Scientists Unveil Missing Link In Evolution

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Interesting read, but parrots reproducing parrots, no matter how many millions of years they think they have been doing it, is no help to the theory of evolution.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin%27s_finches

Yawn, finches reproducing finches, no help to the theory of evolution.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabidopsis_thaliana

Thale Cress reproducing Thale Cress, no help to the theory of evolution.
Want more examples of recent evolution? Just keep asking and I can keep on giving, buddy.
(hint) Why don’t you try Bacteria!
 
Catholic Answers has an excellent article on the question of human evolution.

catholic.com/library/Adam_Eve_and_Evolution.asp

While I suggest you read it in entirety, I found the following to be a VERY important part:
It is equally impermissible to dismiss the story of Adam and Eve and the fall (Gen. 2–3) as a fiction. A question often raised in this context is whether the human race descended from an original pair of two human beings (a teaching known as monogenism) or a pool of early human couples (a teaching known as polygenism).
In this regard, Pope Pius XII stated: “When, however, there is question of another conjectural opinion, namely polygenism, the children of the Church by no means enjoy such liberty. For the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains either that after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parents of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now, it is in no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the teaching authority of the Church proposed with regard to original sin which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam in which through generation is passed onto all and is in everyone as his own” (Humani Generis 37).
So while we may believe that man evolved, Catholicism holds that our souls were a special creation and that human beings descend from Adam and Eve. In other words, polygenism is not accepted by the Church.

The article has an imprimatur, so there is no error in its theological statements.
 
If a child is born with a duck bill, this would be equivalent proof that man evolved from a duck.

As Chesterton pointed out, the profound similiarity physically between an ape and a human does not explain the profound chasm between the intellectual/emotional/artistic faculties. You can produce an ape that looks exactly like Albert Einstein, but without the intellect, it’s like comparing God to man.

Another question: Why did apes stop evolving? And if evolution is survival of the fittest, why do apes still exist? It would seem that the impetus to evolve - survival - would also involve eradication of the species evolved from, otherwise, there’s no need to evolve, since survival is not at stake…
 
Gravity is also a scientific theory, but are you gonna jump off a building to test it for sure? And it is not a “poor” theory, there are more than 200 years of millions of papers of research and lab testing and field evidence to prove it. The fact is you don’t even understand the difference between a normal theory and a scientific theory, and you have the nerve to say all scientists don’t understand their field of research?
Millions of papers and research to “prove” it, and it’s still just a theory? I’m having a hard time differentiating your idea of “scientific research” from “lottery”.

Yeah, eventually we’ll find a monkey that taps out the first Act of “Hamlet” on a word processor and a mutated donkey that looks remarkably like a unicorn. I guess that will prove that Shakespeare was a monkey and there’s a pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow.
 
Millions of papers and research to “prove” it, and it’s still just a theory? I’m having a hard time differentiating your idea of “scientific research” from “lottery”.

Yeah, eventually we’ll find a monkey that taps out the first Act of “Hamlet” on a word processor and a mutated donkey that looks remarkably like a unicorn. I guess that will prove that Shakespeare was a monkey and there’s a pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow.
As a previous poster mentioned, you apparently don’t understand what is meant by a scientific theory, which is significantly more than just a wild idea someone has:

“A theory is more like a scientific law than a hypothesis. A theory is an explanation of a set of related observations or events based upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple times by detached groups of researchers. One scientist cannot create a theory; he can only create a hypothesis.”

Here’s a link to some clear explanations: wilstar.com/theories.htm

If we’re going to speak of scientific subjects, let’s at least get our terminology correct.
 
As a previous poster mentioned, you apparently don’t understand what is meant by a scientific theory, which is significantly more than just a wild idea someone has:

“A theory is more like a scientific law than a hypothesis. A theory is an explanation of a set of related observations or events based upon proven hypotheses and verified multiple times by detached groups of researchers. One scientist cannot create a theory; he can only create a hypothesis.”

Here’s a link to some clear explanations: wilstar.com/theories.htm

If we’re going to speak of scientific subjects, let’s at least get our terminology correct.
When scientific theory violates common sense, it doesn’t have much to stand on, whatever the rubrics of formulation.

I still need an answer: What was the natural impetus of evolution from apes if apes survived anyway? Just because?

Survival of the fittest may explain intra-species evolution/adaptation/culling of the weak, but if man supposedly evolved from an ape as a matter of survival, apes should no longer exist as the stronger humans/apes wiped out the ones that did not evolve.
 
