Biology 242: Lecture 7Spring 2001

Evolution and Natural Selection

  1. A view of Creation from studying Scripture
    1. To whom does the Earth belong?
    2. What is the Creator's evaluation of His Work?
    3. What is the Creator's ultimate plan for His Creation?
    4. On whom does Creation remains focused?
    5. What is our role in Creation?

  2. A view of Creation from studying biology
    1. What is evolution and why study it?
    2. What is the biological evidence for evolution?
      1. Biogeography
      2. Paleontology (fossil record)
      3. Comparative anatomy
      4. Comparative embryology
      5. Molecular biology

  3. What are the hypothesis for the mechanism of evolution?
    1. Inheritance of acquired characteristics (Lamarck)
    2. Natural selection (Darwin/Wallace)
      1. On the Origin of Species (1859)
      2. Darwin's personal observations
      3. Definition = differential survival/reproduction
        1. The reproductive potential of populations is great, but populations tend to remain constant, because populations suffer high mortality rates.
        2. Populations exhibit variation, which leads to differential survival and reproduction of individuals.
        3. Individual traits are inherited by offspring.
        4. The composition of the population changes by the selective elimination of unfit individuals.
      4. Examples
        1. Rabbits
        2. Pepper moths
      5. Implications


"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians...
who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but walk out the door and deny him by
their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
dc Talk, What If I Stumble?