Here is a recording of my 10/30/2019 presentation to several teens and pre-teens on the limits of biological evolution, the theory of macro-evolution by natural selection, and the fact of direct creation by an unfathomably wise, intelligent, powerful, and purposeful Designer, followed by what could be called micro-evolution or adaptation within a species or genus. It also contains links to the supplemental videos and books that fit with the presentation.
Part One:
Outline:
- Evolution defined generally
- Why the idea of biological evolution is controversial
- Crucial distinction: Micro-evolution versus Macro-evolution
- Micro-evolution in humans? Compare current haplogroup map with Genesis 10’s list of 70 nations
- Micro-evolution in Darwin’s famous finches
- Micro-evolution and artificial selection in today’s many dog breeds
- Micro-evolution and natural selection in canine and feline families
- Macro-evolution from land mammals to whales? [No.]
- Macro-evolution from primitive hominids to modern humans? [No.]
- Seeing is believing? (The problem of artwork, imagination, and brainwashing in Darwinian faith.)
- Crucial question: Similar designs indicate a common ancestor or a common Designer?
- How to put the theory of Darwin-inspired Macro-evolution to the test?
- Does Genesis 1-11 leave any room for any kind of biological evolution?
Part 2:
There was a problem with posting part two to youtube. It detected some of the intellectual property of one of the other videos and set it to private due to possible copyright infringements.
This second video may not be worth watching. It’s a video of the class watching various videos (listed below) and me occasionally interrupting them to add commentary. I mainly include this for the sake of the courtesy of transparency so that parents of these homeschoolers may know with certainty what I said to their children.
Supplemental video segments #1, 2, 3:
“Some of the Things Molecules Do,” episode #2 of COSMOS: A SPACETIME ODYSSEY. By Ann Druyan, Steven Soter, and Carl Sagan. Narrated by Neil deGrass Tyson.
I had to pay two dollars to purchase the rights to watch this episode. A free but incomplete version can be found by scrolling down a little further.
Segment 1: 8:26-15:55 | Segment 2: 15:55 – 20:46 | Segment 3: 20:52-27:57
This episode of Cosmos is a fine piece of secular humanist propaganda for the theory of unguided, accidental micro-evolution and macro-evolution strictly by random mutations and natural selection. It has both a materialist-atheist outlook on the whole, but along with Carl Sagan, it also has a pantheist flavor as well. (The lines between atheism and pantheism blur easily as both are against the idea of a God who is transcendent to the material universe.) I started with this video so that these youngsters can get a persuasive case for neo-Darwinian evolution using fine artwork and animation, beautiful music, and the pleasant voice of Neil deGrasse Tyson. I wanted them to see that the theory does contain some beauty and logical appeal. I wanted them to see how the theory starts with an understandable premise of micro-evolution and then jumps to macro-evolution as a corollary of micro-evolution.
A free but incomplete version of the same video may be found here:
The next videos offer very good answers to the evolutionary propaganda in the Cosmos episode.
Video segment #4:
This is Stephen C. Meyer’s short critique of neo-Darwinian evolution.
If this video is interesting, be sure to see the slightly expanded version of it by Stephen C. Meyer in the following “Science Uprising” video:
Video segment #5:
Video Segment #6:
Video #7:
Video #8:
Video #9:
More resources:
Links associated with the Discovery Institute and Intelligent Design
http://ScienceUprising.com – Videos against Darwinism and for Intelligent Design geared for older teenagers.
https://www.discovery.org/e/dallas2020
Science & Faith Conference, Jan. 25, 2020. This is a major event hosted at Denton Bible Church by the Discovery Institute! Last year they had over 1,000 people and in 2020 they should have even more. There will be a youth track geared for teenagers this time! There also might be group rates.
http://dissentfromdarwin.com – A list of scientists who have decided that Darwinism, Neo-Darwinism, and/or Natural Selection does not account for the rise of life or the many lifeforms on earth.
http://evolutionnews.org – a great site to get updates on all the many problems with evolutionary theory.
