Re: Evolution: A few questions

On 6/22/04 8:02 PM, "Mike Tharp" <mtharp@exammaster.com> wrote:
> Just out of curiosity, how would one account for the evolution of the
> metamorphosis process of animals such as frogs and butterflies? It has
> always seemed improbable to me that such an elaborate process could have
> evolved due to natural selection for random genetic mistakes. However, I
> readily admit that this is a topic in which I am utterly ignorant!

Mike,

Characterizing biotic evolution as no more than the outcome of "natural
selection for random genetic mistakes" is familiar rhetoric, but it has
always struck me as inadequate and loaded with opportunities for biased
inferences. For instance, "random" is sometimes improperly extrapolated into
"purposeless," and "mistakes" is a word that can easily be used to convey a
negative judgment. Furthermore, reproductive advantage is often presumed to
be the sole criterion of continuation and movement along an evolutionary
lineage of successive forms.

I can understand why a person with a materialistic worldview might wish to
exploit these inferences, but if a Christian wishes honestly to evaluate the
concept of biotic evolution, then this rhetorical strategy seems out of
place.

Howard Van Till
Received on Wed Jun 23 10:22:11 2004