HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ 1/HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/term/creation.txt

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Mrs. Brew
13 May 1996
                         Intelligent Design of the Universe

The search for knowledge about the origin of humanity is as old as its inhabitants. Since the early
1800's mankind has narrowed the debate to creation by a Supreme Being and the theory of
evolution. Ever since then, science has been at odds against religion. Now it appears that science
is returning to religion. Scientists are finding proof that the universe was created by a Supreme
Being.

The word evolution refers to the change of something over a period of time(Webster's 634). In
biology, the theory of evolution is "the complex of processes by which living organisms originated
on earth and have been diversified and modified through sustained changes in form and
function"(Valentine). This theory proposes that between 4 million and 10 million years ago, all
organisms on earth had a common ancestor and that through a process of evolution, all living
organisms descended from this common ancestor(Coyne).

Chevalier de Lamarck, a French naturalist proposed a theory of evolution in 1809. His idea did
not get much scientific consideration until Charles R. Darwin announced his theory of
evolution(Coyne). Darwin published "his most famous book, On the Origin of Species by Means
of Natural Selection"(Valentine) in 1859. Darwin stated that offspring resemble their parents, yet
they are not exactly identical to them. He also noted that some of these differences were not
effects of their environment, but actually were passed down from parents to children(Valentine).
Darwin is the most well known scientist to write on evolution.

There are many different variations on the theory of evolution. Darwin states that natural selection
is the main reason for the evolution of life. The fight for food, water and other necessities benefits
those creatures who are well adapted for the struggle. Those that cannot survive, die with no
offspring to continue their genetic line. Natural selection is also called survival of the fittest. Another
related idea to evolution is gradualism. "Gradualism is the idea that evolutionary changes do not
occur suddenly but over large amounts of time, ranging from decades to millions of years"(Coyne).
Genetic drift is another way that scientists define evolution. When two of a species mate, their
offspring gets 23 chromosomes from both parents. When a gene does not split and combine
correctly, a mutation occurs. This mutation will get passed down from the creature to its offspring.
In this way a species can permanently be changed(Coyne). Scientists who have accepted the
general theory of evolution as fact disagree among themselves about the ratio of importance
between natural selection and genetic drift. They also disagree about what caused the apparent
gaps in fossil layers. New species "abruptly"(Valentine) appear in the fossil record with no
apparent mutation from another species, then remain unchanged for long periods of time. They do
not seem to exhibit the gradual changes that would be expected by modern
evolutionists(Valentine).

Many people, including those in the scientific community, do not accept the theory of evolution as
fact. When Darwin was alive, his theory was attacked by many scientists and religious
leaders(Coyne). In the 1900's, United States public high schools began teaching evolution in
science classes. By the 1920's, laws in twenty states to ban the teaching of evolution in public
schools had been proposed by people who did not want their children being indoctrinated. "They
considered the teaching of the theory to be part of a dangerous trend toward the separation of
religious beliefs from everyday life"(Coyne). Several of the proposed laws were passed into effect
in states including Arkansas and Tennessee. "The ACLU challenged the Tennessee law in 1925 by
defending a teacher named John T. Scopes, who had volunteered to stand trial on the charge of
teaching evolution"(Coyne). The ACLU lost the case but because of bad press, creationists
appeared ignorant to science. However, in 1968 the Supreme Court of the United States "ruled
that laws banning the teaching of evolution were unconstitutional because they made religious
considerations part of the curriculum"(Coyne). The courts continue to give rulings on creation and
evolution in schools, some have come as recently as 1987(Coyne). The fight to keep evolution out
of the classroom is still persevering.

Those who are pushing to keep evolution out of the public schools are primarily creationists.
Creation is the belief that a Supreme Being created the universe and all its contents from
nothing(Vawter). Many different people have believed different stories of how and why this was
accomplished. Judaism, Christianity and Islam are a few of the major faiths that teach Creation.
There are many differences in what different people believe. Many Jews and Christians with a
literal interpretation of the Bible or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, believe that
God created the universe and all that is in it in six 24 hour days. They believe that each species on
earth has remained relatively the same since the Creation. These people "base their beliefs on the
Bible"(Eve) and some use fossil evidence of long consistencies and abrupt changes(Valentine).
Others believe that God created everything, but not in six days. Still others believe that God
created the universe by lighting the fuse: the big bang was God's way of creating the universe.

Many people have gone in search for proof that the universe was created by a Supreme Being.
The case for Intelligent Design was argued by Reverend William Paley of Carlisle, England in his
1802 book Natural Theology. Take, for instance, a rock and a watch. How old are the two
objects? The rock has "remained more or less the same perhaps since the earth was
formed"(Miller 24). The watch is different because of the intricate gears, springs and parts. It was
produced with a specific design and knowledge of the watchmaker, and watchmakers have not
been around forever. Paley knew "there cannot be design without a designer; contrivance without
a contriver.... The marks of design are too strong to be got over. Design must have had a designer.
That designer must have been a person. That person is God"(Miller). Paley's examples are
understandable examples that form "a line of reasoning known as the 'argument from
design'"(Miller).

Even some evolutionists have come to realize that humanity is not an accident, even if they disagree
with the six, 24 hour days belief. The Anthropic Principle is based on so called "technical
observations about the evolution of the universe since the Big Bang"(Glynn 28). This principle has
concluded that not only was the creation of the universe not an accident, but "the existence of
human life is something for which the entire universe appears to have been intricately fine-tuned
from the start"(28). This principle is based on universal constants such as Planck's constant and the
gravitational constant. It started out as a list of coincidences, but as the list grew the more it
appeared as if the universe had been designed for humanity to exist(29).

