Creation VS. Evolution: Doubting Theories

An ongoing conflict exists between creationists and evolutionists and the arguments have often been heated. However, this is in large part due to conflict between the people supporting the ideas rather than conflicting facts supporting each idea. There is a basic lack of respect and fear among ones who feel one stand cannot co-exist with the other. However, forty percent of scientists believe in "a God they can pray to expect answers from (2)." To understand where conflict arises one needs to examine both evolution and creation; how they parallel, how and why they conflict.

The theory of evolution is most often credited to Charles Darwin although he was not the first to have the idea. Darwin believed that organisms descended with modification from ancestors. According to the theory traits of plants of animals may change due to certain types of selection. Artificial selection is induced by breeders who desire plants or animals with specific traits. Evolution by natural selection occurs by the inheritance of characteristics that result in a higher survival rate to those that have variations useful for enduring in their environment. Some variations within a species result from genes because of the expression by alleles differ. The neo-Darwinian view of evolution incorporates the chromosome theory of inheritance. According to this theory changes in genes result from mutations and are viewed as one source of variation in populations and eventual evolution. The rate at which evolution takes place is a conflict within the theory itself. Evolution by gradual accumulation of the afore mentioned types of minor changes in a species eventually creating a new one is called phyletic gradualism and is supported by geologic record more than punctuated equilibrium. Punctuated equilibrium is when there is little change in a species until new species arrive rapidly in just a few thousand years.