial Selection in a few Millennia, Darwin asked what could happen in Nature over millions of years. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 15

16 Church & Evolution :Natural Selection Selection - the prime mechanism driving Evolution has been seen in Nature Peppered Moth Light variety Peppered Moth Dark variety Mid 19 th century dark variety of moths was only 2 % of population by 1898 it was 98% in Manchester. The moth population change in only 50 years. Change due to birds finding light moth varieties easier to spot & eat in coal soot covered industrial areas. Scientists were not claiming the Peppered Moths had become separate species. It does show Natural Selection in action. If left to continue the genetic differences would grow over successive generations, eventually giving rise to different species. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 16

17 Church & Evolution : Variation from Mutations Selection acts on Variation between individuals caused by DNA copying errors during reproduction. DNA copying errors are called Mutations: Human parents pass on ~130 new mutations to their children per generation. ~130 new mutations every generation may sound a lot but when compared with the 6 billion DNA letters in each human cell it s an extremely small amount of ( %) change per generation. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 17

18 Church & Evolution : Mutations, not all bad! Mutations can be either: In 2008 Dr. Hutten s work helped cure a patient with AIDS in Germany. Bad : Cystic Fibrosis caused by various mutations in CFTR gene on Chromosome 7 Neutral : Red hair caused by mutation of MC1R gene on Chromosome 16 Good : resists HIV infection CCR5-D32 mutation on Chromosome 3 Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 18

19 Church & Evolution : Evidence Bio- Geography Galapagos Islands: 600 miles West of South America Albemarle Island Darwin s Finches Darwin noted different Mocking birds & Finches were found on certain islands, but they still loosely resembled birds on the coast of South America. 1 My old My old 4-5 My old Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 19 0 James Island Darwin reasoned that ancestral migrants Miles from the mainland of S. America had settled on the geologically new Galapagos Islands ( ~ 5 Million years ago). They then evolved into several species found nowhere else in the world, in response to the different environmental conditions on each island. Chatham Island

20 Church & Evolution : Evidence Fossils Modern Horse (Equus): adapted for grasslands Evolution of the Horse over 50 Million years Hyracotherium (Horse Ancestor) lived in forests. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 20

21 Church & Evolution : Evolution Evidence Comparative Anatomy Human Cat Whale Bat Limbs that have different functions, and external form in different animals, are never the less constructed of essentially the same anatomical parts. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 21

22 Church & Evolution : Evidence Embryology Dolphin embryo with hind leg buds Hard to explain if you accept Dolphin s ancestors unchanged & lived in the Sea. Easy to explain hind leg buds if Dolphin evolved from a land based Mammal. Normal Bottlenose Dolphin Hippo related to Dolphin On rare occasions the genes for growing the ancestors hind legs, that are normally switched off, are partially switched back on. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 22

23 Church & Evolution : Chromosome 2 Evidence Humans share more with Chimpanzees than the ability to hold hands Species Diploid (General Cell Tissue) Chromosome Count Haploid (Sex cells) Chromosome Count Orangutan Gorilla Chimpanzee Human Humans have one chromosome 2 whereas Chimps have chromosome 2a & 2b If Humans are related to Chimps then we should still be able to find the join marks in Human chromosome 2 were the two chromosomes joined together in the Ape ancestor of all Humans. Human & Chimp. DNA In the early 1990 s these join marks are between 94% to 98.7% were found exactly were you the same depending on would expect if Humans & Chimps are related. how you count it. This is powerful evidence that Chimps & Humans are related. DNA layout of Human Chromosome 2 is nearly identical to Chimp Chromosomes 2a & 2b Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 23

24 Church & Evolution : DNA Evidence Viral DNA sections can join to any part of a Human or Ape genome. The fact that the same viral sections, the result of a past infection,are now found at identical sites in the genomes of different species can only mean 1 thing, the now separate species have originated from the same ancestor. Proves beyond any reasonable doubt Human s & Apes are related! Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 24

25 Church & Evolution : Extended Family Tree If each generation held hands down a line then the line would be 240 miles long before my human family shared the same ancestor as the Chimp family opposite. That s 300,000 generations in 4 to 5 Million years. Sahelanthropus tchadensis 6-7 million years old. Lived before Human-Chimp Ancestory split. Ancestral hand to hand line goes London to Darlington before Human & Chimp lines meet Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 25

26 Church & Evolution : Evolution of Man Some Christians take the literal view of Genesis that Man did not evolve from earlier Creatures but his body was specially & directly created by God. But this view contradicts what we now know about God s World. Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Possibly a better way of reading Genesis 2:7 is God took the elements found on the Earth & eventually formed a Man through God directed evolution. God then made the Man spiritually aware, and he became spiritually alive unlike any other creature on Earth. This view has the advantage of allowing God s Word & World to be in agreement. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 26

27 Church & Evolution : Church Response Deny Evolution exists This may at 1 st sound reasonable but the evidence from DNA, Fossils, Comparative Anatomy is so strong now it would be unwise to hold to this view. To deny Evolution has taken place would be similar to when the Church rejected the Theory that the Earth moves around the Sun. The Church finally agreed that denying the Earth moves was untenable. Accept the evidence for Evolution and develop Christian Theology to accommodate it. Pope John Paul II, most Bishops, and some leading evangelical theologians accept Evolution. Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 27

28 Church & Evolution : Accommodating Evolution Leading Evangelical Theologian Rev. Dr. John Stott s view on Human Origins But there does not seem any biblical reason for denying that some kind of purposive evolutionary development may have been the mode which God employed in creating. But my acceptance of Adam and Eve as historical is not incompatible with my belief that several forms of pre-adamic hominid seem to have existed for thousands of years previously. It is conceivable that God created Adam out of one of them.... Adam was the first homo divinus,. Ref: John R. W. Stott, Understanding the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984) 55. Rev. Dr. John Stott Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 28

29 Brain size (cc) Church & Evolution :Accommodating Evolution Sahelanthropus tchadensis fossil Selam Homo Erectus fossil Adam Modern Humans Brain size vs Time Before Present (Myrs) fossil Lucy fossil Australopithecus (extinct) Neanderthal fossil Neanderthal Man (extinct) Chimpanzee Time Before Present (Myrs) DNA based family tree broadly agrees with fossil timeline Timeline Millions of Years ago Bonobo Gorilla Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker

30 Church & Evolution : Evolution of Ancestral Human line showing the increase in Brain size over the last 3 million years Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 30

31 Church & Evolution : Tree of Life Metaphor Darwin had a branching tree picture of how life is related. Relationships between 2 species can be traced back down the branch to where the 2 twigs meet at a common (ancestor) branch. The base of the tree represents the last common ancestor of all life on Earth. DNA indicates this would have been a single celled creature. A woman questioned Evolutionary Biologist J.B.S Haldane that she could not accept Human beings had come from single celled life. Haldane replied: Madame, you did it yourself in 9 months John B. S Haldane ( ) Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 31

32 Church & Evolution : Closing Words There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers,having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved. Charles Darwin, 1859 AD Ref: On the Origin of Species 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. St. Paul, circa AD Ref: Bible: Romans 8:22 (New International Version) Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 32

33 Church & Evolution : Thank you for listening Are there any questions raised by this talk? Tuesday 17th November 2009 Church & Evolution a talk by Gary Auker 33