June 16 09

Darwin in Light of 150 Years of Error (Part 2)
Darwin Failed to Recognize the Limits of Change
Charles Darwin did not always believe in evolution. In fact, at one time he believed in God as the Creator. He wrote in his autobiography: “Whilst on board the Beagle I was quite orthodox, and I remember being heartily laughed at by sev- eral of the officers (though themselves orthodox) for quoting the Bible as an unan- swerable authority on some point of morality” (1958, p.85, parenthetical item in orig.). But as he grew older, he changed his view and began to think that natural forces created the world. He described his “deconversion”: “Thus disbelief crept over me at a very slow rate, but was at last complete. The rate was so slow that I felt no distress, and have never since doubted even for a single second that my conclusion was correct” (p. 87). Sadly, one of the reasons for his change in think- ing came from a misunderstanding of the Bible. In Darwin’s day, the Church of England misunderstood the biblical ac- count of Creation. The book of Genesis says that animals multiply “according to their kind” (Genesis 1:21). However, the Church of England confused the biblical word “kind” with the word “species.” The Church of England taught that God had created every separate species in the world. This idea was called the “fixity of spe- cies.” The problem with this view was that it simply is not true; they had misun- Evening Worship……. 5:00 P.M. derstood the Bible (Garner, 2009). Darwin Finches
When Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands, he discovered some- thing that greatly interested him. He found several different species of finches which were unique to the islands. The basic differences between these species was the size and shape of their beaks. Some of the finches had short thick beaks, used to crack open seeds, while others had long, thin beaks that could be used to catch insects or drink nectar from flowers. As he studied the birds, he came to the con- clusion that the finches were very similar and must have been related. In fact, Dar- win believed that the species had originally diverged from a single species of birds. He guessed that long before he had arrived on the islands, a storm must have blown this flock of birds to the Galapagos Islands. To give a very simplified version of Darwin’s hypothesis, he thought the birds with long beaks stayed to- gether and ate insects, while the birds with short beaks were able to survive in dif- ferent places on the islands where they could find seeds. Eventually, due to drought, climate change, and environmental pressures, each group became its own WOULD YOU LIKE A FREE
species through the process of natural selection. Darwin also thought that if nature BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE
could change one species of finch into several different species, then it could change an amoeba into a man. Here Darwin made a major mistake in his thinking. He did not realize that small changes have limits. Page 2 The Forest Hill News June 16, 2009 Darwin in Light of 150 Years of Error (continued from page 1) In recent years, two researchers have become after all. In the same article for Science, the Grants well-known for their trips to the Galapagos Islands to alluded to research done in 1977 when a drought study Darwin’s ideas about the Galapagos finches. In struck the same island and killed many of the finches. the July 14 issue of Science, Peter and Rosemary The Grants noted: “Most finches died that year, and Grant presented a paper titled “Evolution of Character mortality was heaviest among those with small
Displacement in Darwin’s Finches.” The thesis of the beaks” (2006, emp. added). Thus, if G. fortis keeps
article is that one particular species of finches “evolving” a smaller beak size, a major drought in the (Geospiza fortis) “evolved” a slightly smaller beak future could easily spell the bird’s demise. due to the arrival of a larger-beaked finch (G. magni- Scientific observation has never produced a rostris) competing for larger seeds of the Tribulus cis- single shred of evidence that proves even the possibil- toides plant during a severe drought (Grant and Grant, ity of “huge genetic changes turning one kind of ani- mal into another.” In fact, all the observable evidence Randolph Schmid, an Associated Press author proves that every living organism multiplies who reviewed the Grants’ article, opened his summary “according to its kind” exactly as stated in Genesis of their findings with these words: “Finches on the 1:24, small changes in beak size, body weight, or skin Galapagos Islands that inspired Charles Darwin to de- velop the concept of evolution are now helping con- (from Reason & Revelation, A Monthly Journal of firm it—by evolving” (2006). Notice the subtle ma- Christian Evidences, Feb, 2009, Vol. 29, No. 2) neuver Schmid made in his introduction: he commin- gled two distinct definitions of evolution into his state- ment, falsely equating the two. The generally accepted definition for the concept of evolution proposed by Darwin is “huge genetic changes turning one kind of animal into another,” often called Darwinism. But the “evolving” accomplished by the finches on the Gala- pagos Islands was simply “small changes within the same kind of organism.” Unfortunately, evolutionists often use this type of sleight-of-hand tactic. Schmid interviewed Robert Fleischer, a scien- TRUTH BE TOLD
tist who works with the Smithsonian’s National Mu- A seminar exposing the myth of evolution
seum of Natural History, who stated that the Grants “microevolution” (small changes within the same kind of organism). Yet, the titles of the articles by both Schmid and the Grants misleadingly imply that Dar- winian evolution has been proven by the finch re- search—and Schmid goes so far as to assert this bold claim in his introductory paragraph. What do the finches really prove? They prove that finches stay finches, and the only documented July 1 - Dinosaurs: The Poster Children of Evolution kind of “evolution” is that of small changes within the same kind of organism. The Grants have been study- ing the finches for 33 years, and this change in beak July 8 - Dinosaurs: The Poster Children of Evolution size, which amounted to about .6 millimeters in beak length and .8 millimeters in beak depth (“Study: Dar- win’s…,” 2006), was “the strongest evolutionary change seen in the 33 years of the study” (Grant and Grant, 2006). Even more ironic is the fact that this July 22 - Creation: In Six Days or Six Billion Years? “evolutionary” change to a smaller beak that allegedly helped the finches to survive might not be so helpful Page 4 The Forest Hill News June 16, 2009 The 2009 Vacation Bible School is now history. Our thanks to all the tireless efforts of the teachers, their assistants, those who operated the craft room, those who prepared and served snacks, and our coordina-tors. The relevant theme, “Design Demands a Designer,” was well received by those in attendance. Many visitors were present for this year’s VBS, which increased our overall attendance from past years. This was greatly encouraging. We are especially grateful to Bobby O’Dell, who preaches for the Woodland Hills congregation, for leading the kids in song everyday. He was a great big hit. Many thanks to all those involved in our work teams. Recently I attended my work team meeting, which took place on our grounds. Lyle Summitt who is our captain hosted all of us to a crawfish boil. Exciting time and good eating. Our captains do a great job organizing these gatherings and we appreciate all who participate. Most importantly these meetings involve not only fellowship, but they present opportunities to serve the Lord. This Lord’s day, the Memphis School of Preaching graduation will take place. Brother Tony Lawrence, evangelist of the Bybee Branch Church of Christ in McMinnville, Tennessee will be our guest speaker. He will preach during the Bible Study hour at 9:30am, again during worship at 10:30am, and during the commencement exercises that will begin at 6:00pm. Twenty-two students will receive their certificate of completion of studies. Congratulations to all of them! The Forest Hill News

Source: http://www.foresthillcofc.org/Bulletins/2009/June_16_2009.pdf