The Theory of Evolution Essay

Human evolution is a very controversial topic all around the world- mostly due to religion. Despite the conflict between religion and the science of human evolution, recently, there has been a statement made by Pope Francis saying that it is possible for both God and evolution (along with the Big Bang) to exist. The Pope implies "He [God] created human beings and let them develop according to the internal laws that he gave to each one so they would reach their fulfillment" (McKenna, 2014; Tharoor, 2014). What we now know about human evolution has come from the discoveries of fossils of our ancestors and the tools that they have made (Funk & Wagnalls, 2014). Although what we know is significantly small in comparison to what we do not know (Zimmer, 2003), discoveries in the fields of paleontology, anthropology and natural selection can help us gain knowledge, as well as an understanding, on the process by which we became “modern humans” (Unknown, 2013)

Pope Francis once emphasized, "When we read in Genesis the account of Creation, we risk imagining that God was a magician, with such a magic wand as to be able to do everything," (Taylor Wofford). This quote visualizes many of the Catholic followers' point of view when it comes to the theory of evolution. These people are also known as creationists, because they believe in the story of Creation that takes place in the book of Genesis. However, there are many perspectives that withhold the Catholic position on evolution, and they include Pope Pius XII, Pope John Paul II, and my own. These viewpoints will assist in bringing better acknowledgement to this contradicting subject.

The most well-known summarization for what evolution is, is a change in genetic makeup (phenotype makeup) of a population over time; or a change in allele frequencies in a population over time (College Biology, 2014, p. 513). Darwin’s theory of natural selection says that organisms have great potential fertility, natural resources are very limited, variation in phenotypes exists among individuals within a species, natural populations naturally remain constant and consistent in size, and traits (an observable or measurable characteristic) that an organism holds are heritable (College Biology, 2014 p. 486-489).

In a society based on survival of the fittest, adaptation and evolution are the keys to success. If there is a hurdle that a species cannot conquer as it is, it will then do everything it must to overcome it, even if that means change. Throughout time, evolution has helped us to thrive in the toughest of times. The human species is at the top of its class, overthrown by no other, but what happens when a species begins to encounter hurdles within its own society? Can the human species overthrow itself, making a new kind of human? (Bear 195) Did Charles Darwin leave out the last piece of the puzzle? If adaptation and evolution are inevitable when faced with a problem, then the demise of our species as we know it and

Until quite recently, neo-Darwinism - as defined as the combination of Darwin's theory of evolution of the species through gradual change guided by natural selection coupled with modern genetics - was accepted as THE theory of evolution. However, lately neo-Darwinism has fallen out of favor. Since neo-Darwinism has always been the most widely Observations in nature would appear to support the claims of Neo-Darwinism. Just as Darwin hypothesized, organisms in nature do produce more offspring than can survive and reproduce given the constraints of the environment. (12) Richard Milton argues, however, that evolution does not arise from " survival of the fittest" , but rather " survival of the most prolific" . (13) This argument is valid to a point. However, if an organism has a characteristic that enables it to survive longer than its peers that organism will have time to breed more times and therefore have more offspring.

In 1895 Charles Darwin published a book describing his theory of evolution, and his theory of the natural selection process. This theory caused much uproar in the religious community because Darwin’s theory went against the story of creation portrayed in the Holy Bible. His theory claimed that all life currently in place had evolved and adapted from a single organism in the beginning. Over time and by process of natural selection only the dominant species were left over while the other, less dominant species, went extinct. His theory, backed by scientific analysis, had dismissed the idea of a single deity creating all life on Earth. It is not like Darwin had a personal agenda against religion or anything,

    Stubborn people are hard to deal with. Even after evidence is presented, they stand steadfast with the "facts" they want to believe. No one is immune to this trait, no person always willing to admit they are wrong. In 1859, Charles Darwin published The Origin of the Species (Leakey 1). His theories had little scientific evidence to support his ideas; the book was only about what he theorized. The people became infuriated. The possibility of humans "evolving" from any animal was unheard of, especially if they cam from monkeys. People took sides, the majority holding to Creation, the idea that some divine power had made this world and all of the creatures on it. Still today, the sides

     Many people have tried to reconcile the differences between creationism and Darwinism but few have succeeded. Any religious debate is seen as a very sensitive subject and the discussion about the foundations of certain religions generally becomes difficult. Darwinism, in relation to religious beliefs can become controversial; some say they can coexist and some say they cannot. Darwinism was not intended to be anti-religious, but religious activist have criticized the belief since On The Origin of Species was published in 1859. Common ground between the two subjects is a very rough place, but it can be achieved. Reconciliation between the subjects has been

Thesis: Through both scientific reasoning and consideration of personal belief, conclusions concerning the issue of creation and evolution can be reached that do not conflict with personal beliefs or scientific theory.

Thoeries of Evolution      Evolution is the process by which living organisms originated on earth and have changed their forms to adapt to the changing environment. The earliest known fossil organisms are the single-celled forms resembling modern bacteria; they date from about 3.4 billion years ago. Evolution has resulted in successive radiations of new types of organisms, many of which have become extinct, but some of which have developed into the present fauna and flora of the world (Wilson 17).      Evolution has been studied for nearly two centuries. One of the earliest evolutionists was Jean Baptiste de Lamarck, who argued that the patterns of resemblance found in various creatures

The views of society towards the creation of humanity have rapidly changed since the discovery of evolution. Nevertheless, there was a time before the world did not know the theory of evolution and the theories demonstrated by Sir Charles Darwin. Before the evolution, there were people who were subjected to religious ideologies of how mankind was created, they believed that the upper class was known to be “divine creatures”. However, the introduction of evolution leads the theory to be the base of biology and changes the minds of people all over the world.

     Should the stork theory appear in books on reproduction? How about astrological lore in expositions on astronomy? It would be unreasonable to even consider those ridiculous concepts. This is why the idea of creation should not be considered as the answer to how life began. Rather, the theory of evolution accounts for the creation of life. Charles Darwin is credited with creating the theory of evolution. Evolution assumes that all natural forms arose from their ancestors and adapted over time to their environments, thus leading to variation. In evolution, there are many rules the environment places upon the survival of a species. “There are many misconceptions that creationists have about evolution.

Man could not evolve to any other state, because he was made in the ultimate state. He was made in the image and likeness of the Father so there was no need for evolution; hence, there was no sign of evolution from the beginning. Since sin came into the world, man has been deceived into thinking there is evolution. We are not talking about the theory of evolution that says man started from an amoeba or as an ape and eventually began to walk upright; not that evolution, but evolution in the sense of development. There are developments in the earth and therefore it can be considered as a form of evolution, but truly would it be classified as evolving, because man has not gotten better?

The debate over the teaching of evolution in schools has been an ongoing issue. It first came to the public’s attention in 1925 during the legendary trial Scopes v. State of Tennessee., also known as the Scope’s Monkey Trial. During that time, a young science teacher from Tennessee was on trial for teaching evolution in his classroom despite the state’s constitution stating that only creationism be taught. After much debate and deliberation, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of John Scopes, giving teachers throughout the state the freedom to openly teach evolution to their classroom (Farris 163). Much legislation has been passed since that trial, to either ban evolution, or further its

The earth formed out of dust and debris 4.57 billion years ago, the sun being around the same age. In the beginning, there was essentially no free oxygen and the sun was much less bright than it is today. A large planet crashed into earth and the moon was created. Thankfully, because this crash enabled the earth’s axis to give us seasons! It is thought that either comets are responsible for bringing water to earth, or at some point, water molecules in space clung to dust and we got rock and water at the same time. However, bombardment from meteorites stopped around four billion years ago.