EVOLUTION

Teleological Arguments and defenders of the Theory of Evolution



Teleological Arguments and defenders of the Theory of Evolution

1) The modern theory of evolution was developed by Charles Darwin, an amateur English naturalist, in the 19th century. He proposed that all of the millions of species of organisms present today, including humans, evolved slowly over billions of years, from a common ancestor by way of natural selection. This idea said that the individuals best adapted to their habitat passed on their traits to their offspring. Over time these advantageous qualities accumulated and transformed the individual into a species entirely different from its ancestors (e.g. birds from reptiles, whales from bears, humans from apes, etc).

The Evolutionist Perspective on the History of Earth

According to the theory of evolution, earth was formed 4.6 billion years ago. Its atmosphere probably contained little free oxygen, but a lot of water vapor and other gases, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen, and was extremely hot. By 3.9 billion years ago, earth cooled enough for water vapor to condense, allowing millions of years of rain that formed earth's oceans.

2) In the 1930s, a Russian scientist, Alexander Oparin, hypothesized that life began in the oceans on early earth between 3.9 to 3.5 billion years ago. He suggested that first, simple organic molecules containing carbon formed. Energy from the sun, lightning, and earth's heat triggered chemical reactions to produce small organic molecules from substances present in the atmosphere. These molecules were organized by chance into complex organic molecules such as proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids that are essential to life.

3) Teleological argument

A teleological argument (or a design argument) is an argument for the existence of God or a creator based on perceived evidence of design in nature. The word "teleological" is derived from the Greek word telos, meaning end or purpose. ...