Be thinking as you read through this list and may God Bless You! -Brian
78
Biggest Challenges to Evolution - General Overview
Geology/Paleontology/Archaeology
1.
Dinosaurs
a. Where are missing links between lizards and dinosaurs?
b. Where are missing links between dinosaurs and birds?
c. Many claim that birds have evolved from dinosaurs. Were birds around
before and during the time of dinosaurs?
d. Reptiles and Birds have completely different lung systems.
e. How did feathers evolve?
f.
Evolution between cold blooded and warm blooded
(maybe)?
g. How do we explain dragon legends and depictions of dinosaurs all over
the world before we found fossils of dinosaurs?
h. How did they die? Why not other animals?
i.
How do we explain soft tissue being found in
Dinosaurs if they died out about 65 million years ago?
2.
The Cambrian Explosion and Punctuated Equilibrium
a. How did the earlier organisms evolve into different types and the vast
amount of new forms?
b. Where are the evolutionary links?
c. How did it happen so fast?
d. What environmental change could have done that?
e. How do we know how long it took?
f.
Why do we see so much catastrophe?
3.
Missing Links
a. From Water to Land initially? (Legged Fish)
b. From Land to Water? (Cow-like à whales)
c. Giraffe?
d. Platypus?
e. Dinosaurs?
f.
Birds?
g. Etc.
4.
Index Fossils
a. Index Fossils are used to date rock layers. The rock layer a fossil is
in dates the fossil. This is circular reasoning and based on assumptions. How
do we know how old something is?
b. Can we trust radiometric dating? (see below)
c. There are many index fossils that they used to say pointed to millions
of years ago that were found alive today like the Coelacanth and Gingko Trees.
5.
Large Fossils
a. There are many large fossils that show that the climate and air
pressure and air quality must have been different in the past.
b. How is this possible?
i.
This could be evidence of the canopy theory. (see
below)
6.
Evolution of Feathers
a. Feathers are very complex. Did they evolve from scales or hair?
b. How did such minute, complex structures evolve?
c. There is no conclusive evidence yet of dinosaurs with feathers or of
the evolution of feathers in general.
7.
Human Ancestors
a.
Civilization appeared to
pop out of nowhere around 2000 BC and dates and records before that tend toward
more guesswork the further back in time you go.
b.
Evidences of these human
ancestors are often hoaxed or shaky at best.
8.
Rock Layers
a.
Folds and Bends that
indicate the rock layers were soft all at once.
b.
Jumbled fossils, full mass
fossil beds are evidence of a large flood.
c.
Sandstone injectites or
columns that came up through many layers of rock.
d.
Large layers spread across
continents.
e.
Evidence of large strong
water currents (cross-bedding) throughout rock layers
f.
If rock layers formed
slowly over long periods of time, why are they as consistent as they are? Rock
layers would not have formed this nicely and completely over long periods of
time, if they did, we ought to see more erosion in the layers. A quick burial
and formation of layers makes more sense than ancient seas at different times
all over the world.
g.
If rock layers formed over
millions of year or at least long spurts of time in between new layers, we
would expect to see erosion within the layers. Instead we see very smooth,
consistent layers laid perfectly on top of each other and even bending (would
have been soft) right on top of each other.
9.
Underwater Ruins
a.
There are many ruins all around
the coasts that some appear to be built around the time of 2200-1500 BC, which
fits with the lower sea levels due to the ice age after the great flood. How
does a long age theory fit these findings?
10.
Mt St Helens
a.
This event shows us
recorded and observable knowledge that we can study about really quick
catastrophic events and the results of that event. Because of the eruption of
Mt St Helens:
i.
Canyons formed quickly
ii.
Layers of sediment were
laid down
iii.
A vertical tree forest now
sits at the bottom of Spirit lake similar to petrified forests found in rock
layers today.
11.
Mass Rapid Fossil Beds
a.
These are evidence that a
lot of creatures were buried rapidly and smashed together in what looks like
the result of a large flood.
b.
