Evolution and Religion

Paper Summary:

Science and religion have become dominant forces in today's world, and the battle between these two topics continues to affect many aspects of modern society. Although opinions have changed since the days of Charles Darwin and the time of the famous "Scope's Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee in 1925, science and religion, especially in the area of evolution, continue to seek answers to some very basic questions, such as exactly how life originated on earth and the direction in which life is heading. The paper shows that the fact that scientists and theologians frequently arrive at different answers to these questions does not seem to be the problem; in essence, the true problem lies in the vastly divergent approaches used by each in finding the answers to these seminal questions. The paper shows that, essentially, science utilizes the power of reason and logic in its search for the truth, while religion depends almost wholly upon faith. In addition, science incorporates experimentation and observation, while religion embraces revelation as found in the Holy Bible and other religious doctrines. Thus, the scientist may attempt to explain human origins through progressive evolution, while the religious scholar looks to the creative process described in Genesis. The paper explains that attempting to discover which pathway is correct seems to be the most important aspect of this entire debate, yet it remains unclear whether science or religion will prevail in the end.

From the Paper:

"In nature, artificial selection usually involves the best and strongest genes in an organism that are then used to maintain growth and control to the most extreme. These selections always act upon the whole organism and not just a single gene, and all desirable features and any potentially unwanted features are balanced by the process of selection. As a result, artificial selection influences all of an organism's genes and makes them work together to produce the various physical features of an animal or a plant. When artificial selection is thwarted by what is known as a mutation, being a radical and often quick alteration in an organism's general appearance or function, it may take many generations for this mutation to alter the entire population."

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