The second law of thermodynamics has been extensively studied by scientists and people as
another proof of creation. The second law of thermodynamics can be stated:
"The thermodynamic principle which governs the behavior of systems is that, as they are
moved away from equilibrium, they will utilize all avenues available to counter the applied
gradients. As the applied gradients increase, so does the system's ability to oppose further
movement from equilibrium"(Schneider 30).
In every system, the entropy, or disorder, will increase, not decrease. This is one of a number of
different analogies to simplify this law. There is a box with ten equal compartments. Ten thousand
marbles are released into one compartment. If the box is randomly shaken, it is expected that the
marbles would pass through the open doors in each compartment and there would be
approximately 1000 marbles in each compartment. It is highly improbable, yet not impossible that
if the box continued to be shaken randomly, that all the marbles would go back into the same
compartment they started in(28).

The second law of thermodynamics is an excellent argument for creation. Creationists stand in
"awe of the perfection of the earth... If it were a little farther away from the sun the entire planet
would be one gigantic Antarctica; if it were a little closer, it would be one continuous Sahara
Desert. Earth's placement is precise; and that, my friends, is not a result of chance"(Limbaugh
154). There are infinite numbers of variables. If one were changed just slightly, like the distance
from the sun, Earth would be unhabitable and humans would not exist. This preciseness leads
these people to use the second law of thermodynamics as an argument. An ordered world like
Earth could not exist in a universe that was created by an explosion.

Humanity itself is a good example for creation. The differences between other animals in nature
and humans are vast. However, many evolutionists claim that we are animals ourselves. Jonathan
Swift shows the absurdity of this comparison in the fourth book of Gulliver's Travels. Guliver is
living between two extremes: the reason based Houyhnhms and the savage Yahoos. Gulliver tries
so hard to fit in with the Houyhnhms, or horses. They "conclude that Gulliver 'must be a perfect
Yahoo'"(Suits 116), yet Gulliver believes that he is more Houyhnhm. This struggle can represent
the origin struggle.

The evolutionists say that humans were once like the Yahoos, but by saying that humanity evolved
because of an haphazard accident, they are claiming that humans are now the superior being in the
universe. They claim we are like the Houyhnhms(Sagan). Humans are not like that. The
Houyhnhms are divorced of passion. "They have no shame, no temptations, no conception of
sin"(Williams 62). Marriage is "'one of the necessary actions in a reasonable being'"(63). These
definitely do not identify humanity. Gulliver "understands none of this"(72). Humans have the ability
to use reason and humans have certain inherent desires that cannot be reasonably explained: love,
marriage, and a sense of right and wrong.

Still the debate continues. It seems "the double standard at work here is breathtaking"(Glynn 32).
Scientists who believe in evolution are free to use detailed accounts of what happened 4 billion
years ago and base it on Darwin(Sagan). "But the moment scientists begin marshalling rather
considerable and persuasive evidence for the opposite case, their speculation risks being branded
by colleagues as 'unscientific'"(Glynn 32). This parallels the third book of Gulliver's Travels. The
ways of the respected Laputan people were very precise, according to Gulliver. All their wise men
reject what seems obviously the best way preform a task(Williams 49). Member of the Academy
are seen trying to weave with spider web and make ice into gunpowder(Swift 196). Such acts of
stupidity are Swift's attack on the Royal Society of England in Swift's time; however the apply
perfectly to many of the scientists who reject what they do not want to see.

The argument about the origin of the universe will definitely continue. There will be those who
argue both sides until this world comes to its end. To what extent people believe the Biblical
teachings or what some scientists teach is a personal decision. Darwin concluded his book:
"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally
breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone
cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms
most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved"(Miller 32).
The more science seems to dig and research about the origins of humanity, the less likely it is that
Earth and all the creatures on it were an accident. All the precision, consistency and detail point to
an universal architect, a Supreme Being, God.



Bibliography

(please disreguard my mess for now)

Coyne, Jerry A. "Evolution." World Book. CD-ROM

Eve, Raymond A. "Creationism" World Book. CD-ROM

Glynn, Patrick. "Beyond The Death of God." National Review May 6,1996:28-32.

Limbaugh, Rush. The Way Things Ought to Be. New York:Pocket Books, 1992.

Miller, Kenneth R. "Life's Grand Design." Technology Review. Feb./March 1994:24-32
CD-ROM. 1996 SIRS. SIRS 1994 Life Science. Article 59

Sagan, Carl. "Snowflakes Fallen on the Hearth: The Evolution of the Earth." Planetary Report.
Jan./Feb. 1993:4-9
CD-ROM. 1996 SIRS. SIRS 1994 Earth Science. Article 53

Schneider, E.D, Kay, J.J. "Life as a Manifestation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics."
Mathematical and Computer Modelling 1994: 25-48.

Suits, Conrad. "The Role of the Horsesin 'A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms.'" Modern Critical
Interpretations, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York:Chelsea.
116-125

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. New York:Penguin,1960.

Valentine, James W. "Evolution." Encarta. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp:1994

Vawter, Rev. Bruce. "Creation." Encarta. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corp:1994

Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary. Second Edition. 1983

Williams, Kathleen. "Animal Rationis Capax." Modern Critical Interpretations, Jonathan Swift's
Gulliver's Travels. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York:Chelsea. 37-82