Why do so many Catholics accept evolution as fact?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Michael85
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Could you please show us some Transitional Fossils ?
If you only read articles or books based on faith based presuppositions you will likely fail to know when you come across the actual science and facts.

It helps to know what you are looking for:

What Is A Transitional Fossil?

A Quick Definition

A transitional fossil is any fossil which gives us information about a transition from one species to another. (Or, about a transition from one group of species to another group of species.) A transition simply means that, down through time, there was some sort of change. The change must be big enough so that each non-transitional fossil can be easily be sorted into either a “before the transition” pile, or a “after the transition” pile. A transitional fossil is one that falls between the two piles.

Are Transitional Fossils Common?

Some parts of the fossil record are good, in the sense that they provide a large number of well-preserved fossils, nicely spread out across spans of time. Transitional fossils are often found in those rockbeds. When fossils are rare, transitional fossils are also rare.

It is interesting to ask if good fossil records ever show a lack of transitional fossils. The answer is yes. However, there are known examples where a transition occurred in a specific geographic area. The new species then spread from that area, and arrived “suddenly” in other areas. If you dig in the wrong place, there are no transitionals. If you dig in the right place, there are.

But Where Are All the Transitional Fossils?”

Even with the relative scarcity of “transitional fossils” (relative compared to fossils reflecting the state of equilibrium of a more stable species), geologists have uncovered numerous examples. For example, Shermer notes there are “now at least eight intermediate fossil stages identified in the evolution of whales.”A grand example of a transitional species is the Ambolocetus, otherwise known as the “walking whale.” This creature, early ancestor to the modern whale, could both walk and swim and gives evidence that whales started their evolutionary life on land.


**
Why Aren’t There More Transitional Fossils?**

Transitional fossils bridge gaps between two species. Due to the difficulties in creating fossils in the first place, and the fact that speciation sometimes occurs very quickly in small groups, transitional fossils can be rare in the fossil record. However, even given these circumstances, there are still thousands of transitional fossils known to science, including those illustrating the evolution of modern fish, the transition of fish to amphibians, amphibians to reptiles, reptiles to birds, reptiles to mammals, and the evolution of human beings (as well as many other species).

Examples of transitional fossils
See this video for great examples of transitional fossils: evolutionfaq.com/videos/transitional-fossils

Also, see this Wikipedia page detailing just a partial list of transitional fossil examples: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transitional_fossils

Where are your examples of creationism?
 
The other concept that eludes grasp is that a human being is a unity of body and soul. Evolution only deals with the material aspect of man.
The soul cannot evolve as matter does.

Important to keep these in their proper contexts and not conflate them.
 
Any explanation of dinosaur fossils would just be a guess about what happened, since none of us were there. Thankfully the origins of life and the universe itself are recorded for all of us in Sacred Scripture (Genesis 1-2).
Perhaps Noah was there. 😇

I really have no issue with God created evolution and evolved creation.

The extinction of Australian Mega fauna and the existence of more economical models of snakes, crocs, kangaroos , wombats etc is not that mired in mists of pre history.
 
Please explain… Punctuated Equilibrium .
To quote Charles Darwin:

But I must here remark that I do not suppose that the process ever goes on so regularly as is represented in the diagram, though in itself made somewhat irregular, nor that it goes on continuously; it is far more probable that each form remains for long periods unaltered, and then again undergoes modification.
  • Origin, 6th Ed. Chapter Four
Evolution adapts organisms to their environment. If the environment is changing, then the organisms: plants, animals, bacteria in that environment will change. If the environment is not changing then the organisms will not change.

Hence we see periods of stasis, where environments do not change significantly and periods of change when environments are changing. It is apparent from history and geology that the periods of stasis are longer than the periods of change. Hence “Punctuated Equilibrium”. The periods of stasis are the equilibrium, while the periods of (relatively) rapid change are the punctuations.

rossum
 
To quote Charles Darwin:

But I must here remark that I do not suppose that the process ever goes on so regularly as is represented in the diagram, though in itself made somewhat irregular, nor that it goes on continuously; it is far more probable that each form remains for long periods unaltered, and then again undergoes modification.
  • Origin, 6th Ed. Chapter Four
Evolution adapts organisms to their environment. If the environment is changing, then the organisms: plants, animals, bacteria in that environment will change. If the environment is not changing then the organisms will not change.

Hence we see periods of stasis, where environments do not change significantly and periods of change when environments are changing. It is apparent from history and geology that the periods of stasis are longer than the periods of change. Hence “Punctuated Equilibrium”. The periods of stasis are the equilibrium, while the periods of (relatively) rapid change are the punctuations.

rossum
And all this was proposed as a way of explaining why they can’t find the billions of transitional fossils that should be there for all the animals we see today.
 
I would gently remind you that creationism is not about how life (i.e. the first life) began either. Psalm 41/42:2 applies.

rossum
So what is it about? The passages talk about the writer being preserved and when they will see god again. I am not seeing your point.
 
The author of the following article is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/16649/title/Why-Do-We-Invoke-Darwin-/

Ed
The article is an opinion on an opinion page. Even scientists are allowed to have faith based opinions.

Does evolution explain everything? No. So when a new theory subjected to the scientific method does a better job than evolution then evolution will be jettisoned in favor of the new theory. I read recently that the Templeton Fund donated 13 million dollars to an extended evolutionary synthesis but the modern evolutionary synthesis scientists don’t expect it will add much. We’ll know in a few years.
 
The article is an opinion on an opinion page. Even scientists are allowed to have faith based opinions.

Does evolution explain everything? No. So when a new theory subjected to the scientific method does a better job than evolution then evolution will be jettisoned in favor of the new theory. I read recently that the Templeton Fund donated 13 million dollars to an extended evolutionary synthesis but the modern evolutionary synthesis scientists don’t expect it will add much. We’ll know in a few years.
On the contrary, his point was clear. Even if Darwinism was proven false, biologists could continue their work without it.

Ed
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top