Look guys, there is no such thing as “pop science” or “major questions about evolution”. The fact of the matter is that the evidence for evolution is so overwhelming you would need to be in complete denial of reality to escape it. There should be no reason for this whole debate, the only ones who are promoting this literal-genesis garbage are a bunch of anti-catholic fundamentalist groups who wanna use creationism as a way of slipping into the public education system and get a theocratic system set up with them in control. Just a while ago the Catholic church did a whole meeting discussing scientific advances and concepts, and they intentionally refused creationist groups to join because the top catholic scientists know it is hogwash. If you have any questions still about evolution, this site is both comprehensive but also organized and easy to read (it covers almost every question out there talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html)

PS The recent swine virus alone is evidence for evolution
Fear the theocracy. It’s going to happen any minute now. The only thing keeping fundamentalists and creationists out of schools is evolution? Quite a conspiracy theory.

The fact is – atheists kicked God out of schools and desire to set up an Atheist Technocracy. The swine flu virus is not an example of evolution. Viruses have the built-in ability to change in response to outside threats, otherwise they would have died out.

Peace,
Ed
 
Um, hellooooo, Earth to Buffalo, that’s what evolution is!!!
No, that’s not the version being advertised. Apes and men had a common ancestor. Gills went to lungs. The untestable theory is the appearance of new organs with novel, integrated function. Not only does a lung need to be integrated into the body but it needs to be integrated into the central nervous system. An eye is not just an eyeball, it includes an optic nerve that needs to go into the right spot in the brain, and the animal in question must be able to successfully interpret the incoming data.

Peace,
Ed
 
Gravity is also a scientific theory, but are you gonna jump off a building to test it for sure? And it is not a “poor” theory, there are more than 200 years of millions of papers of research and lab testing and field evidence to prove it. The fact is you don’t even understand the difference between a normal theory and a scientific theory, and you have the nerve to say all scientists don’t understand their field of research?
I read Darwin’s books The Origin of Species and The Voyage of the Beagle. He gave excellent proof of natural selection and so I accept this part of evolutionary theory without any difficulty. But he and paleontologists who have their story that man shares common ancestry with apes does not find it so easy to prove this. e.g. You find fossils that reveal animals existed years back that resembled humans in different ways. Doesn’t that tell tell you there has been different species of animal’s extant now? Animal species change over time and some die off, and animals and humans all resemble each other one way or another. No cross over from animal to human or a common ancestor between man and ape need even be in the picture, as I understand things.
 
When scientific theory violates common sense, it doesn’t have much to stand on, whatever the rubrics of formulation.

I still need an answer: What was the natural impetus of evolution from apes if apes survived anyway? Just because?

Survival of the fittest may explain intra-species evolution/adaptation/culling of the weak, but if man supposedly evolved from an ape as a matter of survival, apes should no longer exist as the stronger humans/apes wiped out the ones that did not evolve.
Your basic premise is flawed.

It is my understanding that man and other primates share a common ancestor, but actually evolved along different lines, depending upon their habitat, etc. First adaptation, then speciation occurred. So, it makes sense that other primates (monkeys, chimps, orangutans, etc.) still exist. It is not a matter of one straight line, but rather many branches, leading to man. (I will have to check with my very Catholic and extremely bright SIL, who just received his Ph.D. in evolutionary biology, to see that my terminology is correct.)

Of course, as Catholic Christians, we believe that, at some point, God chose to create Adam and Eve. The Church finds nothing wrong with the theory of evolution, as long as we accept that God is the ultimate Author of creation; that’s good enough for me. As my SIL says “evolution is God’s modus operandi.”
 
Your basic premise is flawed.

It is my understanding that man and other primates share a common ancestor, but actually evolved along different lines, depending upon their habitat, etc. First adaptation, then speciation occurred. So, it makes sense that other primates (monkeys, chimps, orangutans, etc.) still exist. It is not a matter of one straight line, but rather many branches, leading to man. (I will have to check with my very Catholic and extremely bright SIL, who just received his Ph.D. in evolutionary biology, to see that my terminology is correct.)

Of course, as Catholic Christians, we believe that, at some point, God chose to create Adam and Eve. The Church finds nothing wrong with the theory of evolution, as long as we accept that God is the ultimate Author of creation; that’s good enough for me. As my SIL says “evolution is God’s modus operandi.”
Ask you SIL if God knew what man would look like?
 
Scientists are split on whether homo erectus should even be put in the same categorty as humans. I agree with them. That allows me to believe that there exists natural selection and extinction in the animal world with a whole separate reality of adaptation for humans. Now extant animals may have existed long, long ago along with the homo habilis and homo erectus living among them as fellow animals. But I believe it is possible that Adam (a full human being endowed with supernatural and preternatural gifts) was formed from something of the earth and the breath of God breathing life in to his nostrils at a much later time in history (the notorious 4000 yrs ago maybe?🙂

God created the animals first and in the end, much much later on, on the last working “day” (which is not measured by 24 hrs. - as there wasn’t even a sun on the first day), humans were formed.
 
Ask you SIL if God knew what man would look like?
Don’t need to (and SIL would answer that as a Catholic, not as a scientist, btw…)

Of course He did; God knew, knows, will know…everything, as He is omniscient.