Petrified trees sticking
through many layers of rock.
c.
Evidence of a Fish eating
another fish – burial was immediate.
d.
Unopened clam fossils.
(They open when the clam dies.)
e.
Many animals tend to be in
suffocating, throw positions.
f.
Animals that die today are
hardly ever fossilized.
12.
Silt/Salt Deposits
a.
These deposits could not
have formed by multiple periods of evaporation thus leaving layers of salt and
silt. These deposits are so large and so pure that they are more of an
indication of solubility changes in a large body of water.
13.
Erosion Examples
a.
There are many examples of
erosion that make sense with a recent global flood resulting in:
i.
sheet erosion
ii.
then channelized erosion
iii.
as well as many other
examples of rapid flood deposits.
iv.
If evolution were true, the
continents should be eroded down since current rates of erosion are greater
than mountain building rates.
14.
Cave Formation and Structure
a.
Caves did not have to form
over long periods of time and there are a few examples of rapid cave formations
taking place today.
i.
Naica Crystals
ii.
Bat in a stalagmite
iii.
Milwaukee Public Museum
stalactites
b.
Simply more water and the
right conditions are needed for faster cave formation rates.
15.
Petrification
a.
This is the process of
turning an object into stone. There are many of examples that show how this would
have had to happen fast, such as:
i.
petrified trees
ii.
a bowler hat
iii.
a teddy bear
iv.
Petrified ham
v.
Petrified foot in a cowboy
boot
vi.
and even poop (coprolite)
16.
Radiometric Dating
a.
This is the process that
analyzes how the parent isotope breaks down to the daughter isotopes within the
rocks.
b.
There are many assumptions.
c.
There is good evidence to
show that it is not as reliable as it should be.
i.
Mount St. Helens
ii.
Grand Canyon
iii.
Hawaii Lava Flows
iv.
Living Things dated as
really old!
17.
Ice Age
a.
The great global flood
created the cooling and the right conditions to cause the ice age.
i.
Long age scientists have
challenges to getting the right conditions to cause the ice age.
b.
There is no good evidence
of multiple ice ages.
Biology/Genetics/Anatomy
18.
Irreducible Complexity (Impossibly Complex)
a.
There are countless
examples of organisms that are too complex to have evolved.
b.
Especially as our
technology becomes more advanced, and our studies dive deeper and deeper and
closer and closer, we see everything still becoming more complex than we even
had realized before.
c.
Current scientists and
engineers look to the amazing complexity of life for better technology and
engineering.
d.
A mousetrap could not
exist without one of its parts. The slow processes of evolution are very
unlikely.
19.
Symbiotic Relationships
a.
There are many examples of
two organisms that use each other and help each other survive and in many cases
they could not live without each other. How could this have evolved?
20.
Natural Selection and
Microevolution
a.
This is change within a
species. The physical results of a gene or a mutation are changed and the
environmental factors choose whether it helps the organism survive better to
pass on that trait. It is the small changes like color, size, shape, etc.
i.
Supposedly over time,
these changes are evolution in action.
1.
There is little or no
change in the genetics. So the organism either already had the genes or the new
genetic material (through mutations) are added, but mutations have always been
shown to be harmful.
b.
This is like how you can
selectively breed a certain type of dog, but the dog is still a dog and not
something more.
21.
Mutations
a.
This is supposed to be a
major driving factor of evolution.
b.
Although some effects of
mutations may be good in some respects, overall, those mutations are ultimately
bad and may lose DNA and have not been shown to add to DNA the way the theory
of evolution demands them to.
22.
Homology
a.
This is the study of
similar body structures.
b.
Evolutionists say that
when we see these homologous (similar) structures, it is evidence of common
ancestry and evolutionary links between different kinds of organisms.
c.
Ultimately they are
similar, because they have similar functions in the body.
d.
Genetics also does not
help the evolutionist’s case.
23.
Junk DNA and Vestigial Organs
a.