http://www.exploreevolution.com/ – supplemental science curriculum.
https://discovering.design/curriculum/ – Discovering Intelligent Design is a comprehensive curriculum that presents both the biological and cosmological evidence in support of the theory of intelligent design. It equips young people and adults to critically analyze the arguments in the debate over evolution and intelligent design, and it encourages them to follow the evidence wherever it may lead. Developed for middle-school-age students to adults, the curriculum includes a textbook, a workbook with learning activities, and a DVD with video clips keyed to the content of the textbook.
http://discovery.org/id & https://intelligentdesign.org/
Bible Commentary
The commentary I used for Genesis 1-11 in this presentation was Arnold G. Fructenbaum’s The Book of Genesis. Arnold is a young-earth creationist, a brilliant biblical scholar, and a Jewish Christian.
Testable Creation Models!?!!
Regarding the need for modelling scientifically testable models for any creation theory, whether secular or biblical, I have to give very high recommendations for Hugh Ross’s book More than a Theory: Revealing a Testable Creation Model for Creation (Baker, 2012). Although Hugh Ross writes from the perspective of an old-earth creationist and a concordist, his challenge to everyone–to all variations of old-earth creationists, to young-earth creationists, to intelligent design pundits, and more–to create a testable model seems reasonable, scientific, and geared towards the pursuit of truth. Some of Ross’s tests for the RTB (Reasons to Believe) model are integrated into my presentation.
Here is a podcast where Hugh discusses the book:
An Apologetics Books that are Great on Theology, Philosophy, and Science!
High Recommendations for the Harvest Handbook of Apologetics (Harvest, 2018). It has several excellent and short chapters on scientific topics in apologetics (see the screenshot below) and more! Some are authored by YECs (Young Earth Creationists), some are authored by OECs (Old Earth Creationists), and some are authored by Intelligent Design pundits.
If you’re looking for a great introduction to classical Christian apologetics, consider Norm Geisler’s The Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True. The book can be purchased here, the DVD set of Norm giving the lectures can be purchased here, and a streamlined, 30-minute taste of it can be seen for free here.
Who is Christopher Haun?
Not everyone at the co-op knows me.
Christopher Haun has been married to Trish Haun, one of the writing teachers here at the co-op, for over twenty years and is the father of four kids—all of whom have been students here. He has been working professionally as a computer geek in the IT industry for the last twenty years and has also worked professionally as a carpenter, a fisherman, and as a factory (pulp mill) worker. But originally, in high school, he really wanted to become a Bible-translating missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
That dream to become a foreign missionary was derailed by tough questions and doubts about the Bible. These challenges to his faith caused him to leave Bible college and caused him to start looking for answers from philosophy instead. One of the specific challenges to the biblical faith that he struggled with was the idea that the whales that swim in the oceans must have evolved from four-legged land animals because they have vestigial pelvic bones. Why would a sea animal need a pelvic bone if it didn’t inherit it from an ancestor that walked on land? And if evolution is so powerful that it can take something like a hippopotamus and turn it into many kinds of whales, what room is there for the account of the creation of life in the biblical book of Genesis?
But that was twenty-seven years ago. Since that time of questioning began, Chris has invested much of his spare time into trying to find out what is reasonable and what is true using philosophy, the sciences, the Bible, and this historic Christian faith. In 2011, he began working part-time as a volunteer in various Christian apologetics ministries and in 2013 began a Master’s Degree program in Christian Apologetics. Christian apologetics, of course, is the defense of the Christian faith and of the Bible. His search for answers caused led him from being a doubter of the Christian faith to a defender of the Christian faith. He has contributed chapters to the 2018 book The Harvest Handbook of Apologetics and to the 2021 book The Harvest Handbook of Science and Faith. Three of his articles have been published in The Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics.
Chris is also the Director of Norm Geisler Translations at Norman Geisler International Ministries (http://ngim.org) and is focusing on getting Norm Geisler’s book The Twelve Points that Show Christianity is True and Norm Geisler’s book The Essentials of the Christian Faith translated into several languages.