On Tuesday, November 8, 2005 the Kansas State Board of
Education voted 6-4 to approve a new set of science standards that question
the veracity of evolution theory. Why is it important to challenge the
veracity of evolution theory? Evolution is promoted in a way that
confuses students and the public. In popular culture evolution is not just
characterized by adaptation within a species, but by growth into more
advanced species. A small business evolves into a large business. A timid
local basketball player evolves into a national star. Evolution implies
growth, as in evolving from invertebrates to vertebrates, amphibians to
mammals and dinosaurs to birds.
Could natural selection produce these kinds of results? Natural selection,
often stated as the “survival of the fittest”, is in fact a scientific
principle that can be tested and verified in the 
laboratory.
Microbiologists observe it as antibacterial drugs are applied to cultures
of bacteria. Through studies it is observed that certain strains of
bacteria survive the harsh invasion of the antibacterial substance. Since
some bacteria survive and reproduce, is that real, vertical evolution or
simply minor variation? Is it evolution if they survive other
antibacterial drugs? Evolutionists would say this is an example of
evolution in action. Certainly it is an example of natural selection in
action, but do the bacteria grow into a higher-level organism? No!
Natural selection, mutations and genetic drift bring but minor change, not
new information; not growth as in bacteria becoming something other than
bacteria. For evolution to be demonstrated as true we need to see examples
of growth such as testable examples of bacteria that evolved into
multi-cellular organisms. Bacteria are single celled; they’re asexual
and reproduce quickly. E. coli reproduce approximately every 20 minutes.
If vertical evolution is real, it should be observed in the laboratory
through the countless worldwide experiments being performed with bacteria.
How is it known that evolutionary growth has never been observed? If such
an incredible process was observed and could be reproduced again and again
in the laboratory, it would be front-page news for a very long time!
Rather, evolutionists provide evidence for small changes in organisms but
do not provide direct evidence for large-scale changes. Biological
evidence for evolution is an extrapolation from minor changes in
organisms. But an extrapolation is not empirical science.
Biological changes from natural selection weed out (select out)
information; they reduce the genetic information of the organism. The
reduction of genetic information can be illustrated through artificial
selection of breeding animals. Dogs, for example, can be bred to have no
hair. In order to get this result the genetic information for hair is
eventually bred out. The public is led to believe that natural selection
produces new information-- "evolution". It does not.
Therefore, students and the public need to be made aware that natural
selection, mutations, genetic drift and other natural mechanisms merely
produce changes within an organism, but the changes are the result of a
reduction of genetic information. This is a huge issue and evolutionists
do not teach this kind of fundamental problem with the theory of
evolution. Yes, plants can become hybrids and viruses can carry genetic
information from one host to another, but none of this produces novel
genetic information that did not exist before. The Kansas State School
Board is correct in encouraging students to discover and discuss some of
the major flaws in the foundation of evolution.
Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Center for Science
Education said, "It will be marketed by the religious right ... as a
huge victory for their side." This issue is not about "the
religious right"; it is about a proper scientific understanding of
where we came from. Since evolution merely produces changes within
organisms and with it a reduction of genetic information, where is the
biological evidence in favor of cells-to-humans evolution? Other than an
extrapolation from a process that reduces genetic information, it does not
exist. The Kansas State Board of Education is correct to encourage their
students to see the real nature of evolution.