Many evolutionists say
that there is extra DNA in our genome, because it is leftover DNA from when we
evolved from what we were in the past.
b.
Vestigial organs seem to
not be useful today and so we have evolved away from those uses.
c.
Contrary to the view of
evolution, there is turning out to be uses for much of that “extra” DNA and
also for the vestigial organs.
24.
Why are there 2 genders?
a.
If evolution is true,
organisms would have evolved from asexually reproducing (the process of
dividing oneself to reproduce) to an advantage of having two genders.
b.
How did that become an
advantage?
c.
It is a lot riskier to
need both to reproduce in an environment where only the strong survive.
d.
How and why is the
reproductive process so complicated?
25.
Mitochondrial Eve
a.
Through genetic studies of
mitochondrial DNA, we can trace how people today are related and from how far
back.
b.
The evidence shows that
all people have a common mother initially reported to be 200,000 years ago, but
mutation rates might be a lot higher and cause that number to be closer to
6,000 years ago.
c.
What caused Homo Sapiens
to have evolved from one common couple?
d.
What caused the extinction
of all the other pre-human ancestors?
26.
Pregnancy
a.
This is such a
scientifically mind-blowing process.
b.
There are parts of the
process that are still not understood why or how it happens.
c.
How did this process,
which is needed for the continuation of life even become this complicated?
d.
Could it have even
evolved?
27.
World Population Studies
a.
In studying populations, if
Homo sapiens have supposedly been around for about 200,000 years, is there a
reason that the population is only just now 7 billion?
b.
What are the factors that
have affected the growth of populations to what it is today?
c.
The Bible is a historical
record that also explains many of those factors and has been consistently
confirmed by secular sources.
28.
Probability of Abiogenesis
a.
The process of making life
from non-life is a highly complex issue.
b.
It is still uncertain
about how this could have happened.
c.
There are many assumptions
that we would have to make to even assume it to be possible.
d.
The probability is very
small and even 5 billion years may not be enough time.
e.
So far, we have not been
able to reproduce the same results in the lab.
29.
The Simplest Organism Known
a.
Life is complicated and
the further we dig and the closer we look we find more and more complexity
within all of life.
b.
What is the simplest
organism known today?
c.
What is the simplest
organism ever discovered, whether observed or in the fossil record?
d.
How simple is it?
e.
Could it have evolved?
Astronomy/Earth Science
30.
Comets
a.
Comets are known to be
simply dirty snow balls.
b.
So each trip they take
around the sun reduces them and thus they have a tail.
c.
So over time, comets
should burn up and there should be no comets left.
d.
Evolutionists claim that
the Oort Cloud replenishes the comets, but there is no evidence for the Oort
Cloud’s existence.
31.
Creation of the Moon
a.
There are three main
theories as to how the moon was naturally formed, but there are major problems
with the different theories.
b.
The moon is so impactful
to the earth especially throughout the Earth’s history, so this is a huge
challenge for evolutionists.
32.
Dust on the Moon
a.
Each year, the moon
collects space dust as it travels around the earth (and around the sun).
b.
If the moon were really
old, how much dust would have been collected?
c.
Can it blow off the moon?
d.
Does it compact as rock on
the surface of the moon?
33.
Our Receding Moon
a.
Each year, the moon is
moving away from the year.
b.
If we calculate back
through time, the moon would have been a lot closer to the earth causing
tremendous tides that if strong enough would simply wash over the continents.
c.
Has the rate of the
receding moon changed?
d.
How was the moon created?
34.
Finely Tuned Constants of the Universe
a.
There are many constant
numbers that show up in physics and nature itself.
b.
If those numbers were just
slightly off, then the universe would not have arranged itself the way it has
and life would not be possible.
c.
Is this the results of
random chance or God’s perfect design in creation.
35.
Perfect Placement for Life
a.
The earth is set in just
the right place for Life to be possible.
b.
The large majority of the
universe is unlivable and the chances needed for life are extremely slim.
c.
