Chapter 8 History of Life

1. Worldviews and History of

Life
A. Worldview the overall
perspective enabling a person to see
and interpret the world. Composed
of basic beliefs about life and the
universe.
B. Every part of a persons life is
affected by worldview.
C. It is composed of beliefs, not
opinions but commitments and
convictions and is accepted by
faith.
D. It is a perspective. A way at
looking at things. Like a lens
through which ideas are seen. A
blueprint for understanding how
our lives should be lived.

E. It takes the form of a narrative or

story
F.Types of Worldview A Christian
worldview
1. God made the world and
placed humans at the center of
that world for the purpose of
glorifying Him.
2. The world has fallen into a
broken condition because of
human sin
3. God is working to redeem this
world to Himself.
- A secular worldview free
from religious influence.
Scientists feel that science is
secular and not Christian.
2. Theories of Evolution
A. Evolve to change , to become
more complex. (Matt. 5:13

Christians are the salt of the earth.

Should stand against corruption).
I Peter 3:15 be ready to give a
reason of the hope that is in us.
2. Theory of Evolution1.Theory of cosmological
beginnings- how the earth and
universe were formed
2.Theory of biological evolution
a.deals with the beginning of life
b. proposes that simple
organisms give rise to more
complex organisms
3.Philosophy of evolution
a.all things are progressing toward
a future perfection.
4.Evolutionist someone who
believes in 1-3(above).
5.Creationist those who believe
the Genesis account is the literal

description of Gods creating the

physical universe, life, and man.
3. The Philosophy of Evolution
A. Results leads to these dangerous
conclusions.
1.Man is not responsible to God.
2.Man no longer needs a savior.
3.Mans religion should be
scientism. (worship science )
B. Evolution- a directional and
essentially irreversible process
occurring in time, which gives rise
to an increase of variety and an
increasingly high level of
organization in its products.
Single cell Man
Spontaneous Generation
nonliving material forms living
organisms.
C. Basic Theories other than
evolution

1.Theistic Evolution believing in

parts of evolution. mix the two
beliefs
- stating that the Bible isnt
always correct.
2.Progressive Creationism
accepting most of the Bible as
true and stretching some Bible
truths.
3.Creationism God created the
world.
- following the Genesis account
of creation.
Biblical Creationism
A.Creation Week: long or short days
1. Long day theory some
interpret seven days as seven
ages. During the week of
creation, long day theorist believe
there is a lot of time between
4.

each day. They use the verse II

Peter 3:8.
One day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand
years as one day.
This simply means God is
timeless. Psalm 90:4.
2. Short day theory 24 hour
days
- supported by the phrase The
evening and the morning
repeated often in Genesis.
- Plants could not live long with
out organized day and night,
seasons and with out animals to
pollinate them.
- Psalm 33: 6,9
By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made and all the

Host of them by the breath of

his mouth
For he spake, and it was done,
He commanded and it stood
fast.
He created things with
appearance of age. Adam and
trees were created mature.
3. Gap Theory large period of
time (many years ) between the
creation of Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
- world without form and void
- 1st creation was destroyed by
Fall of Satan (Preadamic man,
plants etc. )
- Genesis 1:28 God told Adam
to Be fruitful, multiply and
replenish the earth

Evidence against the Gap theory

Romans 5:12, I Corinthians
15:21, Exodus 20:11, Nehemiah
9:6, Jerm 4:22-29, Isa. 45:18,
Ezek 29:13, I Corn. 14:33.
4. Canopy Theory Genesis 1:7
- and God made the firmament
- antediluvian (before the flood)
weather was different from
present weather.
- Thick water vapor layer existed
, warm climate w/high humidity
caused a greenhouse effect.
Conditions were tropical all
over the earth.
5.The deluge and the fossilization Deluge of Noahs Flood.
(catastrophic)
a.Genesis 7:11 Fountains of the great
deep were broken up and followed

by the windows of heaven being

opened.
b. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes,
tidal waves.
c.Volcanic ash would precipitate
canopy.
d. Deluge Fossil Formation Theory
-Fossils were formed by Noahs
flood
-These flood waters contain
strong currents
-Deposition of materialssedimentation
-Erosion of sediment causes
topography
-Abundant fossils not found today
-Abundant fossilization and
arrangement due to major
catastrophe
-Fossilization must be quick

