Creationism vs. Evolution: By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer | February 05, 2014 12:15pm ET Creationism and Evolution Did modern life on Earth evolve over millions of years, or was it created in the blink of an eye by God? Thats the gist of the debate between scientists and creationists, which has been ongoing ever since Charles Darwin published his theory in 1859. The scientific evidence is clear: The Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, and all life evolved from primitive, single-celled organisms. Nevertheless, Biblical literalists reject this evidence and operate from the viewpoint that the Bibles Book of Genesis is a historical account of creation. Heres how the battle has played out. The Birth of the Battle Credit: Richard Milner Archive Strictly defined, creationism is based on a literal reading of the Bibles Book of Genesis, which describes the creation of the world and all the life in it over a period of six days. There are many flavors of creationists. Young-Earth creationists, including the Australian-born Ham, interpret the Bible to mean that the Earth was created more or less in its present state about 6,000 years old (In fact, its about 4.5 billion years old). Other creationists believe in an older Earth, with species still created separately by God. Finally, believers in Intelligent Design hold that evolution might occur, but that a deity started or guides the process. [Top 10 Intelligent Designs (and Creation Myths)] Advances in geology in the 1700s and 1800s shook the foundations of young-Earth creationism spread by preachers who interpreted the Bible literally. Charles Darwins The Origin of Species, published in 1859, complicated matters further. Now, science was not only shooting holes in the Biblical tale of a young Earth created in mere days, it was suggesting that God didnt even create all animals and plants.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 15:25:33 +0000