It is much easier to
believe that God created the earth as unique rather than believe that random
chance worked against the extremely slim chances.
36.
Star and Planetary Formation
a.
How did stars and planets
form?
b.
This process has never
been observed and so this process is based on many assumptions.
c.
There are many flaws in a
naturalistic view of their formation.
37.
Tight Spiral Galaxies
a.
Over time these spiraling
galaxies should fling their arms out away from the center and they would be
spread out and not as direct and tight as they are.
b.
Enough time has passed to
disband the spiral arms and naturalists have to bring in other explanations as
to why they are still tight.
38.
Strong Magnetic Fields
a.
Magnetic fields protect
the earth from harmful cosmic radiation.
b.
They are produced from
spinning charged particles like the core of many planets.
c.
Many planets including the
earth have very strong magnetic fields and those magnetic fields weaken over
time.
d.
The magnetic fields of
planets and stars are stronger than they should be for being billions of years
old.
39.
Red Shift
a.
This is the phenomenon
that when an object is moving away, the light (colors) that the object gives
off are shifted to the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
b.
Is this a consistent
phenomenon?
c.
Some evidence suggests
that it is not.
40.
Our Sun
a.
How did our sun form?
b.
When did the fusion start?
c.
Is there a problem with
the amount of angular momentum?
d.
If evolution is true, was
it conducive for life on Earth over the past 5 billion years?
e.
How would it have changed
over that time?
41.
Rotation and Revolutions of Moons
a.
Many of the moons in our
solar system orbit backwards from the direction that the planet rotates.
b.
How is this difference in
rotation and revolution possible?
c.
How have these moons formed
and survived for as long as they have.
42.
Speed of Light
a.
Is the speed of light
constant?
b.
Has it been different in
the past?
c.
How is the cosmic
background radiation so consistent if light can only travel as fast as it can?
43.
Canopy Theory
a.
This theory is based on
the passage in scripture of God separating the waters from the waters and thus
creating a canopy of water around the earth.
b.
This would have caused a
greenhouse effect for the earth that would allow organisms to grow bigger,
better, stronger and even older.
c.
Indications of larger
fossils and long lives and more can be found in and/or are consistent with
scripture.
d.
How could you explain the
historical records of many people groups that talk about people living hundreds
of years?
e.
How else could you explain
things getting so big?
44.
The Big Bang
a.
Naturalists have long
believed this to be the beginning of our known universe nearly 14 billion years
ago.
b.
Since the universe is
expanding, naturalists believe that all of the matter in our universe was once
an infinitely small point and from that exploded and arranged itself to what we
know today.
c.
How did the big bang
happen?
d.
What caused the big bang
to happen?
e.
What happened before the
big bang?
f.
Did something come from
nothing?
g.
What does infinitely small
mean?
h.
Are there multiple
universes?
45.
Aliens
a.
Many believe that if life
has evolved here on earth, then life has evolved elsewhere in the universe.
b.
A lot of money is spent on
the search for aliens, yet the nothing conclusive has been found.
c.
Is it a waste of money to
even try to find aliens?
d.
Could there be Aliens?
e.
Where are they?
f.
How likely are we to find
them?
46.
Oldest Trees
a.
What is the oldest tree?
b.
How do forests live and
die?
c.
How old could a forest
live theoretically?
d.
Most forests would only
show evidence of only being a few thousand years old, and that is what we would
expect if the flood occurred about 4000 years ago.
47.
Ocean Sediments and Salt
a.
There is not that much
sediment in the ocean especially if there were more time for erosion to occur.
b.
Has the rate of erosion
been less in the past?
c.
Over time the ocean would
become more filled with sediments and salts, but currently the ocean is not
that salty, another evidence of a young earth.
d.
Does the ocean’s saltiness
fluctuate throughout time?
e.
How has the saltiness
never gotten too bad to kill all of the organisms?
Chemistry/Physics
48.
Nucleus of an Atom
a.