-Fossils need H20 movement for

deposit and formation
e. Polystrate fossil-runs through
several layers of sedimentary rock
f. Ark- 6 times long as it was wide,
30 cubits high, 15 cubits in H20
B. The Age of the Earth
* 8,000-10,000 years old. (w/in
biblical framework)
1. Evolutionist Believe- 4.6 Billion
years old
a. the earth must be old because
biological evolution
must have taken a long time. not
accepted by Christians because
God created living things (John
1:3)
b. the earth must be old because
of the physical evidence the earth
supplies.

1. dating of fossils
2. dating by topography
(shapes & contours of
the earth.)
3. dating by decay or build up
of materials
2. Dating by Topography
a. evolutionist believe that the
earths crust was pushed up.
Fossils were found on the tops of
mountains. They believe the
mountains were once under water.
Noahs flood explains this.
b. evolutionist believe
glaciations- ice ages to explain
many of earths features. (carved
out the Great Lakes)
- This is not possible because the
flood would have destroyed the
physical evidence of an ice age.

(some Christians believe a brief

ice age could have occurred
immediately after the flood.)
3. Dating by Decay of Buildup
- not a reliable source of dating.
4. Dating by Fossils
-Evolutionists believe the layers
of sedimentary rock containing
fossils were formed progressively.
Fossils are probably the result of
Noahs flood.
5. Dating Methods that suggest
relatively recent dates for the age of
the earth.
a. volcanism- if today volcanoes
were constant for 4 billion
years, the amount of lava would

be equivalent to the size of the

earth.
b. water formation- H2O is being
formed at the rate of about 1 cu.
mi./yr.
-if billions of yrs old the land
masses would be covered more w/
H2O.
c. meteoric dust- 14 million tons
of dust falls from outer space to
earth each year. (this dust
contains nickel, cobalt, & other
heavy metals.)
-These substances are not found
in abundance on the earth, even in
the ocean.
d. soil formation- evolutionist
believe that it takes millions of
years to form soil. It has been
shown that several inches of soil

can be formed in less than 100

years.
5. The Theories of Biological
Evolution
A. Lamarcks theory of evolution
1.Theory of need he believed
that in order for an organism
to evolve a structure, it must
need the structure.
2.Theory of use and disuse he
believed that if an organism
uses an organ it will continue to
evolve but if an organism does
not use the organ it will
degenerate and disappear.
3.Theory of inheritance of
acquired characteristics he
believed that if an organism
acquires a characteristics, it
can be passed on to the next
generation. Ex: If an

organism stretches to reach its

food and the muscles and bones
in the neck become longer then
the offspring will be born with
longer necks. He believed the
giraffe evolved from a species
of horse.
B. Analysis of Lamarcks theories.
1.Many organisms need
structures that they never
obtain. (Eyes in the back of
their heads, third hand etc.)
2.The child (offspring) inherits
only the traits that are in the
chromosomes in the egg and
sperm cells. They do not
inherit traits that parents
obtain through their lives. (Ex:
If a mother had her arm
amputated, it doesnt mean

that her baby will be born

without an arm).
3.Not using an organ does not
mean that the offspring of that
organism will be born without
use of that organ.
C. Darwins theory of evolution
1. theory of natural selection
survival of the fittest he
believed that only the
organisms with the strongest
traits would survive in a
particular environment. They
would then be the only ones to
reproduce and pass on their
traits.
a. artificial selection man
choosing individual
organisms to breed in
order to obtain offspring

with certain
characteristics.
b. Natural selection this is
a major aspect of the
evolutionary theory. Same
as artificial selection except
man does not choose,
nature chooses.
D. Analysis of Darwins theory
1.There is not always
overpopulation.
2.It is not always the fit that
survives and reproduces.
3.Survival of the fittest is not a
method of developing new
characteristics.