Evolution in 1987, the Supreme Essay

The Argument- The theory of evolution was developed out of the work of 19th century botanist and explorer, Charles Darwin and his book On the Origin of Species. Essentially, it is a scientific theory that postulates that organisms change over time based on pressures from the environment that cause genetic mutations within the organism. Over time, these changes are more adapted to a specific environment, more of that organism live longer and reproduce more, thus causing those traits to become even more entrenched in the population. Life then, is part of a gigantic tree in which primitive organisms, over millions and millions of years, evolved into higher beings due to the product of two opposing forces: variation in traits (common or rare) and natural selection (which traits aid survival) (Understanding Evolution).

Creation Science is a branch of creationism that has resurfaced in American education after several Supreme Court decisions defined what could and could not be taught in the public schools. Because religion cannot be taught except as a philosophical concept, conservatives now title their literal belief in the Bible's explanation of the origin of humans -- creation science. Creation science follows the literal view of the Biblical book Genesis as an interpretation of the complex events required by a creator to form life. They argue that life is far too complex to exist without a designer -- something as precise as an eye could not have evolved from amoebae.Creation science also disputes the geological age of the earth, the process of slow change over time due to adaptation, and the concept of mutations improving some species over time (Science and Creationism: A View from the National Academy of Sciences).

Book Examples -- Four books were chosen to represent both pro and anti-opinions of both evolution and creation science. All but one of these books had also been rated by Amazon.com customers using a 1-5 scale, 1 being poor, 5 being excellent. The results are:

Table 1 - Amazon.com ratings as of 8/29/10 (My Review in Red)

Biblical Creationism

Average 3.5

3

0

0

1

5

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

Average 4

15

15

19

29

83

Evoluationary Catastrophes

Average 4

1

1

Exploring the Evidence for Creation

0

0

0

0

0

Biblical Creationism by Henry Morris, known now as one of the fathers of the Scientific Creation movement, uses Biblical passages to put forward his views on the literal interpretation of the Bible. It is not a science book, instead views passages in the Bible as scientifical relevant. However, the largest weakness is the assumption.....