How does the nucleus of an
atom stay together?
b.
Why do protons stick
together and not fly apart since “likes repel and opposites attract?”
c.
What are the strong and
weak nuclear forces?
d.
Do we understand them or
can we explain them?
49.
Elements of Life
a.
We are blessed to live on
the earth especially with all the different resources and substances on the
earth…and it’s not poisonous, but has all the benefits we need.
b.
Why are we able to find
all of the lighter elements on the earth?
c.
Do the other planets have
the entire mix of elements like we do or is earth unique?
50.
Quantum Physics
a.
What does quantum physics
even know for sure?
b.
What can we prove by
quantum physics?
c.
Some aspects of quantum
physics even become philosophical.
51.
Dark Matter
a.
This is matter that has
not been observed and it is still a mystery as to where it is, but we see the
effects of it.
b.
Naturalists account for
the fact that there are too much gravitational attractions by saying that there
is this dark matter.
c.
Why can’t we see it?
d.
Would the equations and
theories make more sense if it didn’t exist and the universe is younger than
assumed to be?
52.
Dark Energy
a.
This is energy that is
supposedly allowing the universe to expand outward yet it has never been
observed.
b.
It simply has to be there
for the universe to be expanding.
c.
70% of the universe is
supposedly dark energy, 25% is supposedly dark matter and only 5% of the
universe is the stuff we have observed and that we do know about.
d.
Is there a better
explanation?
Mathematics
53.
Fibonacci Sequence in Nature
a.
This is a very simple
mathematical sequence that can actually be found in many different aspects of
nature and life around us.
b.
This is found in spirals,
which consist of many parts of nature and some even describe this phenomenon as
“God’s fingerprint” on creation.
c.
How would this have
evolved/developed?
d.
Is there any reasonable,
natural, logical explanation for why this might have evolved/developed?
54.
The Impossible Probability
a.
How improbable does
something have to be to become impossible?
b.
To the evolutionist, with
enough time and chances, anything is possible.
c.
The more unlikely
something is, the more faith that you have to have to believe it.
d.
Is there always a chance?
55.
The Infinite
a.
How do we best describe
the infinite?
b.
How is infinity possible?
c.
How is infinity in the
past possible?
d.
Is God infinite?
e.
Is the universe infinite?
f.
Can we even grasp
infinity?
56.
Fractals
a.
A fractal is a repeating
pattern described or created by mathematics.
b.
How and why do fractals
form?
c.
What is the naturalistic
origin of fractals?
d.
Why do they exist?
History, Language and
Culture
57.
Evolution of Languages
a.
How have languages have
evolved?
b.
Are language studies able
to estimate the age of our civilized societies and how old would that be?
c.
How would we have evolved
modern language from primitive language?
58.
Legends of Creation
a.
Many cultures around the
world have legends about how the earth was created.
b.
Most tie in these legends
with their religion and beliefs.
c.
Are there similarities as
to how the world was created?
d.
Similarities most likely
point to common beginnings and sources.
e.
It appears that there are
many cultures that have had a belief in One powerful, supreme creator God, but
many have lost or perverted that belief.
59.
Legends of a Global Flood
a.
All around the world,
there are cultures that have legends of a great flood.
b.
Some estimate that there
are more than 270 flood legends.
c.
These flood legends appear
to give credence the Biblical account of Noah’s ark and the global flood.
60.
Legends of Babel
a.
Many cultures around the
world have descriptions of a great tower built to reach the heavens and that
was not completed.
b.
How many legends are there
and how do they compare?
c.
Which ones are the most
logical and consistent?
61.
Connections to Babel
a.
There are many cultures
around the world that can trace their lineages back to the same people around
the tower of Babel and also even as far back as Noah.
b.
There are many similarities
in very different cultures that could possibly stem from the one-world
government and religion of Babel.
62.
Legends of Dragons
a.
There are a large quantity
of legends about dragons, for example knights heroically fought and killed
dragons to save the village and most importantly the princess.
b.
