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To: lasereye; Karl Spooner; Republican1795.; American in Israel; ifinnegan; exDemMom; Bob434
from the article: "Since then, the secular scientific community has promulgated the still-hypothetical idea of human evolution as an established fact.1"

As a scientist Thomkins certainly knows the differences between hypotheses, theories & facts.
He also knows that much of basic evolution theory is observed confirmed fact -- i.e., descent with modifications and natural selection.
Those are facts because we can see them.
The theory part is what we can't see -- deep time, long term speciations leaving many clues in the fossil record, but not directly observable.

And yes, there are many unconfirmed hypotheses related to evolution, especially in the area of abiogenic origins of life on Earth.
On this much fascinating advanced work has been done since Miller-Urey in 1952, but it's mostly still hypothetical speculations.

from the article: "After the 150-plus years since Darwin’s famous publication, we still have no fossil evidence demonstrating human evolution.
Darwin believed such fossils would eventually be found, but that has simply not been the case...
'The evolutionary events that led to the origin of the Homo lineage are an enduring puzzle in paleoanthropology, chiefly because the fossil record from between 3 million and 2 million years ago is frustratingly sparse, especially in eastern Africa.2 ' "

This is a most astonishing claim, amounting to deliberate self-inflicted blindness in the face of glaring evidence:

from the article: "The Bible says that every living thing was created according to its kind.
This fits the clear, observable boundaries we see in nature between types of creatures, as well as the distinct boundaries researchers find in genomes as DNA sequencing science progresses."

But in fact, there are no such boundaries, as both morphological and DNA analyses demonstrate.
I could cite any number of examples -- consider Polar Bears & Brown Bears once classified in separate genera until viable cross-breeds discovered.
Now they are separate species within the same genus.

Similar reclassifications happened with zebra and giraffes, among many others, where sub-species became species and visa versa based on DNA comparisons.

Even among pre-humans, interbreeding with different species has left its marks in our DNAs including Neanderthals and Denisovans.
So species "kinds" lines are not as sharply drawn in nature as our author here suggests.

from the article: "the Bible states, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). "

But in chapter 2 Genesis tells us just a bit more about how God did it:

To me that sounds like evolution, "from mud to man", at the end of which God performs His pinnacle of creation by breathing the "breath of life" and making Adam the first truly "living soul".

That's why I see no problem with it.

183 posted on 06/04/2017 8:26:59 AM PDT by BroJoeK (a little historical perspective...)
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To: BroJoeK
Even among pre-humans, interbreeding with different species has left its marks in our DNAs including Neanderthals and Denisovans. So species "kinds" lines are not as sharply drawn in nature as our author here suggests.

And then there are the retroviruses that have inserted themselves into human (and other mammalian) DNA throughout evolution and become a permanent part of our genome. A sizeable fraction of our DNA is, in fact, viral DNA. One fascinating consequence of the viral DNA contained within our genome is that a protein essential for placenta formation is, in fact, viral in origin. Which begs the question, if it were not for viruses inserting themselves into the mammalian genome tens of millions of years ago, would mammals carry around some sort of egg inside, and give birth only when the egg hatches? Some fish reproduce in that manner.

At this time, there is a retrovirus spreading among koalas. The indication is that the retrovirus is making itself a permanent part of their genome.

The process of evolution is truly amazing.

200 posted on 06/04/2017 4:11:57 PM PDT by exDemMom (Current visual of the hole the US continues to dig itself into: http://www.usdebtclock.org/)
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