I think we tie ourselves in knots trying to understand and analyze God, which we can never do. God is the ultimate Creator of all; how He chose to do it is of little importance to me…just that He did. It is, however, fascinating.
 
Scientists are split on whether homo erectus should even be put in the same categorty as humans. I agree with them. That allows me to believe that there exists natural selection and extinction in the animal world with a whole separate reality of adaptation for humans. Now extant animals may have existed long, long ago along with the homo habilis and homo erectus living among them as fellow animals. But I believe it is possible that Adam (a full human being endowed with supernatural and preternatural gifts) was formed from something of the earth and the breath of God breathing life in to his nostrils at a much later time in history (the notorious 4000 yrs ago maybe?🙂

God created the animals first and in the end, much much later on, on the last working “day” (which is not measured by 24 hrs. - as there wasn’t even a sun on the first day), humans were formed.
This sounds so much like what the good Sisters taught us way back in the late '50s and early '60s. As long as we believed that, at some point of His choosing, God “breathed a soul” into Adam, we were good! I’ve heard an orthodox Catholic professor state that that may have happened about 60,000 years ago, but that question is certainly open to discussion; beats me!
 
Don’t need to (and SIL would answer that as a Catholic, not as a scientist, btw…)

Of course He did; God knew, knows, will know…everything, as He is omniscient.

I think we tie ourselves in knots trying to understand and analyze God, which we can never do. God is the ultimate Creator of all; how He chose to do it is of little importance to me…just that He did. It is, however, fascinating.
So that would mean that God guided evolution. If that be the case is it really evolution?
 
The lemur-like fossil was found pretty intact - interesting - but it proves nothing about common ancestry. Like buffalo pointed out it actually obfuscates what evolutionists have come up with thus far. Now the evolutionists will have to concoct a whole new story to explain their new finding and make it fit in with what they believe.
They’re pretty handy at that, though. When all the evidence goes against them, they can always reach into their Magic Hat and produce a whole new line of wishful thinking that they can try to peddle as “proof”, like the Hopeful Monster or Punctuated Equilibrium.
Look guys, there is no such thing as “pop science” or “major questions about evolution”. The fact of the matter is that the evidence for evolution is so overwhelming you would need to be in complete denial of reality to escape it.
If you only stick to the evidence that the evolutionists allow into the debate, yeah, the evidence is overwhelming. If you add all the evidence that isn’t permitted by the scietific community because it’s anamalous and it doesn’t fit the Standard Darwinian Template, then it’s not so overwhelming. Not even close, in fact.
If you have any questions still about evolution, this site is both comprehensive but also organized and easy to read (it covers almost every question out there talkorigins.org/indexcc/list.html)
Ah, talkorigins. Last bastion of the militant Darwinist.
PS The recent swine virus alone is evidence for evolution
Right. When the virus becomes a whale, let me know.
Let’s not forget about the other so-called “missing link” that fooled the world’s best scientists at the time it was found. Turns out it was just a bunch of primate bones put together.
You mean they just found a bunch of old bones and put them together in a way they thought they oughtta go? Heck, us iggerant, uneddicated hicks out here in th’ sticks been doin’ that fer years:

http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_627479_imageset_01?$main-Large$
So telling the truth and educating people about the biological evolution of species on Earth is “pushing your own idea”?
“Truth” would be the relevant aspect, I believe. Is it, or isn’t it?
Gravity is testable, repeatable and predictable. That’s why no one jumps off a building to test it.

Evolution is not.
Yes it is, have you never heard of this thing called a “virus” and these things called “fossil records”?
A virus mutating is not evidence of evolution. Once again, when the virus becomes something other than a virus, let me know. (I’m sure you’ll understand if I don’t hold my breath, by the way.)
Want more examples of recent evolution? Just keep asking and I can keep on giving, buddy.
No need to get snotty, my dear fellow.
Um, hellooooo, Earth to Buffalo, that’s what evolution is!!!
No, evolution is a fairy tale for adults.
 
This sounds so much like what the good Sisters taught us way back in the late '50s and early '60s. As long as we believed that, at some point of His choosing, God “breathed a soul” into Adam, we were good! I’ve heard an orthodox Catholic professor state that that may have happened about 60,000 years ago, but that question is certainly open to discussion; beats me!
A little girl asked her father, “Daddy, how did the human race appear?”

Her father answered, “God made Adam and Eve; they had children; and so all mankind was made.”

Two days later the girl asked her teacher the same question. The teacher answered, “Many years ago there were monkeylike creatures from which the human race evolved.’”

The confused girl returned to her father and said, “Daddy, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and my teacher said they developed from things like monkeys?”

The father answered, "Well, dear, it’s very simple. I told you about our ancestors, and your teacher told you about hers."
 
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