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Sydney Corder

Fullbright

AP Language and Composition

04 May 2018

The Theory of Evolution is Not Just a Theory

In science the word “theory” is used much differently than in everyday conversation.

Most would describe a theory as more of a hypothesis or an educated guess, while in science the

word means much more. A theory is an explanation based off of well known and accepted facts,

not opinions, and provides explanations for aspects science cannot yet explain. This

misinterpretation is common with the Theory of Evolution. Although Evolution is widely

accepted by the scientific community and is even taught about in public schools, it is often

discredited for being “just a theory”. The most common misrepresentation of Evolution theory

stems from colliding religious and spiritual ideals and scientific uncertainty used to back them.

The human race is far from knowing the specifics of life itself and evolution, and this will

appropriately create expected uncertainties. Some of which concern complex parts and abilities

of the human body. In an interview with CBS This Morning, journalist Tom Wolfe discredits the

work of Charles Darwin and goes as far to describe evolution as a “myth”. The reasoning behind

his bold argument falls on the lack of explanation science has for the complex language and

linguistics humans are capable of. It is true that more developed organs like the eye and the brain

responsible for memory and speech are still being studied, Wolfe even admits in his interview

that most people would disagree with him. While he is a very convincing journalist, he is no

scientist. Wolfe states that “the problem with evolution is you have to wait 6 or 7 billion years”,
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a statement that is ignorant to the abilities of science that allow humans to examine stages of

Earth's development that we were not here for. While the book he recently wrote The Kingdom of

Speech, discredits the theory further in detail, it respectively only focuses on the uncertainties

associated with speech and linguistics. Even a sufficient argument from the author would only

discredit a small aspect of the entire Theory of Evolution. Being an author, Wolfe’s main

purpose was only to prove that “speech, not evolution is responsible for humanity's greatest

accomplishments”; accomplishments that could have only been guided by something more.

Higher power and God is a common theme in religion and often collides with Evolution

Theory because of Creation Theory. In a bias essay written by a Christian pastor at a large

Church of God, he states that “what many evolutionists are trying to convince you of is that there

is no need for a Creator since, as they say, evolution can substitute as the mechanism for creating

and transforming life”. Not only does this misrepresent Evolution Theory and its scientific

purpose, but also what a scientific theory is. The author goes on to say that “when there is no real

evidence, evolutionary scientists simply make assumptions.” Like previously mentioned, the

essay does not use “theory” in the right context, and teaches Evolution in negative light.

Religious point of views similar to the author of this essay form false, opinion-based

explanations and commonly do so without actually proving anything scientifically.

These explanations become even more ridiculous after certain parts of Evolution are

accepted, even by the religious community. In a public survey conducted by Pew Research

Center, almost 40% of protestant Americans believed that humans evolved over time, instead of

staying the same since the beginning. This survey indicated that a good portion of religious

people support Evolution as they should because of the overwhelming evidence that supports life

adapts and evolves over time. The Pope himself even stated that particular parts of Evolution
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Theory coincide with Creation Theory. The Vatican's opinions on Evolution show that the

complete denial of every aspect of the theory and the choice to deny it is outdated, even in

religion. As the world becomes more knowledgeable in science, more and more of Evolutions

biggest deniers are more commonly accepting facts backed by evidence.

Because of the public's understanding of theory, it is often misunderstood when

explaining Evolution and can lead to confusion. Bias groups and people use these

misunderstandings to discredit the Theory of Evolution because of their own personal beliefs and

opinions as we see commonly in religion. Even while more and more people are in acceptance of

the Theory of Evolution, bias misinterpretation will still remain to shape people’s image of it.

Works Cited

CBSThisMorning. “Tom Wolfe on Why Darwin's Evolution Theory Is a ‘Myth.’”

YouTube, YouTube, 30 Aug. 2016,

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfg0pGly-LM.

Masci, David. “5 Facts about Evolution and Religion.” Pew Research Center, 30 Oct.

2014,

www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/10/30/5-facts-about-evolution-and-religion/.

Seiglie, Mario. “Prove Evolution Is False - Even Without the Bible.” United Church of

God, 7 Jan. 2012,

www.ucg.org/vertical-thought/prove-evolution-is-false-even-without-the-bible.