There are legends of the
Chinese domesticating dragons to pull the carriages and we can easily see the
rich heritage that dragons have left on the Chinese people.
c.
Were these dragons
actually living dinosaurs?
d.
How common were they in
the past?
63.
Religions in Every Culture
a.
It appears to be a human
need to believe in something bigger and more purposeful to this life.
b.
We all believe something
or believe in something.
i.
We All Have Faith.
ii.
If you do not have faith in
something à you have faith that that something does not exist.
c.
Every person has a
“God-shaped hole” in their heart that only Jesus can fill, although many people
rebel from God and/or try to fill their need with a countless amount of other
things.
64.
Pyramids, Ziggurats, Mounds, Henges, and Dolmens
a.
There is a countless
number of structures built with human hands laying (and crumbling) all over the
world.
b.
Why would people spend the
time and manpower to build all of these structures?
c.
Most all of them have some
religious purpose.
d.
These structures are an
evidence of ancient intelligence and similarities having come from Babel.
65.
Constellations
a.
These amazing pictures in
the night sky have always been around for especially ancient cultures to gaze
upon and tell stories about.
b.
It is interesting that
practically all use the same stories and pictures for the constellations and
some say that the gospel is represented in the stars.
c.
Who came up with the
constellations?
d.
Is the gospel actually
written in the stars?
66.
Music
a.
If evolution is true, how
and why did music evolve into an important part of our culture today?
b.
Why is there so much math
involved in music?
c.
Why is it enjoyable?
67.
Art and Beauty
a.
Art and Beauty both can
inspire and warm the soul.
b.
Is beauty solely for the
purposes of mating or is there more to why something looks beautiful?
c.
What is art and why is it
so mathematical?
68.
The Trustworthiness, Portrayal, and Interpretation of History
a.
The problem with history
is that we can’t observe it again, because it’s gone.
b.
We have to have faith in
those that teach us history.
c.
In being taught history,
the teacher or presenter’s perspective and influence affects and colors the
events.
d.
People groups will often
still paint their own group/party/ethnicity in a good light.
69.
Oldest Records and Objects
a.
If Homo sapiens have been
around for about 200,000 years, should we be able to find more remains and
records and objects.
b.
What is the oldest known
record or artifact?
c.
What assumptions are made
in dating that artifact?
70.
Truth
a.
What is Truth?
b.
Does it matter?
c.
Can there be more than one
Truth at a time?
d.
There is no absolute Truth
– this statement is self-refuting.
e.
There is one Truth.
71.
Morality
a.
What is Morality?
b.
Why do we have morality?
c.
If evolution is true, how
has morality evolved and why?
d.
Is morality absolute or
relative?
e.
Relative morality breaks
down and there is one set of absolute morality and that is as defined by God.
72.
Laws of Logic
a.
These rules help us to
think appropriately and reason out the decisions that we make.
b.
If evolution is true, why
have these laws come about?
c.
There is no reason for
them, except in the case that God causes everything true to follow the laws of
logic.
d.
The laws of logic are a
set of information and information must have a source.
73.
Information Theory
a.
Where does information
come from?
b.
Information Theory states
that a mind or create has to come up with information and that it cannot come
from random acts.
c.
If there were no God, how
could we know anything?
74.
Who Are You?
a.
What makes up you?
b.
Are we physical and/or
spiritual?
c.
Why do we have a thinking
mind and how?
d.
Are we different than
animals?
e.
How does evolution explain
the jump that makes us so different than animals?
f.
Do we have a purpose in
life?
75.
Religion
a. Everyone believes in something even when they believe that they don’t
believe in anything.
b. Religion isn’t necessarily an organized social institution.
c. It is solely based on what you believe.
d. There are many other religions other than Christianity in the world
today.
e. But the Bible explains that there are only two religions: Accepting
Jesus Christ or not.
If you
have read this handout, you have seen a brief overview of the evidence and the
challenges to evolution, now will you choose Jesus Christ or not?
